First refurbished 767 enters service end of the month [Oct '12]

[smit0847]

How will they charge the ipads between flights? I assume if someone is watching movies the whole time the battery wont last that long?

 

[lovestotravel]

We will hear more on future aircraft tomorrow I believe.

Finally

But I won't hold my breath as you have been saying it for a while

787's PLEASE

 

[under the radar]

I flew on this aircraft today and have plenty of pics of the iPad (and Qstreaming going on my iPhone too). I'll post tonight when I'm home.

I think the iPads are jail broken. Button functionality is different. The home button does nothing. Powering up and down is done by holding the top and home button in for 5 seconds. Boot up is the normal process, but it immediately loads Safari, and goes to a bookmark for Qstreaming. You cannot exit Safari.

The iPad would be useless away from the wifi on the aircraft ... Although you may be able to put it in DFU mode and reinstall iOS. I do not plan on testing that though!

They are iPad 2.

thanks for 'first hand' info...looking forward to the pics

 

[anat0l]

787's PLEASE

Yep... definitely don't hold your breath

Barring the ex-BA birds, I still don't mind the 767s. They still hold up OK, and the new seating should at least breathe some life back into the cabin (kinda like restoring a vintage car).

How will they charge the ipads between flights? I assume if someone is watching movies the whole time the battery wont last that long?

I wonder how the iPads get to the pax, e.g. do you request them, pick them up in the terminal (viz. like your headset) or are they in the seat pocket ready to go?

And how long does it take to charge an iPad from empty to full (using a standard 500 mA or 2.1 A charge outlet)?

Is it possible to use Q Streaming in such a way that the battery will be substantially (or completely) drained after one flight (e.g. at worst, a coast to coast flight)?

I know Apple really, really like to spruik that their equipment has superior battery life; perhaps QF were relying on the fact that charging the iPads would not be required until the end of the day.

Maybe they will carry a few extra iPads; maybe they won't.

It'll be a PITA at the end of the day retrieving all the iPads for charging and reconciling inventory (just in case someone did happen to knock off a unit), if that is what is required (and how this is done).

Was Q Streaming meant to be available via non-QF iPads? In any case, how many people will probably be eschewing the supplied iPads to settle for their own entertainment (including nothing)?

 

[Must...Fly!]

I think I recall reading somewhere the cases they had included battery packs, thus the ipads were able to last a whole day?

Might make things interesting for an immediate turn red-eye from PER though

 

[Fruitcake]

Was Q Streaming meant to be available via non-QF iPads?

Apparently so:

I flew on this aircraft today and have plenty of pics of the iPad (and Qstreaming going on my iPhone too). I'll post tonight when I'm home.

 

[dk4]

DJ in Aus are using Galaxy Tabs...

...so are AA IIRC in America...

BUT...

don't forget - ALL Virgin Australia widebody aircraft, every single one of them, feature integrated in-seat video entertainment of some sort.

... and the original...

 

[simongr]

The holster won't work with your own iPad Smart Cover though so I will have to think about a travel case vs a home case. Be a great change to be able to store my iPad for watching so I can eat as well.

 

[CaviAck]

BUT...

don't forget - ALL Virgin Australia widebody aircraft, every single one of them, feature integrated in-seat video entertainment of some sort.

... and the original...

I wasn't in anyway saying that DJ are using Galaxy Tabs exclusively or trying to make a QF v DJ war. Was merely pointing out that tablets seem like the way airlines are heading for entertainment systems. For a major carrier making flights of 5+ hours I'd send my money to whichever carrier that offers seatback entertainment. For flights of 5 hours or less or LCC's I don't mind having portable media players as the solution for entertainment. That being said however, I would expect major carriers to equip any new airplanes with seatback entertainment though.

 

[Must...Fly!]

That being said however, I would expect major carriers to equip any new airplanes with seatback entertainment though.

I think airlines (or at least the premium ones) still recognise that as the best solution for IFE.

The demand from customers is certainly there for an IFE solution though, so for older aircraft this tablet-based solution is a really good one IMO

 

[markis10]

I think airlines (or at least the premium ones) still recognise that as the best solution for IFE.

The demand from customers is certainly there for an IFE solution though, so for older aircraft this tablet-based solution is a really good one IMO

Tablets have only been with us for two years, IFE solutions based on them for the last year, it's too early to say what the future holds, although orders placed this year could see changes to IFE.

 

[DeKa]

Hi everyone,

As I posted before, I flew on QF440 MEL-SYD today, which was a refurbished 767-338. The crew announced it was a refurbished aircraft in the gate lounge before starting the boarding process, and recommended we pick up the new headset. This post is mostly about the iPads and QStreaming - but I did get one photo of Business before moving back to Economy.

The iPads are iPad 2 models, and are stored in the seat pocket. Each seat now has an iPad 'mount' on the headrest.

The flap lifts up like this. You flip open the iPad cover (it's a full leather front and back cover), slide the iPad into the seat back mounting strip, and then fold down the flap and attach the velcro to secure it.


The iPad launches straight into Safari. There is one bookmark only .. Q Streaming.


When there is a cabin announcement, the iPad stops playing content, and this message is displayed. Cabin audio does not come through the iPad headphones.


Notes about the iPad...
They are iPad 2, and I think they are jail broken, mainly because the button functionality is different. The home button does nothing at all. You power up and power down by holding the top and home buttons in for 5 seconds. Normally this is the combination for a hard reset. The iPad boots straight to Safari. You never see the iOS home screen. You cannot exit Safari.

Next post: other devices...

 

[DeKa]

As you can see, the iPad goes straight to the following URL in Safari on boot:
www.qstreaming.qantas.com.au

After takeoff, I turned on my iPhone, and found the following WiFi networks:

I connected to Q Streaming 1... settings as follows.


I then went to www.qstreaming.qantas.com.au in Safari. It loaded! You will see that the menu, whilst usable, doesn't fit on the iPhone 5 screen properly. I guess the design assets are for the iPad screen resolution only, which is understandable. That doesn't really matter though, as you'll see below.



I hit play, and the movie I selected started playing. This screenshot is of the Village Roadshow logo.


There is no reason why you could not try this on other platforms such as Android.

Performance was great. The videos started playing almost the instant you hit play.

For the eagle eyes, yes I took the photos out of order I was thinking after I took the original screenshots that I should get some more to make the post more complete.

 

[DeKa]

Last - seats. I didn't take any photos of the Economy seats, but here's one of Business. Looks good!

 

[Fruitcake]

Thanks Deka. Looks like either the system has changed since the early days of the trial, or my friends who claimed their QF iPad was looking for a 3G connection during the flight were on crack.

Is there any evidence that the QF system will have the off-aircraft features that the BoardConnect system DJ is buying offers, such as starting streaming entertainment whilst in the terminal and then continuing to watch whilst onboard?

 

[DeKa]

Thanks Deka. Looks like either the system has changed since the early days of the trial, or my friends who claimed their QF iPad was looking for a 3G connection during the flight were on crack.

Is there any evidence that the QF system will have the off-aircraft features that the BoardConnect system DJ is buying offers, such as starting streaming entertainment whilst in the terminal and then continuing to watch whilst onboard?

The original ones were on 3G all the time. I flew on that aircraft too.

If you turn the iPad on when on the ground, it doesn't work as the WiFi base station is switched off (I assume with WiFI is switched on on the iPad, as you can be on Aircraft Mode and have WiFi switched on).

 

[moa999]

The BoardConnect system is more for BYOD systems. By providing a device to every seat I expect QF is the expecting most to use that device.
Looks like a great addition for two weeks work on the 767s.

Now what about the non-IFE 738s

 

[markis10]

Interesting battery status.

 

[markis10]

The BoardConnect system is more for BYOD systems. By providing a device to every seat I expect QF is the expecting most to use that device.
Looks like a great addition for two weeks work on the 767s.

Now what about the non-IFE 738s

Claimed two weeks, this one took longer being the first, and I wonder what caused its commissioning delay?

 

[under the radar]

thanks for all the pics and info DeKa