Interview: Why In-Flight Entertainment Screens May Persist on Long-Haul Routes
Photo Credit: Singapore Airlines, a Panasonic customer, is one of many carriers investing in better screens. Singapore Air soon will overhaul the TVs on its A380s. Singapore Airlines
Skift Take
Airline in-flight entertainment systems never age well. They're expensive, and they're often heavy, so airlines burn more fuel having them on board. Why do they persist? Passengers — even those who bring their own devices — tend to like them. But can airlines keep installing these systems forever?
Editor's note: This series, called Airline Insiders, introduces readers to behind-the-scenes decision-makers for airlines. Unlike our ongoing airline CEO series, Future of the Passenger Experience, we will not question the highest-ranking executives here. Instead, we will speak with insiders who guide decisions on airline operations, networks, marketing, and the passenger experience.
You can read all the stories in the series here.
Today, in the second installment of the series, we speak to an executive with Panasonic, one of the world's leaders in in-flight entertainment systems for airlines.
Earlier this year, American Airlines announced something that might have been unthinkable a decade ago. It said it not only will accept new Boeing 737 Max aircraft without in-seat screens, but also signaled it will remove relatively new monitors from some short-haul planes as it updates its seating configuration.
American told employees it no longer makes sense to install screens, b
