V-Flyer

hi,flying to las over easter and my son is fretting in case his ipad cannot charge.is the seat power in p/e a usb or should he bring any adapters?
thanks in advance

No need for adators, it's USB

You may find that it won't charge an iPad; iPads use a higher current than iPhones, and often the sockets provided in aircraft won't do the business. Better to charge it before you get on.

It will provide power to run the device, but not charge it.

I think I'm right here, but iPads won't do that - they either use external power to charge the battery (if the current is adequate) whilst they run off the battery, or they just use the battery and ignore the power input (if the current isn't high enough). They report 'Not Charging' and are just running off the internal battery....

Same on EK - the system will charge my iPhone but not my iPad - using the iPad it just goes gently flat and switches off...

I am not sure about it being USB to charge. In all the seats I have used that have power outlets they have been the special airline sockets requiring an adapter (which can be provided on board or purchased from Dixons for about £50).

They always announce power is for using and not for charging devices although I have yet to encounter a device that does not automatically charge as you use it.

I think the problem would be if suddenly everyone started charging all sorts of gadgets it would put too much load on the electrics

The PE seat USB sockets do charge iPhones. I was asked very politely to unplug mine when a crew member spotted I had it plugged in and was not using it.

It will depend on their power output though as an iPad, for example, requires a larger power output to charge. Many older Mac or PC USB sockets also don't charge iPads as they also don't have a large enough power output.

An iPad requires at least a 10 watt output to charge, whereas iPhones and other smaller devices only need a 5 watt output.

My recent experience was that the iPad will run off the USB but, as has been said, will not charge. This is true of both the A330 and the B744. Note though, that the A343 doesn't have USB ports (as I found on my CPT flight last night!) so the only option is to use a power adapter.

Power leads for iPads and other apple products are available from the crew in the red gaming packs though not all of the crew are aware of this. I have only ever successfully obtained these from the crew when travelling in UC. Laptop power leads are no longer available onboard unless you purchase one.

Happy travels!

Just for clarity - you'll find the iPad is NOT running off the USB supply. If the current isn't high enough to charge it, the iPad just ignores the supply altogether and runs off its internal battery. What this means is that even plugging it in, it will go flat as though you hadn't bothered plugging it in!

It MAY take a small amount of charge as the battery nears empty, but we're talking perhaps 1%-2%.

As I said, charge it before you get on