I've flown 1.5 million miles on United Airlines in my working life. (Before you start tweeting congratulations, understand that it's the equivalent of spending six months, day and night, belted into creased leatherette.) For my devotion, and the annoyance of having United's "Rhapsody in Blue" theme permanently stuck in my head, I've been rewarded with annual Premier Executive status in the Mileage Plus program. So I'd have had a decent chance for a first-class upgrade whenI flew from Seattle to Denver recently. Yet I didn't even consider booking the trip on United.
The reason? This was during the recent NCAA tournament, and I wanted to catch a game. United doesn't have live television on board. Same for Alaska, which also flies nonstop between the cities. But Frontier, which doesn't even offer a first-class cabin to be upgraded into, features 24 channels on its $6 DirecTV package. The two hours of my flight sped by as I watched Virginia Commonwealth upset Kansas.
Air travel has been a commodity for years. Gone are the days when one carrier would boast about the quality of its meals, another about the plushness of its cabin. Responding to research that showed most consumers make ticket-buying decisions solely by price, airlines pared amenities until the experience of flying became indistinguishable from one brand to the next.
Now the advances of technology have provided momentary separation. Some carriers have on-board entertainment systems that include TV. Others offer pay-per-use Wi-Fi. Some, like United, still don't have either. And occasionally, such as when I take a Delta flight on a recommissioned Northwest aircraft, I hit the jackpot and get both. These days, I choose my airline by how I want to spend my time on a particular flight. Answer e-mails? Have a shot at free drinks and a meal with an upgrade? Kick back and watch a game?
Let's cherish the moment, and hope that this state of affairs is more than temporary. Maximizing quarterly profits--as opposed to building long-term customer loyalty--has been the industry's goal for so long that it seems to have become integrated into its DNA. As you read this, computers are figuring out which in-flight services generate the highest return on investment; those will likely become standard across the brands. Make sure the airlines know that you appreciate the options, or the rest will just fade away. -- Bruce Schoenfeld
| Name | Wi-Fi? | TV | Entertainment | Extras |
| Delta | Yes* | Live TV--18 free Dish Network channels (time to get caught up on The Millionaire Matchmaker) | Delta on Demand: 250 movies, a 4,100-song music library--even video games and in-flight trivia | Standard outlets and USB ports |
| United Airlines | No | No live TV; programming and movies on flights two hours or longer | 20 music channels | In-seat power outlets in most seats |
| American Airlines | Yes*, on 767-200s and some MD80s and 737s | No live TV; some programming available on flights seven hours or longer | Free movies on the main screen or in-seat screens, plus audio programming | Power outlets on most aircraft |
| US Airways | Yes*, on A321s | No live TV; programming on some international and Hawaii flights | Music and video on demand on some international and Hawaii flights |
Power outlets and USB ports on some aircraft
|
| Frontier | No | No Live TV--$6 for access to 24 channels of DirecTV on Airbus flights | Movies available for $8 | Movies available for $8 Er … in-flight magazine |
| jetBlue | No | No Live TV--36 free channels of DirecTV (never miss the latest Pit Boss) | Movies for $6 on flights longer than two hours; free SiriusXM Radio | Free unlimited snacks (score!) |
| Southwest Airlines | Yes, on most flights ($5 flat fee) | Nope | Nope | Free pretzels and peanuts, suckers |
| Alaska Airlines | Yes*, on 70 percent of aircraft | No live TV; rental of the Wi-Fi-enabled digEplayer L7 available on some flights | The digEplayer offers TV shows, movies, and exclusive NFL Network shows | Again with the digEplayer |
*Offered through Gogo Inflight Internet. Pricing varies based on type of device and length of service, from $4.95 for 1.5 hours to $12.95 for more than 3 hours (on a laptop).
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This article was originally published in the June 2011 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: A Different Kind of Connection.
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Comments:
That desk is erroneous. Delta doesn't have stay TV on most of it's routes.
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That table is completely wrong. Delta doesn't have live TV on most of it's flights. It doesn't yet have Wifi on all flights, etc. etc. Totally useless article. Worse than useless.
United recently announced $500+ million program to add features such as wifi across fleet.
Upgrades to first, priority boarding, priority customer service, and double mileage for elites is far more important to me than TV, music, or Internet on a flight. My Galaxy tablet has all I need, and I can survive without Internet for four hours, for goodness' sake. First class is still first class, and I rarely find a Southwest flight drastically cheaper than a United flight.
Jetblue does have live tv for free, so there is an error in the table.
Thanks for this information,it was useful for me to compare different flights entertainment programs. If we are going to international flights, i think entertainment should be must. Because the distance was more and we are obviously feeling some bore. cheap air fare
American Airlines has turned off their power ports, even in First Class. One stewardess said it was because we were flying over water. The stewardess on the next leg said that silly but she didn't know why they were off.
I've had TV on every 737 flight on American in the last year, and none of them were 7 hours or longer. Most were between Seattle and Dallas, Seattle and Chicago, Dallas and LaGuardia.
Wow, very misleading data here for almost every airline.
incorrect. United's Continental flights typically have TV. In fact, I watched Roy Halliday's no-hitter last year on a cross-country Continental flight, code-shared with United.
hmmm... great table! it gives me a good comparison between them..
What about Continental?
I'm Diamond on Delta. The TV, Entertainment and Extras are only available on international flights, or perhaps some wide body domestic flights from NY to LA, etc. But I've yet to encounter them domestically, and I fly every other week.
1. United does offer wifi on PS flights 2. you dont have continental on this list even, if you're going off combined united and continental, you need to give some credit to their wifi and live directTV offerings.