V-Flyer

I think there's only one or two now, but I couldn't stand being on a 13 hour flight with only VERA Reel, especially since I always fly Economy.

I know they're supposed to be retired by April, but I'm surprised African Queen is still with Virgin. You'd think older or almost retired planes would fly less far.

There's nothing actually wrong with the aircraft, in fact a lot newer than a lot of the 747's I believe and apart from the entertainment system the same as much of the Heathrow fleet.

I find it a bit of a modern day overreaction to say that you'd not be able to stand Vera Reel. Flew with one a year and a half ago, and what's the difference.

No gate to gate. Need to start up all at once, once flying.
Start a movie when it starts.
Can't pause when going to the toilet.
Need to wait for longest movie to end before start the new ones.

The side effect in Upper is that people tend to accumulate at the bar, have a bit of social occasion, then head back to their seats when the films restart. You actually kind of miss this a bit when you get the decent IFE...

(Also I believe the screens are bigger in UC for Vera Reel. I think they had to cut the size to standard tablet-esque sizes to get the touchscreen).

I agree, with Smid. I had to fly back from LA on one of the A340-300s with the reel entertainment system. I too was concerned and agitated at the thought of having to put up with it for such a long flight and actually when it came to it it was completely fine. As mentioned all you noticeable lose is the ability to start, stop and pause as you want but to be honest its not too much of a horror.

It is quite funny when you think about it in the grand scheme of things that such a minor difference in entertainment could be such an issue. At least its equipt with individual IFE...I had to put up with a 12hr flight from Madrid to Lima on Iberia with only overhead screens every 8 rows

FLYERZ wrote:It is quite funny when you think about it in the grand scheme of things that such a minor difference in entertainment could be such an issue. At least its equipt with individual IFE...I had to put up with a 12hr flight from Madrid to Lima on Iberia with only overhead screens every 8 rows

Having done a couple of AA flights, with the dropdown overhead, with one film, it doesn't put it into perspective. Most problem about that was the crick in the neck while watching.

My first ever transatlantic flight was a Piedmont 767 from Gatwick to Charlotte with one drop down TV that I couldn't see properly because I was only 12. Longest flight ever. Watching Reel doesn't seem that bad, just read a book or magazine in between films, have a shut eye or toilet break while waiting.

I can still remember the single screen on an American Airlines 767. The thing broke 10 minutes into whatever was being show and never cam out again. This was in 2001.

I can see IFE eventually going full circle. Airlines will get none fitted and all you will have is a power supply and wifi. Tablets, ultrabooks etc. will kill it off. Less weight, reduced setup costs, reduced maintenance. Pretty much a win/win for airlines.

Darren Wheeler wrote:I can still remember the single screen on an American Airlines 767. The thing broke 10 minutes into whatever was being show and never cam out again. This was in 2001.

I flew Air France to LA in 2002. Same story.

Darren Wheeler wrote:I can see IFE eventually going full circle. Airlines will get none fitted and all you will have is a power supply and wifi. Tablets, ultrabooks etc. will kill it off. Less weight, reduced setup costs, reduced maintenance. Pretty much a win/win for airlines.

Agreed. Somebody, somewhere asked about the next big change for airlines and that's what I suggested. Virgin Australia already have such a wifi offering on some of their aircraft, though they also still have the seatback screens as well.

Darren Wheeler wrote:I can see IFE eventually going full circle. Airlines will get none fitted and all you will have is a power supply and wifi. Tablets, ultrabooks etc. will kill it off. Less weight, reduced setup costs, reduced maintenance. Pretty much a win/win for airlines.

'Cept they wouldn't do that, because the tablets aren't for the majority of the people in the plane. They tend to only be for upper and sometimes premium economy. The 100+ people in regular Economy get just the screens at the back.

pjh wrote:Virgin Australia already have such a wifi offering on some of their aircraft, though they also still have the seatback screens as well.

I was impressed with the VA system, although of course you need to remember to download the app first! By doing it this way, far more devices are supported than the DL equivalent.

Delta Studio works without an app download, although it does work off the DL iOS app too, but it's limited to fewer devices.

The only problem is that it doesn't naturally occur to everyone to use their headphones.

I flew back from the US on African Queen a few months ago. I just made sure I had stuff to watch on my iPad although the crew were handing out tablets in UC to those who wanted them.

MoJoJo wrote:I flew back from the US on African Queen a few months ago. I just made sure I had stuff to watch on my iPad although the crew were handing out tablets in UC to those who wanted them.

Don't rely on the tablets, when I got mines it had content over a year old, and nothing vaguely new (we'd been on 330 over so knew what was on).

When we went to and from Vancouver with only reel. It was very poor only a limited amount of films some very old. It broke down and they did offer a tablet but with only a few even older films on it. WE now take out tablets with our own films on it and plenty of games, books etc on a really longhaul.

Smid wrote:

MoJoJo wrote:I flew back from the US on African Queen a few months ago. I just made sure I had stuff to watch on my iPad although the crew were handing out tablets in UC to those who wanted them.

Don't rely on the tablets, when I got mines it had content over a year old, and nothing vaguely new (we'd been on 330 over so knew what was on).

I didn't and didn't even take one after looking at what was on it as had loaded better options onto my iPad

mallin wrote:When we went to and from Vancouver with only reel. It was very poor only a limited amount of films some very old. It broke down and they did offer a tablet but with only a few even older films on it. WE now take out tablets with our own films on it and plenty of games, books etc on a really longhaul.

Things aren't perfect elsewhere in the fleet.

Both to and from Cancun in Upper on 747, my IFE was broken. Different seats. Different rows. Different sides.

Smid wrote:

mallin wrote:When we went to and from Vancouver with only reel. It was very poor only a limited amount of films some very old. It broke down and they did offer a tablet but with only a few even older films on it. WE now take out tablets with our own films on it and plenty of games, books etc on a really longhaul.

Things aren't perfect elsewhere in the fleet.

Both to and from Cancun in Upper on 747, my IFE was broken. Different seats. Different rows. Different sides.

My point was, I never rely on IFE, it's a nice to have anyway so always make sure I have stuff I want to watch on iPad. I don't get the whinge from folks if IFE isn't working. What did you do before personal IFE? It's an added bonus when you are paying to get from A to B

i just my tablet.

MoJoJo wrote:I don't get the whinge from folks if IFE isn't working. What did you do before personal IFE? It's an added bonus when you are paying to get from A to B

It's down to expectation, I think. IFE is part of the basket of services you pay for when you buy a ticket. Obviously the most important thing is the A-B transportation itself, but then things like food, seat, IFE come into play, and are all funded by pax in the ticket price.

Increasingly airlines compete via these 'soft' products, and IFE is a big part of decision-making for some pax. If you're offering a product and don't deliver it, then I understand people getting upset.

I don't particularly mind when IFE does or doesn't work: I don't usually use IFE, and it doesn't factor into my choice of carrier. I know, however, for some it does.

Blob55 wrote:

Darren Wheeler wrote:I can see IFE eventually going full circle. Airlines will get none fitted and all you will have is a power supply and wifi. Tablets, ultrabooks etc. will kill it off. Less weight, reduced setup costs, reduced maintenance. Pretty much a win/win for airlines.

'Cept they wouldn't do that, because the tablets aren't for the majority of the people in the plane. They tend to only be for upper and sometimes premium economy. The 100+ people in regular Economy get just the screens at the back.

It would be a case of BYOD - Bring Your Own Device.

Darren Wheeler wrote:

Blob55 wrote:

Darren Wheeler wrote:I can see IFE eventually going full circle. Airlines will get none fitted and all you will have is a power supply and wifi. Tablets, ultrabooks etc. will kill it off. Less weight, reduced setup costs, reduced maintenance. Pretty much a win/win for airlines.

'Cept they wouldn't do that, because the tablets aren't for the majority of the people in the plane. They tend to only be for upper and sometimes premium economy. The 100+ people in regular Economy get just the screens at the back.

It would be a case of BYOD - Bring Your Own Device.

But what if it's a 13+ hour flight and the battery runs out?

Blob55 wrote:But what if it's a 13+ hour flight and the battery runs out?

As Darren says, in seat power.

I've never seen sockets for regular Economy before.

Blob55 wrote:I've never seen sockets for regular Economy before.

All Virgin 747s and A330s (and I assume 787s) have USB sockets to power your device. Even in Economy. The A340s have the Empower system.

Ah, thanks. Speaking of the laptops, do they come with the games, or just some of the current movies?

Blob55 wrote:Ah, thanks. Speaking of the laptops, do they come with the games, or just some of the current movies?

Tablets. And NOT very current movies.