The Rise of the Portable In-Flight Entertainment System
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 05.03.07 | 9:20 AM ET
Airline passengers have been using laptop computers and portable DVD players to watch movies for some time now, but increasingly, airlines themselves have been offering portable viewing devices, especially on international flights. This week, American Airlines has upped the ante by offering first- and business-class passengers the latest gee-whiz portable devices on some domestic cross-country flights, USA Today reports. The devices feature a seven-inch touch-screen monitor, first-run movies and updated news. The huddled masses in economy class can also try out a modest version for a fee on a limited number of domestic flights. Such systems just might be the future of in-flight entertainment, particularly since, according to the paper, “they are cheaper than installing seatback entertainment systems.”
Related on World Hum:
* United Airlines Switches to Coke. Uh, Hooray?
* The End of the Middle Seat?
* Sports Bars Go Airborne: ‘We Definitely Sell a Lot More Liquor When Games Are On’
Photo courtesy of American Airlines.