American Airlines First to Offer In-Flight Video Streaming on Laptops
By Oliver Pickup, The Daily Mail | Aug. 04, 2011
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American Airlines have become the first company in North America to offer in-flight video streaming on personal laptops rather than on seat backs.
The service will be available for all customers who fly on their Boeing 767-200 planes from now onwards, and offers popular television shows and films.
Over one hundred selections will be made available - films will cost US$3.99 and TV programmes will be US$0.99, and they can be viewed on customer laptops on free WiFi.
Further, if someone has downloaded a video, but has not finished watching it -- or would like to watch it again -- after they have landed, then that is possible.
Films will still be available for viewing 24 hours after the plane has touched down, and TV shows will be watch-able for 72 hours.
In addition, those who do sign up for the video library service will not have to buy additional in-flight WiFi to view the content.
The service, which can be used as long as customers have a credit or debit card -- and, of course, a laptop -- looks set to revolutionise the airline world.
For now, the video library is available across 15 of American Airlines' Boeing 767-200 aircraft, although it is set to roll out the product on all WiFi enabled aircraft later this year.
The company plans to broadening the service so that more devices (including tablets) can use it.
For now, the carrier says that only select personal WiFi-enabled laptops are compatible.