Tempe, AZ - US Airways will stop showing in-flight movies on its domestic flights, a move that the carrier says will save it “about $10 million a year in fuel and other costs.”
“The video systems add about 500 pounds to a plane’s weight, increasing fuel use.”
That, coupled with a drop in the number of customers willing to pay $5 for headsets, led to the airline’s decision.
“We simply can’t afford to do it anymore,” Travis Christ, US Airways vice president for sales and marketing, said. The movie systems will be turned off Nov. 1. Movies will remain for Hawaii and trans-Atlantic flights.
“US Airways had been evaluating replacing the old system with new technology: light-weight fiber optics or Wi-Fi. The idea was that passengers would be able to swipe a credit card and have entertainment choices on a TV and touch screen at their seats.” But Christ says soaring fuel costs have forced the carrier to hold off on new plans. “We’re frozen in time right now,” Christ said. However, he said that US Airways does plan to test a new fiber-optics entertainment system on one airplane this October.
http://www.vosizneias.com/17899/2008/07/09/tempe-az-us-airways-to-end-in-flight-movies-to-save-on-fuel/
