Maps, the Most Popular Elements of In-flight Entertainment Systems, Are About To Get a Big Upgrade -- and Some Ads (wsj.com)

The in-flight moving map, object of fascination for travel geeks and impatient fliers, is going in a new direction. But have your credit card ready: The beloved map will become one more revenue-generator for airlines [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled.], reports the Wall Street Journal. From the story: Maps are the most popular elements of in-flight entertainment systems, capturing passenger attention by posting live updates about a trip, most importantly when you'll arrive. Airlines offer movies, TV shows, podcasts and games on entertainment systems, but the boring map, which made its debut over 30 years ago, turns out to be the most useful, maybe even anxiety-reducing, focus of bored passengers. The map gives you a sense of control, showing not only exactly where you are, but altitude, airspeed, time zone, temperature, distance traveled and miles left to go. For some, there's a sense of adventure built in: You may never visit the Faeroe Islands, but you feel like you've been there when your flight draws a line over them.

Now manufacturers are giving maps a makeover. You'll be able to get encyclopedic details on Mount Fuji as you fly past, track your spouse's flight from your seat and zoom in for details on points of interest like the top 10 rides at Disneyland compiled from social media. The map will be loaded with data about your flight, down to which languages flight attendants onboard speak, when dinner will be served and how long you'll be in Brazilian airspace. And guess what? Airlines will be using the maps to sell you things like tickets to those popular amusement park rides. Hotels, theme parks, restaurants or other attractions may be throwing advertising onto your route. Shopping malls and stores, too. After all, they know where you're going.

Comments

Forget Maps

[Oswald McWeany]

I've always wanted my infotainment centre to play snake... so I can play "Snakes on a Plane".

Marketing is getting silly

[Anonymous Coward]

As someone who flies a lot, it's annoying enough with the ads you can't skip before movies. Putting ads on the map is taking it a step too far. That kind of solidified my use of a tablet stocked with games I'll actually play, movies I want to watch etc.

No I won't

[alvinrod]

You'll be able to get encyclopedic details on Mount Fuji as you fly past, track your spouse's flight from your seat and zoom in for details on points of interest like the top 10 rides at Disneyland compiled from social media.

No I won't, because I won't use the map if it ceases to do the one thing I care about it doing well. Quit trying to make everything "better" with stupid shit no one asked for and ruining the experience with the added cruft and bullshit.

For some, there's a sense of adventure built in: You may never visit the Faeroe Islands, but you feel like you've been there when your flight draws a line over them.

Who the hell writes something like that with a straight face? Are we still doing sacrifices to the volcano gods?

Re:No I won't

[Opportunist]

Are we still doing sacrifices to the volcano gods?

And if not, this would be a good reason to restart this ancient tradition.

Re:No I won't

[thegarbz]

Who the hell writes something like that with a straight face?

I see you're a person who fundamentally doesn't understand people. Who writes or thinks like that? About half of the population. In terms of personality Slashdot is an echo chamber of the technical stereotype, and as such it often boggles the minds of people here that words and thoughts trigger their creative side rather than their logical one.

Here's a trick you can play at your next company meeting when you're bored and out of ideas. Get people to write words about snowman. Don't tell them to describe them, or define them, just to "Write about snowman". Engineers and the like will start throwing adjectives out "cold, wet, white, sticks for arms", but people with other personality types come up with all sorts of stuff. Last time this exercise was done at a shitty team building event I was forced to go to, one person wrote a poem about children building a snowman, the other only described what he felt "joy, happiness, Christmas, etc"

So next time you start a sentence with "who the hell..." remember *you* are unique and the quite likely answer is "any number of the 7.529 billion people on this planet that aren't you".

Re:No I won't

[Dunbal]

Who writes or thinks like that? About half of the population.

And assuming a normal distribution of intelligence in the population then half the population is dumber than the other half.

Maybe Boeing can add in-flight purchases

[JoeyRox]

For example letting passengers unlock the "optional" safety features of their 737 Max the airline was too stingy to purchase and Boeing too greedy to include in the $121M base price.

Here's an idea ...

[Freischutz]

Maps, the Most Popular Elements of In-flight Entertainment Systems, Are About To Get a Big Upgrade -- and Some Ads

Here's an idea, just shut down the damn entertainment system and read a book (I know, radical thought).

Stuttgart or Edinburgh?

[jfdavis668]

Now the passengers will know they are flying to the wrong city earlier in the flight.

Re:Stuttgart or Edinburgh?

[mpercy]

"I once had to fly to Toledo, Ohio."

I'm sorry.

Cattle class

[sinij]

It is only a matter of time until economy class gets always-on advertisements without ability to turn off, mute, or skip on infotainment.

When ticket price is the only metric and all feasible optimizations already achieved, airlines will turn into abuse and heinous behavior to further drive costs down.

Re:Cattle class

[Opportunist]

Not much later, any kind of personal entertainment system gets banned (for security reasons of course) so you can't escape it.

Re:Cattle class

[sinij]

Clockwork Orange-like seat attachments for forced viewing are next.

Re:Cattle class

[MooseTick]

"without ability to turn off, mute, or skip on infotainment"

And next someone will figure out how to cram a paperclip into the speaker and "disable" it. Bonus points if they then complain its not working and ask for a refund.

Re:Cattle class

[SuperKendall]

It is only a matter of time until economy class gets always-on advertisements without ability to turn off, mute, or skip on infotainment.

The flight attendant is now demonstrating how to buckle your seatbelt, and attach your mandatory head restraint and eyelid clips.

Thank you for flying Clockwork Air!

Re:You can bring your own snake!

[stealth_finger]

Have you ever been in a cockpit before? Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

Re:You can bring your own snake!

[thomn8r]

Do you like movies about gladiators?

the technical mind

[Shane_Optima]

Engineers and the like will start throwing adjectives out "cold, wet, white, sticks for arms", but people with other personality types come up with all sorts of stuff. Last time this exercise was done at a shitty team building event I was forced to go to, one person wrote a poem about children building a snowman, the other only described what he felt "joy, happiness, Christmas, etc"

Heh. Funny you should say that. After I read that bit the GP was complaining about, I immediately thought "The Faroe Islands? Well, that's not exactly the sexiest... um, a commercial flightpath right over the Faroe Islands without stopping? I'm not sure if that's ever happened. If so, it would have to be something like nonstop Reykjavík to Oslo, maybe. In which case, I really doubt you're missing out on very much you couldn't get at either your origin or your destination, except for perhaps.... [checks Wikipedia]... nope, nevermind, you could gorge on freshly killed puffins while you're still in Iceland."