Virgin Atlantic eases laptop battery restrictions

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6119057.html

"Virgin Atlantic has lifted its total ban on the in-flight use of batteries for any Apple Computer or Dell laptop.

In a new update on its site, Virgin Atlantic has said that passengers "wishing to use an Apple or Dell laptop onboard can only do so once the laptop serial number has been checked by a member of the cabin crew.""

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If VS were truly enterprising they would have a stock of replacement Apple and Dell batteries for sale in the duty free....

[Neil]

Excellent news - here is the link to the VS site's page on this matter.

Neil

Surely they mean the crew checking the serial number of the battery, not the laptop?

The more I think about this the more ridiculous it is. To check the battery you have to remove it. Removing it means your hibernation / sleep state is lost. I dont like restarting my computer at the best of times so I wonder what the response would be to 'could you plug it in before removing the battery to preserve my system hibernation state'

I dont suppose that would be in a Flight Attendant handbook of normal duties - and why should it?

At LGW two weeks ago it was the secondary secruity staff that were removing all batterys. Maybe they too are now checking the serial numbers rather than the crew.

Originally posted by mysteryflyer
The more I think about this the more ridiculous it is. To check the battery you have to remove it. Removing it means your hibernation / sleep state is lost. I dont like restarting my computer at the best of times so I wonder what the response would be to 'could you plug it in before removing the battery to preserve my system hibernation state'

I dont suppose that would be in a Flight Attendant handbook of normal duties - and why should it?

Easy, they will just ask you to do it . If you get a Mac, you won't have to worry. I rarely reboot or shut mine down, just close the lid to put it to sleep. If the battery is then removed, as it was for my flight last week to inspect it, it just goes automatically into hibernate. No worries [y].