While interviewing a Jetstar Social Media employee last week, they let it slip that the airline would be launching iPads as an IFE alternative with avionics supplier BlueBox. We talked about it only briefly before I was sworn to secrecy. The conversation did, however, inspire my last post.
Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Australia’s low cost carrier and Qantas offspring, Jetstar Airways, Stephen Tame, told ZDnet in January that “… the tablet may lead in the future the end of airline in-flight entertainment systems” – the first time they hinted at their plans to trial the product. Flight Global’s Runway Girl later interviewed Rick Stuart, the Joint Managing Director of Bluebox, who also suggested that they had an Airbus launch customer.
Bluebox will act as an intermediary for Jetstar who will repurpose the software and content distribution methods for in-flight usage (bypassing Apple who want no part of the IFE market). Australian company Stellar Inflight will manage in-flight entertainment products.
Jetstar will rent the unit to customers for a reported cost of $10 on domestic flights longer than an hour, and $20 on International flights if the trial proves successful. Renting iPads and other PED’s isn’t without its challenges (weight, storage, breakage, maintenance, content distribution etc) but the units could well prove profitable for airlines that currently don’t have integrated IFE solutions.
It is unknown when the trial will start given an apparent shortage of iPads, and a subsequent embargo by Apple on corporate orders.
iPads will likely be popular for Jetstar since they currently don’t have, nor have they ever considered, integrated IFE solutions. Why they’ve opted to trial the iPad is very much an unknown, particularly since licensing and content delivery is a veritable nightmare compared to packaged products such as the proven digEplayer.
iPads are a clever and rather strategic move for Jetstar. The publicity and
world pioneer status means that they may attract a market of swinging consumers, despite that their competition already have (paid) integrated IFE available.
As I said it my previous post:
“The future of IFE is not about the iPad. The future of IFE is about having a product and service on board the aircraft that will meet the broad technology needs of a wide range of users. Wi-Fi connectivity opens up endless possibilities to those on board an airliner, regardless of the end user’s PED, and certain entertainment content could still be delivered to any remote device.”
Wi-Fi Internet access is the holy grail of any airline, and iPads seem like just another means of profiteering without actually delivering a new product. Rented portable electronic devices are nothing new. It’s time iPad supporters stopped pretending that they were.
My flight test
I flew from Brisbane to Sydney today and had the opportunity to test the iPad on board a Boeing 737. Despite a larger screen size, it was clearly apparent that the product wouldn’t withstand the wear and tear from everyday use. How many people fall asleep while watching TV? I did… with an iPad in my hands! Fortunately, it didn’t damage. A problem I experienced was that the accelerometer altered the screen orientation every time we hit a bump. I’m sure that there’s a feature setting on the device that I couldn’t find, but it was annoying nonetheless. I’m sure Jetstar have made the most of the last 8 weeks and devoted appropriate time into concept development. Holding the screen became extremely annoying, especially when I had an integrated IFE system in the seat in front of me.
It’s quite possible, and highly likely, that Bluebox will develop the units to integrate with the seat, thus negating the need to hold it. As a flat handheld device it simply wasn’t very comfortable to use.
There are plenty of less expensive Android solutions due for widespread release in the market shortly; and airlines that are silly enough to consider iPads would be wise to hold off a little longer for a more robust open-source delivery solution.
digEcor recently conducted an IFE survey where they questioned participants on preferred content delivery methods. As with all surveys, it should be understood that the survey was conducted at an event and in an environment that would pollute the results in the favour of the vendor. You may download the survey here.
This blog was first published on flight.org on June 1st, 2010.
If you liked this article, you may also like:
Marty has been involved with online application development for a number of years and has worked with large scale applications both as a coder and project manager. He is currently actively contributing to 7 blogs and maintains over 200 websites. 
Ken has been developing software solutions and managing IT projects for over 20 years. Ken has a computer science degree and, although his focus was previously on Windows based software, his focus is now on blogging and other online projects.