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No Need For SkyMall, Continental Committing to In-Flight TV

July 31, 2009 at 8:59 AM | by | Comment (1)

There’s still a few months before Continental joins their new buddies in the Star Alliance, but they are already putting their new airline family to shame. US Airways and United are certainly not known for their in-flight entertainment offerings, but Continental is pushing forward to make a name for themselves when it comes to television in the sky.

The airline has finished installation of their new DirecTV service on 19 of their Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, which is a good start, but they’ve still got a lot of other planes to get through. They’re hoping to wrap things up by early 2011 on most of their domestic fleet. Just remember that you’ll have to pony up $6 to watch television from the comfort of your coach seat.

Apparently installing in-flight TV is way more expensive that adding the magic that is in-flight WiFi. The CEO of LiveTV reports that installation costs about $1 to $1.5 million per plane, while WiFi usually only costs between $100,000 and $250,000. The television entertainment system also adds about 1,000 pounds to the plane, which of course, costs more at the gas station.

We’ll keep you updated as to when you can ensure your next Continental flight has TV, but for now, keep last season’s 30 Rock ready to go on your iPod.

Related Stories:
· Continental Installing Live Satellite TV on Planes [USA Today]
· Continental Airlines - Status of DirecTV Installation [Official Site]
· Continental coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: athomson]

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Return to » No Need For SkyMall, Continental Committing to In-Flight TV


In-Flight TV

Nice story. It really made the 120 employees of SkyMall very comfortable. Advancement in technology aside, can you create other headlines to give those in this challenged economy some support? The hundreds of people and their families who rely on the revenue generated by SkyMall would be appreciative. How's this for a more positive headline: "SkyMall and In-Flight TV, now there's an option", or "In-Flight TV gives SkyMall the impulse buyer advantage" or "SkyMall expands Web site to support In-Flight TV". Just a few suggestions from a little more positive perspective.
DryHeat on August 3, 2009 at 11:07 AM #Permalink

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