WestJet is the first airline in Canada with an LCD screen in every seatback showing tv programs. (WestJet is the equivalent of SouthWest Airlines in the USA.) Last weekend, I flew WestJet and could test the tv system.
The airplane picks up about 20 channels of tv from satellites. As the airplane gets out of range of one satellite, its transponder attempts to locate the next satellite.
The advantage to onboard tv is that you can watch news and sportscasts live. If you have tv shows you like to watch, there's a chance they might be on while you are flying. During my flight, I watch The Simpsons, Star Trek, and Fox News.
But only partly. During take offs and landings, the tv system is shut down. While on the ground, only a couple of channels are available. During the flight, the transponder had difficulty finding satellites, and so there was no tv service for aobut half the flight. At times there was sound, but no video.Did I mention I saw only half of The Simpsons and half of Star Trek?
The scarey part is the message on the screen claiming the lack of tv was due to "normal" aircraft behaviour. Does this mean the aircraft is behaving abnormally when the tv works?
Yet another hassle are the announcements. Most airplanes use video tapes for their entertainment systems, which pause when the flight crew makes an announcement. Not so with the tv service; the sound is muted, but the program rolls on. Here in Canada, the muted portion lasts twice as long, for every announcement must be repeated in French.
Video entertainment on other airplanes is largely ad-free; tv ads are proliffic. During takeoffs and landing, WestJet self-promotions are displayed. In the future, I expect the airline to pocket revenue from passenger-specific ads, just as movie theatres are doing now.
The screen displays the route map and aircraft data. But the mapping is crude; for the leg from Edmonton to Calgary, the aircraft's nose touched Calgary and tail touched Edmonton for the entire trip. And the data is useless, just airspeed and altitiude; no useful information, such as time remaining. Also inaccurate: while the captain claimed to be flying the aircraft at 39,000 feet, the screen indicated 41,500 feet.
And more hassles to report. You have this 5" LCD screen in your face for the entire trip. With one in every seatback, the entire airplane is lit up during night flights. There is no easy Off button. Instead, you have to press the Brightness button six times to turn off the LCD. Repeatedly, because every so often the screens turn themselves back on. Instead, the LCDs should be turned off by default.
There is a credit card slot next to each screen. Right now, they don't do anything, but I am guessing they may be tied to a shopping channel in the future. And I'll bring some duct tape to cover up the LCD screen.
For my next flight, I plan to return to reading books and listening to MP3 with noise-cancelling headphones.
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