Inflight Entertainment Europe-India

sannna

After flying Delta Airlines from Amsterdam to Atlanta last year enjoying the great new invention of a personal inflight entertainment system that you can operate independently from the rest of the passengers...I want to find an airline that offers the same on Europe-India flights.

Swiss Air has personal TV screens, and some options, but the timetable is set and you have to start watching the film when they start it, or you have to miss some of it.

Of other airlines (Europe-India) I don't know what they offer. Do you?

Briped

Hi Sanna,
I know that British Airways does. On some flights there's a choice between so many films, sitcoms and whatnot that you'll look like this when you reach your destination. The newest screens are finger touch, so you decide when to watch what. I don't know if this goes for all longer flights, maybe I was just lucky.

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puchoo

I think jet has it as well even on their domestic flights. Flew Delhi Pune last month sometime and had one. Independent. Pre-loaded stuff and once could watch whatever one wanted.

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MrsC_772

By Europe-India do you mean continental Europe, or include the UK as part of Europe?

I flew Virgin London-Delhi in February. They had an on-demand entertainment system with loads of films (including some Hindi films), TV shows, music, Nintendo games. The great thing was, you could start and stop the films whenever you wanted (e.g. to get up and go to the loo, sleep etc). I saw half of one film on the flight to India, and picked up where I left off on the flight home.

Nick-H

British Airways Heathrow/Chennai has individual screens, but, for economy class passengers the timetable is fixed; you get to choose which channel to watch when. The flight is long enough to fit a couple of films into. I think they change the program once a month or so, although they have different inbound and outbound programs. In 2006 I got to watch Pride and Prejudice three times. I also got quite blase about doing that long and uncomfortable journey!

The rich people up front get, I think, on-demand programming.

One of my favourite things (but BA don't have it, on that fligh, at least) is having a couple of cameras externally, showing you the pilot's-eye view and the view below. Fantastic if they leave it one when landing

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zoltan

Not sure if Singapore Airlines do that route (Eu => In), but I do know that they have the modern entertainment systems where you control what you want to see and from what point.

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Zoltan

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sannna

Thanks for the replies!

So far British Airways seems a bet.

Virgin and Jet are good.
And we can only wish that Singapore Airlines starts operating on the Europe- India route.. but so far alas.

Europe for me includes the UK. Flying from Amsterdam it is often cheaper to have a stopover in another hub like London or Zurich before srepping on the long haul flight. I think I will consider Virgin..

Finnair flights seem the cheapest option to Bombay at the moment. Anyone who has flewn with them, and can tell me what they, and their influight entertainment thing are like?

Briped

http://shorterlink.com/?E244EE

Looks as if Finnair has great inflight entertainment on the airbus 340 to Mumbai, and great prices too.

'The Airbus A340-300 and the new Airbus A340-300E include a personal entertainment system for each passenger – also in Economy Class. The Airbus A340 has 15 video channels, 9 audio channels and a power outlet for the computer. Adapters are available from the crew.

Each seat on the new Airbus A340-300E aircraft is equipped with a satellite phone, a personal screen including several movies, TV and audio programmes, 16 games and a power outlet both for your personal computer and for example your iPod. An adapter is not needed. Passengers are able to send text messages and short e-mails to the ground and call other passengers on the same flight. Replies to messages from the aircraft can also be sent from the ground. The charge for messages is USD2.'

I'll certainly try that next time I go. I'd really like to avoid Heathrow(up), as I don't like their cattle like approach to security, even if the new terminal is lovely. Also the actual travelling time is shorter from Copenhagen.

Indojingai

Austrian had a very decent airplane Ams - IGI via Vienna. It had the screens in which you choose your movies etc.

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sannna

Finnair does sound good! But it doesn't giove the crucial information on whether there is a set timetable or not.. Which makes me fear that there are fixed timings.

For me it always feels a bit weird to go in the wrong direction first... That's why I always try to avoid flying via Heathrow, and fly Alitalia or Swiss most of the time (and because they're cheap :-))

@Indojingai: could you also choose the time you wanted to see the movie (and pause, ff and rewind?) on Austrian's plane?

Nick-H

The important thing is being able to play that Should You Choose to Accept this Mission tape that you were given just before departure.

You know, the one that self-destructs just after you watch it.

Of course that, in itself, can cause security alerts these days, but talking your way out of them is good practice for the adventures to come as you seek to destroy a world tyrant, or perhaps to rescue some professor whose secret can destroy, or save, the world.

Mickey S

Most long-haul British Airways flights now have video on demand for economy passengers, and have had for a few years. It's gradually being rolled out across their entire route network. If you really need to know if a particular flight has it then I'm sure you will be able to find out from their website or by calling their customer service department; I know from experience that the London-Delhi service has it.

EDIT: A friend in the business has just told me that all British Airways Boeing 747-400 planes have on-demand entertainment in all classes. It's a bit hit-and-miss across the rest of the fleet. You can usually find out wht type of aircraft will be flying a specific route from Expedia or other travel websites.

mikewill

Have flown Virgin London - Delhi twice now. It had a better arrival time than BA, getting in around lunchtime rather than in the middle of the night. They are not as efficient as the Gulf based airlines, I think, and certainly check in at London is a bit of a zoo for Virgin 'cos they have so many flights.

sannna

Wow - have really no clue what you are talking about Nick-H.. but that might be just me and my ignorance...

@Mickey: Thanks. I hadn't thought of Wikipedia. And of course I can call the airline. Good ideas and thanks for BA info!

@Mikewill: I am not so interested in flight times.. More important what was the inflight entertainment stuff like?

mikewill

Huge range of films - certainly more than you'll be able to watch in the time available. Usual slightly naff screen that seems to be at just the wrong angle however you move it.

They will provide headphones of course, but I've found that the in-ear type are much better at shutting out the constant roar - I leave them in all the time and they help me sleep between movies!