Airline seatback screens may be ‘endangered species’

Bloomberg

In the quest to command higher fares and traveler loyalty, airlines are constantly scrambling to market their onboard services as better than Brand X. These days, one highly visible battleground is directly in front of you: the seatback screen.
While such displays are firmly entrenched aboard long-haul fleets, helping pass the hours during ocean crossings, there’s a deep difference of opinion among US carriers when it comes to domestic single-aisle jets. The advent of onboard Wi-Fi has given airlines the option of using your phone or tablet as a portal for films, television shows and video games, avoiding the expense of costly hardware at every seat.
Three of the largest US airlines—American Airlines Group Inc., United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Alaska Air Group Inc—are removing screens from their domestic workhorses, the family of medium-range 737 and A320 aircraft sold by Boeing Co and Airbus SE, respectively. Southwest Airlines Co has never equipped its Boeing 737s with screens and said it has no plans to change course.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines Inc.and JetBlue Airways Corp are betting seatback screens with audio-video on demand will lure domestic travellers. A three-year-old Delta subsidiary, Delta Flight Products, has merged the two worlds, developing a wireless streaming product and seat-mounted tablet screens for many of the airline’s new deliveries, dispensing with the weight associated with traditional, hardwired displays.
The split is evident internationally as well: Screens on single-aisle fleets are rare in Europe, but still relatively common in Asia among the full-service carriers.
The reason for replacing the seatback screen is, of course, the ubiquitous smartphone. Onboard streaming services are seen by some airlines as an obvious way to trim expenditures. But for others, that sinking feeling passengers get when they realise there’s no screen in front of them presents a marketing opportunity.
Airlines that are jettisoning their screens say it’s not just about high install costs. Those screens add weight, increasing fuel costs. What’s more, the technology in a seatback screen typically becomes obsolete much faster than the gadget in your pocket. Kurt Stache, American’s senior vice president of marketing and loyalty, said that maintaining the screens isn’t cheap, either: “That’s clearly a pain point after a couple of years.” (Delta’s new pop-out screen tablets, meanwhile, can easily be replaced.) More than 50% of American’s passengers bring two devices with them, Stache said. As a result, power outlets and larger overhead bins—not screens—are the items that rank highest when American polls passengers on their priorities. (The airline is also outfitting most of its single-aisle fleet with faster satellite-based Internet access.)
For those airlines sticking with seatback screens, it’s not just about satisfying passengers who still expect one. JetBlue is also offering broadband Wi-Fi for free while Delta is working to offer that amenity as early as next year.
So why have both? The airlines argue that passengers want to replicate their “two-screen” home experience of simultaneously watching television or a movie while browsing the web.