American Airlines Offers Direct Streaming Service on its Flights

American Airlines (new partners of British Airways) are quite keen on providing their passengers with entertainment on their flights, so much so in fact that the airline has decided to expand its “entertainment on demand” in flight streaming service.

The service allows you to stream films and TV programmes to your wi-fi enabled laptop during the flight for a relatively small charge ($0.99 for TV programmes and $3.99 for films). Also in the American Airlines promotional offer is the prospect of free internet on future flights.

Rob Friedman, the company’s vice president of marketing, said: “Initial customer feedback shows our entertainment on demand product is a hit with our customers and we feel it’s a great example of how we continue to deliver products our customers truly value.”

This service offering from AA is indicative of how airlines are now taking much greater interest in providing a full range of entertainment to their passengers. In our increasingly technology driven age, we’re finding it more and more natural to use our shiny gadgets to the fullest, utilising their features to the full.

Where it was once prohibited to use any sort of electronic device on a plane, there’s now the option for full streaming through wi-fi. Customers of AA can look forward to the ability to access a wide range of entertainments online, with other airlines likely to follow in its footsteps and provide similar services on their flights.

It may not be long before it’s even possible to make calls from your mobile phone while in-flight. However, it’s debatable whether passengers will be happy to incorporate the disruption of having to listen to other people’s calls on their flight. Perhaps a special mobile calling zone would be in order?

Let us know what you think. Would the ability to make and receive calls on your flights to holiday destinations be a convenience or a complete hassle?