#831148 by Hamster
23 Nov 2012, 23:03
Have seen on FT that BA will offer the use of IFE from boarding to landing from December. They have managed to get CAA approval, and BA provided headphones will be allowed during take off.

Obviously not so beneficial to F and CW pax.

How long till VS start this?
#831149 by buns
23 Nov 2012, 23:09
Ignoring the airline rivalry piece for the moment, I am not entirely comfortable with folks distracted at one of the most crucial portion of he flight

buns
#831161 by bethanicus
24 Nov 2012, 10:47
I think it's fine as long as the pilot can interrupt the IFE for announcements. It worked for announcements for turbulence on my last flight and it's easier to understand what's being said over headphones than the PA system anyway.

Also, it seems to take a long time to get the IFE up and running.
#831162 by hat
24 Nov 2012, 10:52
AA have had the IFE turned on from push back for some time now. i can't remember at what point they turn it off for landing
#831163 by David
24 Nov 2012, 11:20
Got to agree with Buns on this one.

We had a little flight with AA (MIA to MCO) and it was very disturbing watching passengers with earphones on, leads wrapped round arm rests etc during takeoff.

( the bags scattered round everywhere and people with bottles and cups in their hands didnt help either )

Flying has never bothered me, but when you see someone with earphones on sitting next to you in an exit row, during takeoff, singing away to some scatchy noise, it makes you think !

How could you tell what the earphones where plugged into ? - the IFE - where you could hear any announcements, or an ipod drowning out everything ?

David
#831165 by PaulS
24 Nov 2012, 11:48
David wrote:Got to agree with Buns on this one.

We had a little flight with AA (MIA to MCO) and it was very disturbing watching passengers with earphones on, leads wrapped round arm rests etc during takeoff.

( the bags scattered round everywhere and people with bottles and cups in their hands didnt help either )

Flying has never bothered me, but when you see someone with earphones on sitting next to you in an exit row, during takeoff, singing away to some scatchy noise, it makes you think !

How could you tell what the earphones where plugged into ? - the IFE - where you could hear any announcements, or an ipod drowning out everything ?

David


I am quite sure that if an emergency was declared the commotion that follows would ensure all aboard were immediately aware. Having suffered an aborted take off on a 747 at very high speed I can assure you that within milliseconds everyone on that plane was focused.

I think the more alarming factor is the ability to quickly evacuate an aircraft with the high number if wheelchair bound passengers on board some flights. There were 65 on my last flight and the majority were heavy set to be kind. If you we're trapped on the inside of one of these passengers you would have great difficulty in getting out. If it takes a good twenty to 30 minutes to board them then I can't see how an emergency evacuation could be done any quicker
#831167 by mdvipond
24 Nov 2012, 12:03
We flew with JetBlue from MCO up to Washington last month, and I was most surprised that the IFE was on from boarding to gate. And live TV too!

Slightly unnerving for a Brit traveller, but I don't suppose it's really that big a deal. If the captain were to interrupt to say "Oh, by the way, we're crashing", I'm sure most people would pay attention...
#831169 by virginboy747
24 Nov 2012, 12:26
But if you're listening to an iPod etc you're not going to hear any of the announcements or instructions plus the risk of getting wires tangled round your neck etc in the stampede to get out!
#831173 by PaulS
24 Nov 2012, 12:47
virginboy747 wrote:But if you're listening to an iPod etc you're not going to hear any of the announcements or instructions plus the risk of getting wires tangled round your neck etc in the stampede to get out!


Trust me I've done it and half the passengers didn't even speak English, but within milliseconds everyone was focused upon getting off that aircraft. Earphones are flimsy and would soon detach. As I said I would be more concerned about the infirm, intoxicated (and let's face it people do get on under the influence) and the idiots that insist in getting there property from the overhead lockers
#831177 by HWVlover
24 Nov 2012, 14:39
mdvipond wrote:We flew with JetBlue from MCO up to Washington last month, and I was most surprised that the IFE was on from boarding to gate. And live TV too!


Emirates have IFE on from start to finish. And, never mind films and music, I love watching the plane I am on take off and land using the various cameras.
#831179 by MoJoJo
24 Nov 2012, 15:02
PaulS wrote:
virginboy747 wrote:But if you're listening to an iPod etc you're not going to hear any of the announcements or instructions plus the risk of getting wires tangled round your neck etc in the stampede to get out!


Trust me I've done it and half the passengers didn't even speak English, but within milliseconds everyone was focused upon getting off that aircraft. Earphones are flimsy and would soon detach. As I said I would be more concerned about the infirm, intoxicated (and let's face it people do get on under the influence) and the idiots that insist in getting there property from the overhead lockers


Yep, the VS flight that returned to LGW on its way to MCO earlier this year had a load of passengers more interested in getting their stuff from e overheads than actually getting off the plane as quickly as possible
#831183 by hat
24 Nov 2012, 16:38
HWVlover wrote:
mdvipond wrote:We flew with JetBlue from MCO up to Washington last month, and I was most surprised that the IFE was on from boarding to gate. And live TV too!


Emirates have IFE on from start to finish. And, never mind films and music, I love watching the plane I am on take off and land using the various cameras.


i think it was BMI that used to offer those camera views of the plane take off & landing, you got a 'drivers eye' view and one looking straight down to the ground
#831283 by clarkeysntfc
26 Nov 2012, 10:56
I oppose this for the reasons people have stated above. It's vital that people are able to get off the aircraft unimpeded, and wires/headsets/ipods will not help with this.

However, what I would like to see is the IFE switched on sooner, and off later.
#831405 by DocRo
27 Nov 2012, 21:11
I don't think there is a major safety issue. The IFE being on may actually be beneficial from the point of view of calming nervous passengers etc.
I do agree that VS could at least get it on earlier and switch it off much later. Last time it seemed to go off somewhere near Iceland and I still had an episode of Flight of the Conchords to watch. Boo
#831408 by tontybear
27 Nov 2012, 22:48
DocRo wrote:
I do agree that VS could at least get it on earlier and switch it off much later.



y) y) y)
#831496 by hat
29 Nov 2012, 09:50
you would think there would be a way to have the main system turned on but the PAX screens turned off so that it can be ready to go immediately after initial climb out
#831497 by PaulS
29 Nov 2012, 09:54
A lot of this is scaremongering. I have my own headphones around my neck and my iPad on my lap as do many other passengers already. In UC I can guarantee most people's shoes are under the foot stool, so there are already many loose items in the cabin.
#831499 by slinky09
29 Nov 2012, 10:25
PaulS wrote:A lot of this is scaremongering. I have my own headphones around my neck and my iPad on my lap as do many other passengers already. In UC I can guarantee most people's shoes are under the foot stool, so there are already many loose items in the cabin.


Absolutely - the whole scenario is riddled with inconsistencies, for example reading a Kindle is supposedly more dangerous that reading a hard back book ... ii) .

It doesn't bother me what rules VS wants on its aircraft, that's its right, but continued bleating that plainly not dangerous things like being able to see the flight map are dangerous is beyond me.
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