All those LCD's beg for some DOOM or Quake. Not family appropriate in-air entertainment?

Yes, but they're lifting smaller people into the air. Having patient stockholders probably helps, too.

the screen on the 3rd pic looks suspiciously like porn?!

yeah, that 3rd picture screen looks like some catwoman porn, lol.

I've experienced Korean Air's new "in-flight entertainment" about three times already and it's awesome. You get more than 3 movie choices and you get to pause/skip/etc whenever you need to eat or use the lavatory. I was not able to use it the last time though since they've raised their fares significantly.

Exactamundo JBANISTER. The problem with American airlines is that companies/employees are so much more concerned with making as much money as possible rather than providing quality service. It's the American way. Can be seen in almost every American industry.

i remember flying cathay pacific 7 years ago, and every seat in the plane (boeing 777) had a TV (in the seat in front of you if you were in coach, a fold out one if you were in business or first class).

Not only is it the airlines fault for trying to squeeze every last dollar they can, the American traveler wants to travel better while still paying early '90s fares.

Back in '94 I flew to India and it cost close to $1800 for a ticket. This year? only $1000. How is that even remotely possible with new planes, higher fuel costs, and repairs to old planes so they don't have to buy new ones?

yes... Asian airlines are great! I flew via Malaysia Air, Japan Air, Cathay before. I tried Northwest once and never wanted to pick another Americans flight if going to Asia.

umm... this isn't that unusual, TAM airlines (a brasilian company) has touch screens on the back of all the coach seats with on demand programming (about 15 movies, 20 tv shows, 20 playlists from specific musicians) this is basically only on their international flights though, reguardless, this sort of technology has been on many planes for some time

This isn't that unusual. In Canada, the top two airlines are Air Canada and WestJet. WestJet has seat-back satellite TV (complete with channel selectors) at every seat on the plane: [c1dsp.westjet.com]

Air Canada is in the midst of adding, to every seat, widescreen, touchscreen in-flight entertainment with free video on demand, satellite radio, games, etc: [worldtv.com]

That's what a little price-fixing will do for ya!

Not to mention being heavily subsidized by your government.

@K-SO: But everyone of these can play Starcraft.

i don't get the big deal. these aren't touch screens, the woman is holding the same kind of wired remote that the Continental Boeing 767 I flew three days ago has...

I hope Virgin America forces the domestic airlines to start caring again. I know if I have the opportunity, I'm flying with them whenever possible.

I guess the planes are OK, but what would really make my life complete is if I could take home a KAL or JAL stewardess.

@blargh: Touch-screens aren't the best solution for seat-back TVs.

I just flew a 12 hour red-eye flight with these...they're nice and all, but when you're trying to sleep and the guy behind you can't pick something to watch, there's a lot of seat-back poking that gets mighty annoying.

CUBFAN81,

I think that's possible for a number of reasons:

1. Efficiency. Airlines are more efficient now with the aid of computers that run algorithms to design routes which allow maximum capacity. This also includes creative routing of flights to ensure that each flight carries the maximum number of passengers possible. This is more apparent on domestic flights, but also occurs on international routes which have a domestic leg.

2. More flights. Naturally, I bet there are many, many more flights to India nowadays compared to 13 years ago. When there are less flights, it would seem that each seat would carry a premium since more people would be competing for the same seats. The airline charged $1800 because it could. There are probably also more carriers that fly to India nowadays so the competition drives prices down.

3. Cutbacks. Airlines, at least the American ones, have been cutting back on their expenses tremendously. From employee salaries, to dumping pensions, to reducing in-flight services like meals and what not. For example, on many domestic flights today, you have to pay $5 to get a snack...

4. Reduced quality of service. Most airlines nowadays have automated check-in and online check-in which is, in most cases, a convenience). However, they have also reduced the number of counter clerks/ticketing agents which becomes a bottleneck (like when we had that east cost storm a month ago that gnarled the entire system) when there are delays since lots of people must be re-processed/re-routed.

I forgot to mention jetBlue which has XM and DirecTV on all their seats. Not an altogether bad flight when you can watch a live NBA game on ESPN. Now if only Hooters Air deployed technology like this, they might still be in business.

pbbshhh! That's nothing... take an Emirates flight and you'll have an in-seat phone which can call up other seats, and the ability to play collaborative games. Also, you can put the sound system on sleep and set a wake up call. In coach!

I'd take issue with "flying coach is like a form of punishment" ... it's only punishment if you are too fat to sit in the seats, insist on taking three huge bags as carry-on, can't amuse yourself with a book, and neglected to bring some snacks along.

But on second thought, since that describes 95% of Americans, I suppose to them, it is punishment.

@Jasmo: "it's only punishment if you're too fat to sit in the seats" Or too tall. If only you knew the pain of an airplane seat reclining into your kneecaps.

Wow - flip down cup holders so you don't have to flip down the whole tray just for your soda... the future is here! And catwoman pr0n -- I'm sold!

I second the notion that here in the US it seems to be all about screwing you out of your cash (and not in a good way at that). When people/companies take pride in having screwed you more than the next guy and are rewarded for it, you've got yourself a runaway situation I doubt will improve much in the near term. It's completely ingrained in the very social fabric. Capitalism-run-amok coupled with a war mongering economy where someone makes more money when something/someone gets blown up (check oil prices lately?) and you've got rather bleak prospects for improvement. Peace? Oh please... it's not profitable enough. Then again, it's all an experiment, so we'll see. Capitalism is great and my bank account can attest to that, but nothing is good nor sustainable in the extreme. There needs to be a balance. I tend to spook my clients when I actually go out of my way to make sure they're satisfied (IT services). Sadly quality service or product is something that surprises most people -- they expect to get screwed. Sad really.

Care to be informed? Tired of propaganda, err, PR? See The Century of the Self and The Power of Nightmares (in that order). Available most anywhere torrents of bits are sold.

@jasmo: or the person next to you is so fat that their fat squeezes under your armrest.

I flew Korean Air last Christmas to Manila. They had it all: WiFi internet access, movies before they released to DVD, awesome Korean food, plugs for your electronics. And the new Seoul airport rocked. Wifi has since gone away. Yeah flying coach stank for 14 hours, but it was almost the Mile High Club for geeks!

Having flown Korean Air many times I can also attest that the food is better than domestic US Airlines, the flight attendants are more attractive and consumer friendly and the service is great.

The planes are clean, the ground staff professional and the reservation system very good.

Now with the new upgrades in consume electronics…. WOW

I must say it again they know how to employ attractive flight attendants. Our domestic airlines need to learn how to find women like KAL, SA, JAL, PA and Cathay.

JAL, Cathay and SA are the only airline companies that I would say are slightly ahead of KAL.

Now if KAL can improve on the safety record, which they have been doing, they will be a great airline.

If we could get rid of the regulations allowing foreign airlines from flying in the US maybe flying domestic will be fun again. We can always hope and wish.

@TVGenius: Remember that Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic are not the same airline. When I flew Virgin Blue in Australia I found that all the amenities of Virgin Atlantic were available to me - for a price. Want to use the in-flight entertainment? Better have a credit card. Coffee? $4. Bag of Peanuts? $5. Water? They charge for that too. Hopefully Virgin America doesn't follow Virgin Blue's lead. If they do I'll stick to Jet Blue and Southwest.

@David Flores: You might have better luck on Qantas. Ask Ralph Fiennes.

Erm...I'm asian, and this is a known fact for the Chinese and Japanese airlines, they will NOT PICK non-eyecandy women to be flight attendants. As a matter of fact, many asian man (mostly Chinese and Japaneses) have role play fantasies about flight attendants, so the companies will look for eyecandies for customers. As for service...well, keep in mind, most flight attendants are still female, and there is still a sexist culture among the older generations...these are things that doesn't exist in the states, for better or worse.

The seats in Singapore Air's new coach cabins are way nicer. Bigger 10" 16/9 screens, kickass VOD and gaming system, power and usb plugs. Their tray table folds in half and has a mirror in it.

My Continental Airlines 777 flight from Hong Kong to Newark had AV on Demand similar to that on this video: [www.youtube.com] It got about 250 videos to choose from, on a wide high-res touchscreen. The outbound flight from Newark to HK still had the old entertainment units with only a few videos played in 2-3 hr. rotation so the upgrade is still ongoing.

As for younger and more attractive flight attendants on foreign carriers, they (particularly Asian airlines) have low cut-off age on their flight attendants, typically at the low 30's, before they are reassigned to the ground. U.S. companies cannot promote this kind of age discrimination, not to mention discard older crew members' valuable experience that is most needed in case of emergencies.

of if your neighbors are too fat and brought too much luggage, so you can't even stash your modest computer daypack.

Well, the real reason these Asian airlines are capable of improving passenger experience without increasing fare is simply that they are more profitable. And they are more profitable because 1. they are not cripplingly saddled with a unmanageable pensions program for their employees, 2. they fly more profitable routes... Since their countries are kinda small(Singapore, Hong Kong), and the high speed rail system very well developed (Japan, Korea), people don't really fly domestically much. Consequently, most of the routes these airlines fly are long-haul to either Europe and America, which are very lucrative and very easy to sell.

They don't have to worry about that stupid Kansas City to Baltimore route, or something like that, which are practically half empty all the time, and after pensions payment to people who no longer work for you, you are losing money anyway, all the while cutting price to match those bullshit budget airlines like Jetblue and Southwest.

The problem with US airlines is that they should've been allowed to go under in true capitalist style to make way for new ones. Government subsidies have made the airlines lazy, as thy don't have a true obligation to be good to survive. I'd like to see a few airlines put out of their misery (yeah, I'm looking at you US Airways). Sure, there will be temporary discomfort, but something better will almost surely rise out of it (like more Southwest flights).

And yet another reason to love South Korea. Saranhei.

I flew Korean Air to Hong Kong last year and it was one of the best flights I've ever been on. Great on-demand movies, music, games, food (both Korean & American), service, comfort...and definitely affordable. The Seoul airport was really cool. Sadly, the Asian airlines really do put most of the US carriers to shame.

@WesTheYeti: Oh God Yes. I'm 6'5" with legs up to my armpits. Coach seats (or vehicular seats in general) simply aren't built for people my height.

I had the opportunity to fly Legend Airlines when they were still in business. They were advertising First Class for coach prices, but eventually went under because no one used them. They only flew a very few locations, however.

Anyway- To be honest, I'm really not sure why. Because that was the most fantastic flight I've ever had. ...and this was in 2000! Full reclining leather seats, satellite TV on personal monitors, lunch/dinner from a small menu made in the kitchen on the back of the plane... They even had a private terminal in Dallas, where you were treated like some sort of royalty. ...and I had paid roughly $300 for a round trip, non-stop flight from Dallas Love Field (they found a loophole in the Wright Amendment) to LAX.

I'm excited to see these other airlines 'take off' (har har. @.x), but I'm worried about price, and/or business that they will be picking up in lieu of the other strongly established carriers in the US.

@jasmo
I understand your complaint about fat people, I used to be one. But I am now 200lbs and 6'5", being that tall trust me sitting in coach is horrible. I used to work for Delta airlines, and trust me the amenities are not what they used to be. When I was an employee I always flew first class and got spoiled. Recently I flew Korean Air to Seoul and it was amazing, coach there made first on American or Delta feel old and dated. My other favorite international airlines would have to be Lufthansa, the Germans also know how to make a passenger feel welcome (and stuffed with food)

@CubFan81:

Were I to guess, improved competition. Used to be you could get a ticket from the US to Europe for a couple hundred bucks, even from the east coast it'd be well under a grand. At the same time a ticket to Japan or Korea would run you at least twice as much.

Were I to guess, I'd say it was because there were fewer air lines better at colluding on price, with less regulation to prevent it. That's a fragile situation.

Anyhow, flying on any east Asian airline is about a million times more pleasant than flying on any US airline. Dear fucking god, it's night and fucking day.

@katie_b:

Not just the airlines, the airports put the US to shame, too.

First of all, a lot of them are really pleasant places to be. My two favorite airports are Seoul-Incheon and Osaka-Kansai...I actually enjoy going to them.

Second, there's more, better, and cheaper ground transportation to and from the airports (even compared to the rare downtown airport like Las Vegas).

Third, the vendors don't try to gouge you for absolutely any item purchased at the airport.

Fourth, unless you're flying to the United States, the security is a whole lot less intrusive, idiotic, and pointless. (And it would be even less so were it not for the US's fucking moronic requirements)

There is only one way in which flying in Japan, Korea, or China is not better than flying in the US, and that is that the ticket is usually not as cheap. BUT IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY OF DIFFERENCE.

Dude - I can vouch for KA. I flew economy class from LA to Seoul last year and had the flight of my life. It was almost as nice as any business class I've flown in. Tons of movies and entertainment (not to mention the hot flight attendants) made the flight go by in a jiffy.

Funny that Korean Air, just a few years ago, was about one hair short of losing it's license to fly AT ALL to the United States due to the fact that they were dropping from the skies (or skidding in balls of flame down runways). Delta even nuked them off of code share.

Yeah, they sure can teach us something, can't they?

Jet Blue

You can see here my own experience flying via Korean Air:

[knottydon73.blogspot.com]

Yep, it's really enjoyable!!!

Two years ago, JAL had seatback tv's with over a dozen channels of programming divided between Japanese and English language.

In Narita I saw a line of a half dozen JAL flight attendants walking single file. Every single one looked identical down to the hair length. It was like a 5/8 scale version of the Rockettes.

Korean Air is known to have very good service in Economy, but many airlines offer services like that, it is by no means unique. South African Airways (SAA), has had PTV's in coach since 2002 on their Boeing 747-400 aircraft, and they came with the new Airbus A340-300E's and -600's that they ordered later. Now, almost all long-haul SAA flights have the use of PTV's in coach.

Singapore Airlines and Emirates are also known for having great service throughout the cabin, including in coach.

I wish someone would invent some comfortable goggles that allow you to watch a movie on a flight, without having to worry about your neighbors peeking over your shoulder. This invention could also allow you to play virtual reality games, which would make the time fly right by.

@shoegazer: I dream of flying on Emirates - even flying to the damn Emirates, I haven't managed it. Yet!

I've been flying all over the place for years, on every airline from Air Niugini to Virgin, and this past Christmas was the first time I'd ever had in-seat video in coach - on Royal Brunei, which is one of the more... random airlines I've flown. They had a decent selection (though I got that edited version of The Queen) except one leg, where they were promoting the Kevin Costner Film Festival. I saw that in the program guide when I settled in for the eight-hour ride, and uttered a quiet "Fuck" to myself.

The only problem is that the whole plane smells like kimche.

@omgfloofy:
Legend went under because AA spent millions to make sure they couldn't survive. They opened gates at an airport they had no previous presence in (Love Field) & directly competed on all Legend routes with money-losing fares. OK, so this is all business tactics 101 but then don't come crying to the tax payer that you can't make money!

I'm another that will attest to Korean Air's greatness. I visited Korea last summer, and while it still really sucks to be on a plane for 16 hours, it was probably the most comfortable it could have possibly been. The food is also pretty excellent for airline food, including both the Korean and non-Korean meals. Who knew airplane Bi Bim Bap could actually be quite yummy?

Also, the airports are much better, as other commenters have already mentioned. I flew back at the same time as the whole gatorade bottle bomb scare, and to get on the plane we had to have our bags sifted through for any 'suspicious' liquids, which at the time was pretty much everything. You could tell the checkers, while still doing their jobs, thought it was all pretty effing ridiculous as they took away formula and contact solution.

Those eyebrows. WOAH. BROWNGT5. You called it! pr0n.

@philipbarrett:

I also remember AA whining when Southwest made the attempt to get the Wright Amendment to be repealed at Love Field, and were saying 'But if you do that, we have to fly there too!'

Which I think is total BS. AA can whine all they want. Even with their flights in Love Field, SW isn't even breaking a sweat over them, which amuses me greatly. Personally, I'd prefer not to fly American if necessary. I've had too many problems dealing with them in the past.

However, now that through-ticketing is allowed from Love Field... I remember an article in the paper today that said that Southwest managed to fill 89% (or something like that) of their seats for the month of July. Sweet. o/`

I know what you mean about US airlines getting more up to date with technology.

But that being said, JetBlue's subsidiary that installs the in-flight DirecTV is called Live TV (based in Florida) and they have also been hired to install for WestJet (Canadian) and a few others in the US as well. They are in the process of installing for an Australian airline (can't remember the name). Unfortunately there has not been enough demand for in flight WiFi (LiveTV has explored it) but hopefully soon.

The install process for these planes is amazing! I've watched them and from start to finish it takes 4 days. The literally have to rip the entire inside apart and put it back together as good as new and ready for flight. WOW!

@ Ghostboy
Here in Japan, they won't let you become a stewardess (oh, sorry... flight attendant?) if you're under a certain height/weight and also unless you meet a certain criteria of "attractiveness".

Although being a stewardess is degrading, in Japan, it is something that young girls aspire to be (that and news/variety show anchorwomen).

As for the planes, I recently flew KLM from Tokyo to Amsterdam and th