Times comparisons of IFE

Link to an article comparing IFE across airlines.

I see they give BA 8/10 before go, Virgin 9/10 and Emirates tops the pile with 10/10. Perhaps if they'd actually watched what was available those scores might be different - my recent Emirates flights featured also ran movies, very little that was non-PG rated and actually I think Virgin's selection far superior. That said, Emirates' system has greater range and the music choice is astounding.

Also interested that they confirm that BA will roll out across the whole long haul fleet - Virgin take note!

Certainly agreed with AA being bottom, actually 1/10 would be more appropriate.

I think VS selection is far superior to EK, although the EK IFE is potentially better - though not very reliable in my (limited0 experience[n]

VS.

[Neil]

Thanks for the link Jeremy, I remember reading an artical not too long back in the Independant I think very similar to that one and that gave both EK and VS 10 out of 10 (VS based on V-Port of course), as usual though its down to one reporters interpritation on what is good and what isn't.

Neil:)

What would also be interesting to know is which carriers have little or no seatback IFE rollout internationally. [:?]

Paul

Originally posted by VS045
I think VS selection is far superior to EK, although the EK IFE is potentially better VS

I must agree with VS045, I think VS, is way out in front of EK,

Originally posted by pjh
What would also be interesting to know is which carriers have little or no seatback IFE rollout internationally. [:?]

Paul

Back in 2001 i flew AA LHR to EWR and all i got was a telephone, there and back! A 767 i remember rightly

Stoneflyer

Obviously EK have to be sensitive to their country of origin & this would have an effect on movies etc on show. As for the system, it's the same MAS3000. EK have the advantage of the forward/downward camera view.

As for reliability, nothing in it. One thing to ALWAYS remember, if you have a fault that requires the crew to reset your IFE, ALWAYS give the system 5-10 mins to reboot. Messing around trying to get it to work whilst reseting is GUARANTEED to mess it up.

Originally posted by stoneflyer

Originally posted by pjh
What would also be interesting to know is which carriers have little or no seatback IFE rollout internationally. [:?]

Paul

Back in 2001 i flew AA LHR to EWR and all i got was a telephone, there and back! A 767 i remember rightly

Stoneflyer

That was my trigger for asking the question. In 2002 I flew CDG - LAX and we had the screen at the front style. Never, ever again.

Paul

Seem to remember seeing some industry wide reliabilty tables for IFE and VS was one of the best (although doesn't always seem so sometimes !)

I think you'll find that it will depend on ground time prior to the flight as to the systems reliability.

At outstations the aircraft could be on the ground for as little as 95 mins & the priority for the engineers is obviously airworthiness issues, then it would be time to sort out the cabin/IFE. You'd be surprised how few engineers there are to carry out a transit on something like an A340 or B747, at many stations just 2 people.

Main base is different, in that they have dedicated teams to look after the IFE & (theoretically) more time to troubleshoot the system.

Obviously EK have to be sensitive to their country of origin & this would have an effect on movies etc on show. As for the system, it's the same MAS3000. EK have the advantage of the forward/downward camera view.

As for reliability, nothing in it. One thing to ALWAYS remember, if you have a fault that requires the crew to reset your IFE, ALWAYS give the system 5-10 mins to reboot. Messing around trying to get it to work whilst reseting is GUARANTEED to mess it up.

The screen is also touch-screen, I had more problems in one EK flight than on all of my VS flights, crew wouldn't reboot my systems - they did not give a reason.

Main base is different, in that they have dedicated teams to look after the IFE & (theoretically) more time to troubleshoot the system.

This was at DXB

VS.

No reason for the crew not doing a "seat reset", EK have both MAS2000 & 3000, both have touch screen control.

I would imagine that IFE is a constant thorn in the side for airlines.It must be very expensive, both outlay & maintenance,causes constant complaints in the cabin,however advanced the system is that you invest in someone will do it better soon.Am I right in thinking it is the major cause for delays to the A380? that will cost millions.I think an IFE system catching fire brought a plane down a couple of years ago.
Perhaps concentrating on more reliability is more important than a huge choice?
BTW,does anyone know if Team America 2 is going to be made? The first one was the funniest film I have seen for years, and I have to thank VS IFE for bringing it to my attention.

On the other side of the argument, barfly, it can be a major selling point for the airlines eg. jetblue;)

VS.

Originally posted by barfly
I would imagine that IFE is a constant thorn in the side for airlines.It must be very expensive, both outlay & maintenance,causes constant complaints in the cabin,however advanced the system is that you invest in someone will do it better soon.Am I right in thinking it is the major cause for delays to the A380? that will cost millions.I think an IFE system catching fire brought a plane down a couple of years ago.
Perhaps concentrating on more reliability is more important than a huge choice?
BTW,does anyone know if Team America 2 is going to be made? The first one was the funniest film I have seen for years, and I have to thank VS IFE for bringing it to my attention.

A380 delays are related to electrical wiring loom issues, but not related to IFE, I don't think.