Trend Watch: Airline Take-up of Live Television/Connectivity Grows

The adoption by US carriers of in-seat live satellite television – together with connectivity services - is growing leaps and bounds.

This trend is “really exciting”, says Panasonic director of strategic product marketing David Bruner. “The US market could end up in the next couple of years with a totally different experience when you get onboard the airplane than what you saw a couple years ago.”

A strategy launched at inception by JetBlue Airways through its LiveTV subsidiary is being copied on a broad scale. Frontier and WestJet are long-time customers of LiveTV’s in-flight television system. Continental Airlines recently announced plans to install LiveTV across a large portion of its Boeing narrowbody fleet.

Delta Air Lines, through its Song experiment, followed JetBlue's lead when it began offering Panasonic Avionics-manufactured in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems – with live television – onboard domestic flights. It later announced it would extend the offering to its entire transcontinental fleet.

Start-up Virgin America, meanwhile, offers television and (video on demand) VOD onboard its Airbus A320s.

Added to this, JetBlue, Frontier and Continental have all gone public with plans to offer connectivity over LiveTV technology, while Virgin America plans to offer AirCell connectivity.

That the combo of live television and connectivity is proving hard for carriers to resist is evident by the number of requests for quotations (RFQs) in the market right now, say Bruner.

Although LiveTV intends to offer live television and light connectivity to airlines, Panasonic is going a different direction. In addition to television and VOD, the company is offering satellite-based “full Internet connectivity and the broadest broadband in the world”.

A customer has not yet been announced but Panasonic is confident installations will begin on a US airline by year-end. “The airlines are now very focused on not what is the cost of the system, but what is the net cost of the system if it generates revenue. It may pay for itself and make its customers happy and bring you more customers. That's a positive thing,” says Bruner.

So are the Canadians next to introduce connectivity? As mentioned earlier, WestJet's aircraft are equipped with LiveTV. Air Canada, on the other hand, offers Thales IFE.

(Photo above right of JetBlue's LiveTV system)

Red or Blue…What’s a Girl To Do?

If you’re looking to fly between New York JFK and San Francisco, you’ve got a bevy of airlines to choose from. In terms of in-flight services, however, there are two standouts in the crowd – US low-cost operators JetBlue Airways and Virgin America.

Though located on opposite sides of the USA (JetBlue at JFK and Virgin at San Francisco), the similarities between these two Airbus A320 operators are obvious (and well-reported). But competition is going to get even more fierce in the coming months. Here’s why.

JetBlue CEO Dave Barger today revealed the all-economy carrier is looking at allowing customers to pay more for greater seat pitch in the cabin. Translation - JetBlue wants to provide a business-class seating product (it’s just not clear yet if that is what the airline will call it). The plan will be unveiled by the start of the second quarter.

This development is not entirely a surprise. JetBlue last year reduced capacity on its A320s to accommodate additional legroom in the front of the cabin. But, from an in-flight perspective, it brings the eight-year-old airline into closer competitive range to start-up - and two-class operator Virgin.

Added to that, both carriers are very serious about driving ancillary revenue. Virgin will shortly permit passengers to order a variety of upscale items via its “Red” seat-back in-flight entertainment (IFE) system, which uses Panasonic hardware and has about as many bells and whistles as a domestic traveller could ask for.

JetBlue, on the other hand, recently launched a “cashless cabin” whereby it accepts major credit or debit cards for in-flight purchases using handheld devices. Passengers can currently purchase alcoholic beverages this way, but in-flight offerings will be made available in the future.

There is at least one major area where JetBlue and Virgin will try to differentiate themselves. The former plans to offer a limited in-flight connectivity service for free to the entire cabin via technology from subsidiary LiveTV. The latter intends to charge for broader AirCell connectivity in its main cabin. Time will tell which will be the better path to travel.

Nonetheless, both carriers deserve to be commended for figuring out what US passengers want – live television, connectivity and a credit-card swipe.

As Dave Barger said today at the Raymond James conference in New York: IFE is now “the cost of entry” for airlines. “Eight year old kids are making purchasing decisions” in the cabin!

(Photo above left of Virgin America's IFE system; below right of LiveTV promo shot from Livetvifs.com)

Supermodels, Elvis and Naked Flight Attendants, Oh My...Airline Marketing Exposed

Virgin America is receiving a lot of press this week for flying a group of Victoria Secret supermodels from New York to Los Angeles in advance of a lingerie show. A lesser-known group of Angels are shedding some clothing, but for a good cause.

Meet this year’s Cabin Fever girls, a group of flight attendants who pose for an annual calendar with proceeds benefiting The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

This year’s calendar, aptly titled “In the Wings”, depicts “the many roles that flight attendants play both on and off the aircraft”, including, but not limited to, hostesses, public speakers, bartenders, therapists, firefighters and security personnel, according to the web site.

A shot of a flight attendant acting as paramedic is sure to be a crowd pleaser (scroll down the page).

Now back to Virgin America. It appears the marketing machine that is behind the Virgin brand may be facing a little competition.

AirTran Airways tomorrow will celebrate its new service between Indianapolis and Las Vegas by treating passengers to an in-flight performance by “a resplendent Elvis in full stage-wear” (the tight, white jump suit!!).

Supermodels and The King. What’s next in the world of in-flight entertainment? Naked flight attendants? By George, You've Got It!