Singapore Airlines has claimed a
world first this week – the ability to plug your iPod into the in-flight
entertainment system and listen to your music or watch your videos through
it. The airline has introduced the new feature on its new all-business class
services between Singapore and New York.
I don’t really get this. The airline ahs obviously spent good money on
developing this feature but I wonder how many people will actually use it,
given that you can already listen and watch on your device as it is.
Watching a film that’s been designed for the iPod’s small screen on
Singapore’s admittedly luscious 15.4 inch touchscreen is likely to be as
satisfying as watching a YouTube clip on a 48-inch plasma.
I do wonder where airlines get their ideas sometimes so if any of the bods on
airline product design teams are reading this, perhaps they would like to
take into account this list of things I would like to see on planes:
- Nice coffee. I know there’s probably some reason to do with
taste buds, altitude and cabin pressure that means this is an impossibility
but I’d really like to be able to drink a freshly made cappuccino with
my breakfast. And no, those expensive Saile and Sagba coffees on Ryanair do
not count (£2.10…on Ryanair for goodness sake). The first airline
that starts employing baristas will have my business like a shot (of
espresso)
- Cockpit and galley webcams. Find out what the captain, first officer
and cabin crew are up to throughout the flight and watch it from the comfort
of your seat. It would be far more entertaining than the map channel.
- Quiet aisles. I have a personal preference for the aisle seat but at
the same time, I hate when I’m woken up mid-flight by a trolley or a
fellow passenger banging into my elbow. How about designating one of the
aisles as a quiet aisle? Before, you say anything about single aisle planes,
why don’t they make the aisle wider?
- My own choice of TV programmes and films on demand. I’d like to
fill in an online form before travelling telling the airline what I want to
see on my in-flight entertainment system. Mr Bean is unlikely to feature.
- At-seat drink dispensers. Water to avoid dehydration. Beer on tap to
bring it right back on.
There you go. I have thrown down the gauntlet. Oh, and I’m not expecting to
have to pay too much to fly on this airline either – if I wanted a private
jet I would have chartered one. Is that too much to ask?
