Virgin Australia Unveils First Phase Of Inflight Entertainment Plans

[Fruitcake]

Will the content be streamed for free, or will that be at a cost as well?

The AusBT article yesterday stated that content is free to user-owned devices. J class gets an iPad for free if they want it, Y class can rent one.


I agree that this isn't a perfect solution, but I think it is far from a waste of time or an epic fail. My android phone has a resolution dramatically higher than the Live2Air screens or even most 7-inch or 10-inch seatback displays on other airlines. And my fat backside has ruined two pairs of earphones over the years due to "shearing" of the plug against my leg whilst I'm seated. For me, the ideal would be something like Virgin America's hybrid seatback / personal device solution - mostly because I almost always end up in the seat with the scratched / nonfunctioning screen or the dicky remote.

For me the biggest annoyance with Live2Air is the number of ads shown on the Flight Tracker channel - I like to be able to glance up from Kindle to see where we are right now, rather than waiting 90 seconds for some cheesy Virgin Atlantic ad to finish!

 

[maninblack]

The AusBT article yesterday stated that content is free to user-owned devices. J class gets an iPad for free if they want it

Lets get one thing straight. NOTHING IS FREE. It will be included in the ticket price.

FARCE is the word that comes to mind on this whole concept.

 

[Fruitcake]

Lets get one thing straight. NOTHING IS FREE. It will be included in the ticket price.

FARCE is the word that comes to mind on this whole concept.

Well, the cost of hauling 500kg of Live2Air equipment around the sky is included in the ticket price at present too. I'm guessing if they were getting a return on that fuel, DJ wouldn't be in such a hurry to get rid of the gear.

 

[maninblack]

Well, the cost of hauling 500kg of Live2Air equipment around the sky is included in the ticket price at present too. I'm guessing if they were getting a return on that fuel, DJ wouldn't be in such a hurry to get rid of the gear.

And in that vein are they going to up the carry on allowance by 2-4 Kg's for the laptops and chargers we don't want to bring.

 

[Noob]

I think some people still haven't got that we don't know all the information - really guys its getting old, we know the bare concept as virgin said the details have not yet been released. At least say "I hope they don't do this" or "I would like them to do this" - not "OMG epic fail!"

 

[lovestotravel]

Fail Fail Fail Virgin seriously!

You claim to be moving to full service, yet you are providing a Jetstar like product!

It was clear when that this was going to happen when the refitted planes were not fitted with any TV's and the like.

Are VA execs already so far out of touch with the traveling public?

Martin Daley, Virgin Australia Group Executive for Product and Guest Services. “Personal devices are becoming more and more prevalent, smartphones are almost ubiquitous and one day everyone’s going to have a tablet, especially as costs keep coming down” Daly enthuses."

So families are going to have a Tablet each and one for the kids ?

Virgin could have really blown Qantas out of the water with a Virgin America style Red system supplemented with WiFi.

Now as for the rollout... One plane to be "trialed" mid 2012.. So it will be at least another year before this starts to rollout across the fleet.

I refer to http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ssion/in-flight-entertainment-poll-33316.html as well, while we only had 68 votes, 80% + of people wanted a seatback/armrest solution. Given we "forum people" are very tech savvy and most of us frequent flyers with lots of gadgets/tables/new laptops/notebooks etc, I would assume the wider population would be even more supportive of a seat back IFE solution.

Also this still means that Air NZ and Pacific Blue plans will have different fit-outs across the Tasman.

Fail once again Virgin

I actually would prefer the Qantas dropdown screens/monitors with news/comedy and other rubbish over having to fiddle around with my tablet/laptop/smartphone on my tray table etc.

Also I will assume the planes will NOT have a USB port to charge the phone, or once again this would have been done with the seats were re-fitted.

I think some people still haven't got that we don't know all the information - really guys its getting old, we know the bare concept as virgin said the details have not yet been released. At least say "I hope they don't do this" or "I would like them to do this" - not "OMG epic fail!"

Of course we don't have "all the information"

All that is missing is pricing and what is actually available on the IFE

Apart from that
It is NOT seatback

Yes it is a FAIL again refer to http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ssion/in-flight-entertainment-poll-33316.html

While some will love the streaming WiFI option, most don't!

 

[markis10]

Apart from that
It is NOT seatback

Correct - Phase 1 is not seatback

 

[haydensydney]

Fail Fail Fail Virgin seriously!

Thats fine.... you don't have to fly Virgin...

QF doesn't have IFE (unless you score a A330)
Jetstar doesn't have IFE (unless you get an iPad thing)
Rex? (well... what can I say?)

SO i'm left scratching my head wondering why your so savage to VA when they really will deliver a solution that exceeds OR matches the competition. It is revolutionary and it's a game changer. Yes it's not ideal for all, but it's still a solution.

 

[nlagalle]

Thats fine.... you don't have to fly Virgin...

QF doesn't have IFE (unless you score a A330)
Jetstar doesn't have IFE (unless you get an iPad thing)
Rex? (well... what can I say?)

SO i'm left scratching my head wondering why your so savage to VA when they really will deliver a solution that exceeds OR matches the competition. It is revolutionary and it's a game changer. Yes it's not ideal for all, but it's still a solution.

Don't forget QF are rolling it out to the 737's as well.

 

[greenfish]

Thats fine.... you don't have to fly Virgin...

QF doesn't have IFE (unless you score a A330)

QF does have IFE being rolled across their 737-800s. I've had the decent IFE on a number of QF 737-800 flights CBR->BNE.

So am very disappointed with the DJ offering - they've taken away something that was quite good (Live2Air) and are replacing it with something that is for me, pointless.

The lack of IFE is a huge turn-off when flying with my family, and an irritation when flying on business.

 

[maninblack]

Yes it's not ideal for all, but it's still a solution.

A solution to what?
To require a solution you must have a problem.
There are excellent IFE systems available to Virgin.
So they had no problem.
I rather fear they will soon have one of their own making though.
Which will in turn become our problem.

 

[lovestotravel]

Correct - Phase 1 is not seatback

Thanks

Considering "Phase 1" won't start to be rolled out til next time year........

Again, if they are not doing seatback now I doubt they will ever do it

 

[markis10]

Thanks

Considering "Phase 1" won't start to be rolled out til next time year........

Again, if they are not doing seatback now I doubt they will ever do it

The one thing I have noticed with DJ is they respond to feedback and adjust things quickly, so you cannot rule out anything!

 

[eastwest101]

A solution to what?
To require a solution you must have a problem.
There are excellent IFE systems available to Virgin.
So they had no problem.
I rather fear they will soon have one of their own making though.
Which will in turn become our problem.

Yeah - without seatback displays or having the recharge ability for a tablet the new solution seems to be ergonomically and practically inferior to the existing gate-to-gate Live2Air system.

 

[lovestotravel]

Thats fine.... you don't have to fly Virgin...

QF doesn't have IFE (unless you score a A330)
Jetstar doesn't have IFE (unless you get an iPad thing)
Rex? (well... what can I say?)

SO i'm left scratching my head wondering why your so savage to VA when they really will deliver a solution that exceeds OR matches the competition. It is revolutionary and it's a game changer. Yes it's not ideal for all, but it's still a solution.

Savage to VA as they are providing a poor solution, that doesn't suit many people. It's just the cheapest solution they can do while making it sound like a great product.

Gamer changer and revolutionary = No, Qantas has been trialling the same thing months ago, but no announcement on a rollout yet...

QF has IFE on all 737/767's, you are talking about seat-back IFE.... On Qantas flights I do still see quite a few people watching the news/comedy on the overhead monitors/drop down screens.

The new 737's have seatback IFE, and it's quite a good system...

Jetstar - I don't fly them domestically EVER, and they are not an airline worth comparing to.

 

[lovestotravel]

Yeah - without seatback displays or having the recharge ability for a tablet the new solution seems to be ergonomically and practically inferior to the existing gate-to-gate Live2Air system.

Exactly - While the Live2Air was a small outdated screen it is still better than the proposed "solution"

Not having any charging ports either is another fail, again, given it's not announced, now are the new seats wired for this, I doubt they ever will be

 

[haydensydney]

Exactly - While the Live2Air was a small outdated screen it is still better than the proposed "solution"

You make valid points. But like I said earlier, don't fly VA then... simple solution to your issue :mrgreen:

 

[maninblack]

The one thing I have noticed with DJ is they respond to feedback and adjust things quickly, so you cannot rule out anything!

Well I hope so because I have quite enjoyed my Virgin experiences so far but really don't like the sound of this proposal much.

 

[lovestotravel]

The one thing I have noticed with DJ is they respond to feedback and adjust things quickly, so you cannot rule out anything!

Yes I will give them credit for that, but that's for small changes, and not one that would require a few extra million $ to be spent

 

[lovestotravel]

You make valid points. But like I said earlier, don't fly VA then... simple solution to your issue :mrgreen:

Well because of this and also combined that they have not matched the 10x bonus points when buying gift vouchers, I will be committing $7500 of my domestic spend to Qantas for next year, will be buying the Qantas gift vouchers in a few days :mrgreen:

It's a shame they have decided to go with a 1/2 baked solution