Does American Airlines have live TV?
American Airlines is a major airline in the United States and the world.
It is among the largest airlines globally. It connects a large number of North American cities with the rest of the world from major gateways in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, DC.
Due to its large schedule and large number of passengers, it is also crucial for the company to offer products to passengers that will make them comfortable during flights. A popular in-flight service that can be seen on most airlines these days is the ability to view live TV, where passengers get access to news, sporting events, and other media content right from their seats.
To answer this question, let us find out if American Airlines does provide live TV for their passengers on flights. In response to the question, the answer is both yes and no: American Airlines does provide its passengers with the opportunity to watch live television, but that is only possible on some of the company’s airplanes and on specific flights only.
Here is a breakdown of where you can and cannot access live TV on American Airlines:
Domestic Flights American Airlines does not provide inflight live TV on most of the domestic flights it operates within the United States of America. There might be some exceptions, for instance, cross-country flights that are operated with Airbus A321T aircraft, in which First and Business Class have personal entertainment screens with satellite TV. Nonetheless, most economy flight seats, particularly for domestic flights, do not offer a live TV service.
However, economy classes are offered the wireless entertainment option by American Airlines, known as BYOD Entertainment. This enables passengers to watch movies, television shows, music, and several other types of content of their preference on their own devices using American Airlines inflight Wi-Fi and the American Airlines app at no extra cost. Although the intended BYOD entertainment does not encompass live TV,.
International and Transcontinental Flights
The story is a little better with regards to live TV on American Airlines’ international and transcontinental flights. Most of their wide-body aircrafts deployed on these longer flights do come with seat-back entertainment systems in all classes to deliver satellite television.
For instance, the Boeing 777 300 ER, Boeing 787 dreamliner, and Airbus A330 300, as well as the retrofitted Boeing 767 300, boast seat back systems containing monitors that facilitate live television. Some of these programs will be available through specific channels and others will depend on the aircraft used and the route taken.
While it is true that American Airlines does not advertise that live TV is available on their Boeing 777 300ER and Airbus A330 300, there are reports and indications that suggest this service is available. There are also other live TV channels like ESPN, Fox News, CNN, and other US-based channels. It depends on the flight route and availability, and the video quality may vary.
Partnership with DIRECTV In mid 2020, American Airlines stated that it would be partnering with DIRECTV to offer even more Live TV channels across even more of the planes in their fleet. Under this partnership, DIRECTV satellite TV will be provided to over 700 narrow-body airplanes on American domestic flights.
The new DIRECTV systems’ installation is targeted for 2020–2025. With more airplanes fitted, the general public in economy class can also be connected to live news, sporting events, and general entertainment programming through DIRECTV, as is the case with international flights.
As a result, by 2025, the American Airlines firm is expected to have live satellite TV programming available on most domestic and international aircraft through seatback systems and/or BYOD entertainment with satellite programming.
Traveler Tips If having access to live inflight TV is important for your flight, here are some tips when booking travel on American Airlines:If having access to live inflight TV is important for your flight, here are some tips when booking travel on American Airlines:
This might be due to the facts that seatback live TV is more popular in international or transcontinental flights than in domestic ones.
Seek larger aircraft like the 777, 787, or A330 rather than the smaller aircraft of the narrow-body aircraft.
For domestic routes, this depends on whether they have live satellite TV, which should be available once the installation is done in 2025, either in the A321T or on any of the newly modified 737 MAX and A320 family planes.
-In existing aircraft that have been upgraded, live television may be offered only in the first and business class areas.
In cases where seats contain no built-in screens, watch BYOD entertainment and use your own device if possible.
Although American Airlines is behind some of its industry rivals in providing regular live inflight TV across its entire fleet, its plans to deliver more DIRECTV programming to more of its passengers in the years to come is solid.
The services are still limited and are subject to change; they depend on the type of aircraft, cabin class, and flight route. However, the establishment of an alliance with DIRECTV and other subsequent developments in inflight services demonstrate that American Airlines is indeed a step forward in enhancing the passenger experience through more entertainment at 35,000 feet. So there’s no doubt that both access and programming will continue to improve in the not-too-distant future.
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