Laptop Use onboard (Dell,Apple etc..)

There is good news today to all of us that have had to get the Batteries of our Laptop/Notebooks checked before we could use them.

As of today Virgin have agreed that there are many models affected not just Dell and Apple, and as the risk is small they now have the following proceedure.

All Laptop/Notebooks can be used in any cabin on its own battery power, if however You wish to use the Aircraft power supply then you will need to remove the battery before connecting to the power supply.

The battery should be stored in a plastic bag or airsick bag to avoid any metal contation the battery contacts.

[HighFlyer]

Thanks for the update - but how is that good news? Its gone from 'show us your laptop and if its not on the list, your fine' to 'no batteries in use onboard, period'.

I'm not criticising you, and i appreciate that battery explosions at 39k feet are to be avoided, i was just hoping that the situation would return to normal, not get worse.

Thanks,
Sarah

Originally posted by HighFlyer
Thanks for the update - but how is that good news? Its gone from 'show us your laptop and if its not on the list, your fine' to 'no batteries in use onboard, period'.

Up to now if travelling in Y and sometimes W without inseat power you would not be able to use a Laptop. Now everyone can use them but just disconnect the battery if connecting to a power supply.

That's going to annoy people who usually "suspend" their laptop (hibernate to memory, rather than hibernate to disk), e.g. me.

I can't suspend to disk because my employer requires we use a hard-disk encryption which doesn't support hibernate to disk, it takes an *age* to boot, and if I get asked to switch it on at security, it's a real ball-ache if I have to do boot it from cold. Therefore, it's always in standby.

I'll happily attach to the EmPower supply, power up, and then remove the battery, but the truth is that the entire exercise is pointless in the case of my HP NC4010 laptop, as the EmPower lead supplied with the laptop actually causes the power controller in the laptop to take the battery offline once power is detected on the EmPower connector (i.e. the battery won't charge from an EmPower supply).

Note that this is only the case when I use my own, HP supplied laptop lead. If I use a Targus adaptor (or one of it's relatives), the laptop doesn't get the appropriate signal to take the battery offline.

We'll just have to see how things go on Friday.

Cheers!
Mike

I was asked at Gatwick Twlight Check In if I had an Apple or Dell

Before the reply came I replied with Apple fitted with a new battery

BTW the EmPower socket on the plane didn't work anyway [:(!]

I checked in at IAD on the 10th and was asked about my laptop, told them it was an Apple and was told to remove the battery. I said it was not an affected model, as it has a fixed battery, and the Queue Monitor also agreed that it was no longer a concern.

With the Mac book Pro, there currently is not a cable that can power the Laptop in flight. I have used mine on a number of flights recently.

Originally posted by ukcobra
I checked in at IAD on the 10th and was asked about my laptop, told them it was an Apple and was told to remove the battery. I said it was not an affected model, as it has a fixed battery, and the Queue Monitor also agreed that it was no longer a concern.

With the Mac book Pro, there currently is not a cable that can power the Laptop in flight. I have used mine on a number of flights recently.

Apple now do a Empower lead for the Macbook Pro/MacBook with the MagSafe connector

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by radar

Originally posted by ukcobra
I checked in at IAD on the 10th and was asked about my laptop, told them it was an Apple and was told to remove the battery. I said it was not an affected model, as it has a fixed battery, and the Queue Monitor also agreed that it was no longer a concern.

With the Mac book Pro, there currently is not a cable that can power the Laptop in flight. I have used mine on a number of flights recently.

Apple now do a Empower lead for the Macbook Pro/MacBook with the MagSafe connector

And boy do they charge for that cable!