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- Feb 12, 2007
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Airlines to charge for in-flight entertainment
By Oliver Smith
Thomas Cook Airlines is to remove existing in-flight entertainment systems from the majority of its aircraft, in favour of charging passengers £7.50 for the use of hand-held Playstation Portables, or PSPs.
Passengers on all short- and medium-haul flights will be given the option of hiring the devices, which will come pre-loaded with eight feature films and a selection of television programmes and video games.
Ian Derbyshire, Thomas Cook's chief executive officer, claimed that just one in 10 passengers watch the airlines existing in-flight entertainment.
Thomas Cook's decision to replace rented headphones, for which they charge a small fee, with PSPs, follows similar moves by other airlines, including US-based Frontier Airlines and easyJet, which introduced optional PSP hire in April, also costing £7.50.
It also continues the recent trend of airlines attempting to increase their ancillary revenues, rather than raising the price of headline fares.
Research conducted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics last month revealed that US carriers extra charges have increased by at least 42 per cent since 2008.
Ryanair has increased its extra charges by up to 700 per cent since 2006. It launched the trial of a hand-held entertainment system in November 2004, charging passengers £5 to use the devices, but scrapped the project just five months later, due to a lack of interest from passengers.
A spokesman for Ryanair said it had no plans to revisit such a scheme, although other carriers may decide to follow the lead of Thomas Cook and easyJet, following a deal signed last month between Sony and IFE Services, the in-flight entertainment firm.
Meanwhile, Jetstar Airways, the Australian low-cost carrier, has announced plans to charge passengers AUD$10 (£5.85) to hire Apple iPads containing pre-loaded ebooks and feature films on its aircraft.
- Read more travel news on Telegraph.co.uk
By Oliver Smith
Thomas Cook Airlines is to remove existing in-flight entertainment systems from the majority of its aircraft, in favour of charging passengers £7.50 for the use of hand-held Playstation Portables, or PSPs.
Passengers on all short- and medium-haul flights will be given the option of hiring the devices, which will come pre-loaded with eight feature films and a selection of television programmes and video games.
Ian Derbyshire, Thomas Cook's chief executive officer, claimed that just one in 10 passengers watch the airlines existing in-flight entertainment.
Thomas Cook's decision to replace rented headphones, for which they charge a small fee, with PSPs, follows similar moves by other airlines, including US-based Frontier Airlines and easyJet, which introduced optional PSP hire in April, also costing £7.50.
It also continues the recent trend of airlines attempting to increase their ancillary revenues, rather than raising the price of headline fares.
Research conducted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics last month revealed that US carriers extra charges have increased by at least 42 per cent since 2008.
Ryanair has increased its extra charges by up to 700 per cent since 2006. It launched the trial of a hand-held entertainment system in November 2004, charging passengers £5 to use the devices, but scrapped the project just five months later, due to a lack of interest from passengers.
A spokesman for Ryanair said it had no plans to revisit such a scheme, although other carriers may decide to follow the lead of Thomas Cook and easyJet, following a deal signed last month between Sony and IFE Services, the in-flight entertainment firm.
Meanwhile, Jetstar Airways, the Australian low-cost carrier, has announced plans to charge passengers AUD$10 (£5.85) to hire Apple iPads containing pre-loaded ebooks and feature films on its aircraft.
- Read more travel news on Telegraph.co.uk
