Pivot Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 http://www.stockhouse.ca/news/news.asp?newsid=1775800&tick=WJA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dash eight Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Good for them! Having Live TV onboard would sure break up the flight time. However it sounds great right now being "at no charge until all of the 700s have been outfitted" once this happens then how much will it cost for the guest(s) to use this service? How much does Jetblue charge? Also what would be cost associated with keeping this service operational? Will they still remain Low cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Airmail Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 No different than AC offering IFE on domestic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simcoe Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Really? All the big US carriers have IFE and are being murdered by jetblue. 87% l/f in June? I, for, one see no value in the ability to watch one third rate NFB film, (which is increasingly what is being shown these days), or the same staid AC disk jockey playing music I don't want to hear. I'll take 24 channels of live digital satellite TV, that I can select at anytime over AC's IFE any day of the week. Hockey Night in Canada at 35,000 feet over the prairies? Sign me up. It's funny. That's the same decision that Jetblue customers are making everyday. Dream on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Airmail Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 I was responding to the cost issue not the quality of the programming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toron1 Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Wow, the only avant garde airline in Canada, what will they think of next? I'll be on board watching the latest up-to-date programming. WestJet TV ads are starting to make sense as I saw a lot of them last night on CTV. Bravo, WestJet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 There are interesting issues with live TV, one of which is, what if your seatmates wants to sleep on a late-day flight? Sound isn't an issue but there is some light emitted by the screens. But I do think it is the way of the future for flights within NA. On overseas, who knows. I made a roundtrip to France last month and had a pair of first-run Hollywood movies: About Schmidt and Catch Me if You Can. I enjoyed them both. If there were extra costs associated with LiveTV while flying over, say the Middle East, would I pay? Well, it depends on how much, but unless it was dirt cheap the movies would be fine. Nor would I really care on short-haul flights. So there is a window of opportunity on 3-5 hour flights. Anything longer than that and the free entertainment is often good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N8 Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 How would the world be different today if people were watching live TV on board an aircraft during Sept 11th? A mob of scared people in a confined space at thirty-four thousand feet can't be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pivot Posted July 8, 2003 Author Share Posted July 8, 2003 They were watching live TV on board aircraft during Sept 11th. Jet Blue had them. There was a report of those pax not letting anyone near their cockpit doors. I think knowledge is a good thing in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flapsforty Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 We live in a TV society. Parents use TV as a babysitter, people will miss social engagements for Survivor, and up to the second news is facinating to many. I can't see too much of a down side to all this. If it can attract even one extra soul per flight I'm sure it will pay for itself and then some. I can imagine the relief of parents on a 4 hour flight across Canada now that the kids can be mulified by the tube. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 I have to be frank: Any parent who waits for the airline to entertain his/her kids is nuts. What if the TV is kaput. Technical problem. Just at your seat. Also, kids aren't always well-behaved in front of a screen. At home who cares if they belly laugh. No, in the era of handheld video games and other electronic distractions, you need a complete kiddie bag of your own on a flight. And food. That's more important, because a hungry kid is a cranky kid and won't sit still. Now, the airlines don't give much food, but WJ doesn't give any. Ao you need to pre-think the flight. The TV might work well for some, but the movie can work just as well. Food and drink are even more critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simcoe Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Dagger. You're right. No one watches live tv on jetblue. Everyone hates it. It's such a distraction. Even on 1 hr flights. Yes sir. 87% l/f in June with that rotten LiveTV product that no one's watching. Frontier's l/f was 10 points higher year over year in June and sector price was up 3%. They finished installing Live TV on the airbuses in late April. Coincidence? Oh, yea. Canadia's won't watch LiveTV because they're "different". Just like Canadian's won't gravitte to low fare airlines like Americans and Europeans have. WJA says they won't charge in the introductory phase, but may in the future. Jetblue said exactly the same thing and it's free on jetblu and has been for years. Hmm. How keen could jetblue be in the Canadian market when they've given their cornerstone product to the airline that would be it's key low cost transborder competitor.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Well I talked about the window of opportunity on 3-5 hour flights, but I guess you didn't read that part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp fa Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Unfortunately, when you're catering to the huddled masses, they usually haven't thought these things through as well as you have. I've even had people show up without extra diapers for their infants because they just assumed we'd have some on board. Smelly miscalculation. Rightly or wrongly, I think this will be a selling feature. If you did a marketing survey of today's travelling public, I'm sure live TV would be close to the top of the priority list, along with cheap fares. I shudder to think where these same people would place safety and on time performance on that list, but hopefully most airline execs won't let them make that determination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 80 Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Does this mean the WestJet cabin crews will can their horrible amature comedy routines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Simcoe Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 So satellite TV is a safety issue? Air Canada is more safe than jetBlue, notwithstanding YFC a few years back? Please. Dismount your high horse. North American carriers are so heavily regulated, there are no appreciable differences in the safety records between any off them. In fact, given the incidents at US Air and Continental in the early '90's, it would be easy to corellate safety to the quality of the balance sheet. When theose two were in Chapter 11 back then, they had no end of problems. As for OTP, check this out: T R A V E L P R E S S D A I L Y - http://www.travelpress.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This edition brought to you by British Airways Way To Go WestJet WestJet is giving itself a pat on the back for its on-time performance. The carrier’s June on-time performance for flights arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time was 92.3 per cent. The on-time performance for flights leaving within five minutes of the scheduled departure time was 85.8 per cent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bluenose final Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 I just love how these rants progress. Good for you WestJet!!!!! With the transcon stuff you are doing this will be great for your pax. I have flown on JetBlue and was quite happy to channel surf. On another note...... Congrats on keeping your employees happy and productive without the need for a union. Others could learn by your example.Keep up the great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McChicken Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 34000? when did NA become rvsm? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp fa Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 Is your post directed at me, or am I missing something? I did not say that satellite TV was a safety issue, nor did I even infer it. If you're going to let that chip on your shoulder read imaginary slights into my posts, please feel free to stop reading them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TonkaJet Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 This is much bigger than anyone can imagine. What the Canadian airline industry is faced with right now is brand confusion. To the average consumer faced with a multitude of Air Canada brands, several low cost carriers and a mix of other airlines they have no idea who is who...is it Canwest or WestGo the average person out there is just looking for the cheapest fare. Direct TV has allowed JetBlue to differentiate their product from the other brands out there with a great deal of success. It's in all their advertising and promotions and has become synonimous with the JetBlue experience. There are some possible hypothetical negatives but overrall this will be a huge influence on the consumer even if they only try it once or twice. It's all about getting bums into seats and this will be a very big deal to alot of people as long as WJ gets the word out which it looks like we are starting to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRANT Posted July 8, 2003 Share Posted July 8, 2003 I sure hope not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 For the last 7 years CP and AC had had inflight entertainmanet and WS had nothing but corny stale jokes and bad signing. So how did WS grow to have nearly 40 aircraft. Passngers choose on price, price, conveniance, and then price again. Onboard TV will bring in one or two more passengers, but only if the price is nearly equal. Charge 10 bucks a flight for the TV and see if it gets any more passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toron1 Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 WestJet will get that one extra passenger per flight and all the expense for setting up and running live TV will be paid for, including the cost of headphones. The difference is that they will get a lot more than that one extra passenger. I think that the ROI is great. The stock market seemed to think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WTFO Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Could have used that live TV tonight for everyone stranded on the ramp in YYC cause of the RED ALERT. Live TV will be a great thing on WJ. WTFO ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Dagger, I went YVR-HNL last august with a 2 year old and I would have given my eye teeth for treehouse television on that flight. After the obligatory 40 minute nap that started on taxi out I spent we spent the next 5 1/2 hours chasing a screaming child up and down the aisle trying to keep her out "J". I would have payed a premium my friend to have her glued to a TV, at home this does not happen more than 1 hour a day but there are very few parks to take them to at FL 410. As for reliability, odds are if an airline offers a service it will be available, if not.....ask for a travel credit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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