Aside from being a big #firstworldproblem , this is kind of interesting. I was thinking the other day (in a discussion about cell phones on planes) about how you never see those seat-back telephones any more. I'm grizzled enough to remember how cool it was when they first appeared (though I never used them).
Flash forward to today, and seatback TV displays may be disappearing the same way. It's cheaper and easier for airlines to provide (for a price) streaming to the tablets that so many folk are already carrying (the picture quality is probably better, though the convenience would be lower). (The gasp-shudder in the article over the inconvenience to the flight attendants having to manually give the safety briefing is … cute, given that the majority of flights I'm on still do just that very thing.)
Honestly, aside from international flights, I rarely use the movie/TV functions on planes anyway, so it doesn't bother me — though it does raise the specter of making sure I take my tablet on such flights, just in case I need it. But, again, glad I always have my Kindle with me.
Why your brand-new plane doesn’t have a seat-back TV
Earlier this year, I boarded a United flight from Newark to San Diego. After passing the first few rows, a young boy turned to his mother and asked, “Why