Business Traveller has a little ditty about Air Baltic going to introduce Apple’s iPad as an IFE (In flight Entertainment) device.
Now whilst that’s not news in itself (JetStar got there first), as a GhettoIFE blog (and other airlines adopting this), there are a few questions to be asked.
And I’m asking them!
1) How are you going to prevent the things being stolen? It’s a simple enough question. iPads are small enough to go in a bad unnoticed and *vosh* gone. Unless there is a “collection before arrival” policy and an exact count, these could easily go walks (Unless we’re installing anti-theft devices on-plane…)
2) Long term power – how? Whilst the iPad has a great longevity, there needs to be consideration of how they’re powered (either by a Dock connection on the plane, Charge-at-base or a mix of the two)
3) How is content going to be protected? Again, if I was a rights holder I’d be concerned about content being halfhinched.
4) How are you going to mount them up? I’ve seen current IFE system arms being used, also iPads based over current IFE monitors. Sticking an iPad on a tray table isn’t my idea of a good time as you need a reasonable angle of view. Therefore you’ll need a case or a mounting point for the device (and I haven’t seen sick bags large enough for an iPad – yet).
5) How much is this all going to cost? Even the smallest iPad is a reasonable investment at £429. Multiply that by a planeload (A320 sized 180 pax) leads to a list price of £77,220. Multiply that through a fleet and the numbers become scary. Now obviously there will be discounts for quantity (or else IFE companies and system integrators don’t know of the the word “negotiation”), but to pay for this, it will be the consumer who will have to hire a unit. And consumers are becoming ever more price sensitive these days. Therefore pricing is going to have to be reasonable for a good uptake.
Those are a few thoughts. I think as a personal IFE device its a great leap forward, and I expect the Android tablets to really push this forward as a personal travel entertainment device. However, part of keeping it person will be the content. And as I’ve stated time and again, it’s the content that makes or breaks an IFE System.
