[vancroft]

I wonder if this is the beginning of the end of in-flight entertainment. Once the Wi-Fi gets reliable enough, people will probably just start using their own devices and streaming services. Which of course becomes a great cost-cutting opportunity for airlines as they could potentially ditch their own systems. I have no idea what % of costs the in-flight system represents, but if the margins are as thin as people say I'm sure they'll jump at the opportunity.

[Larrikin]

It's a pretty awful regression to the complete elimination of the systems. I remember my first flight to Japan as a teenager on ANA and finding out that they not only had movie channels in the seat but you could actually play SNES games. I got to watch movies I hadn't even heard of as well. The games have been eliminated and you're now stuck playing terrible candy crush clones if your family can't afford a switch.

I've seen domestic flights have already started removing in flight tvs and telling you to make sure you download the app before the flight takes off. Seems pretty awful that families are now expected to provide a screen for every person or they're out of luck

[vancroft]

Yeah, the potential for enshittification is massive. I can imagine they'll offer the Wi-Fi for free at first, use that as a reason to take out screens, and then start charging for the Wi-Fi as an "extra service" (in the way that everything is charged for these days, including basics like booking seats together if you're booking for two or more people).

[ravenstine]

Wi-Fi has already been a thing on planes for years, and has been good enough for me to watch high quality YouTube videos and attend Zoom meetings. Not a single family member or friend whom I've enlightened about this has bothered to use the internet on a plane flight, even when it's free. It's going to take at least a decade before the old habit will be replaced with the new one.

[dbbk]

Not only that, the EU has now mandated that all planes support 5G on passengers' phones directly.

[cmrx64]

Computer bad. Phone bad. But small airplane screen? Small airplane screen novel and good.

[bhpm]

Airlines started removing the screens in 2019. Southwest never had them [0]. Good riddance.

[0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2019/10/13...

[JumpCrisscross]

> Good riddance

Out of curiosity, why? I tend to like in-flight entertainment options, at least on Delta.

[nunez]

IFE has been on the way out for years. Many airlines are optioning "streamlined" domestic cabins without IFE.