the culture around air travel is changing as a lot of travelers are being more selective with how they spend their money. For many years, the goal is getting the lowest prices possible, so airlines accommodated by cutting services and shrinking spaces in order to reduce the price of tickets as much as possible.
However, what happened as a result of this industry trend was that travelers realized being comfortable is worth a few extra dollars, and they would rather spend more to have an enjoyable flight than save money to be cramped, bored, and miserable for a couple hours.
Inflight entertainment is an important part of the flight experience for a lot of travelers. Back in the day, airplanes were equipped with one large screen and everyone was forced to watch the same movie, which was selected by the airline and something family friendly regardless of who was on the flight.
While this did offer some degree of entertainment, it was more intrusive than enjoyable. Even for travelers who choose not to listen to the movie, which required the airline headphones, they couldn’t escape the movie playing on the big screen. While it was a valiant effort and a viable option at the time, the trend has moved to personalize entertainment.
We live in an age now where nearly everyone has unlimited music, movies, and television shows at their fingertips. They want to watch what they want to watch without the input or interference of others. Inflight entertainment providers have had to alter their stance in order to move with the changing public stance on in flight entertainment.
For example, more airlines have upgraded to having an aircraft display in the back of each seat. This allows travelers to choose what they watch on their own personal display. These are controlled individually, and used in conjunction with headphones, so travelers are not being distracted by each other.
Having the option of watching an in flight video on a personal aircraft display can make a long flight seem short. It can help distract and entertain children, so they are not disturbing other travelers, and it can ease the discomfort of being confined to a seat for a long period of time next to complete strangers.
Upgrading the inflight entertainment systems also helps to alleviate the frustration some travelers feel being unable to use their personal devices during portions of the flight. This also helps when they are uncomfortable using their personal devices due to the people around them or they lose power to their devices and are unable to recharge. There are a wide range of variables that come in to play while traveling. Providing travelers the option of personalize inflight entertainment with an aircraft display can help make the entire experience more enjoyable.
Personalized entertainment options also increases the actual and perceived value of the experience. As mentioned previously, many travelers are willing to pay more for a plane ticket if they are provided with comfort and ease during travel. This is one way to increase the value of the experience. While the initial investment may be something to consider carefully, the aircraft display option will increase the value of each seat every time it is sold. This will make the return on investment quick.