Alaska Kills Live TV on Virgin Jets, Will Remove Seatback Entertainment System
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Only days away from Alaska killing off the Virgin America brand, we have some sad news about the elimination of a popular amenity that passengers enjoyed on the carrier.
On March 1, Alaska ended live TV on all Virgin America Airbus aircraft. However the airline did double the movie selection, all of which are free, in order to compensate for the reduced entertainment options.
Alaska is trying to standardize the experience across all its aircraft, and that includes doing away with some of the things that made Virgin America unique.
So, what does standardization mean in regards to in-flight-entertainment (IFE) on Virgin jets? Over the next 18 months as Alaska retrofits all of its acquired Virgin Airbus aircraft with new interiors, we’ll see the move to a “bring your own” device IFE program and the removal the Virgin Red IFE system.
Virgin RED offered free live TV, movies, free TV shows, games and the ability to order food, drinks and other amenities from the screen installed in the seat-back headrest.
In its place, fliers will be able to stream content to to their own devices, i.e. a smart phone or tablet. On longer flights Alaska offers its own tablets to rent that come pre-loaded with movies, TV shows and more, and newly installed Alaska seats will come with “integrated tablet holders.”
Alaska is loading the current Virgin RED systems with content that it says matches its own offerings.
The only other US airlines that offer free live TV are American, JetBlue, Southwest.
This card from Bank of America gets really interesting if you have a BofA checking, savings or investment account. Depending on the value of your combined accounts you can potentially get as much as 3.5x points on travel/dining and 2.625x points on other purchases making it the richest consumer banking bonus out there.
- Receive 50,000 bonus points – a $500 value – after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
- Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- If you're a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25%-75% more points on every purchase
- No limit to the points you can earn and your points don't expire
- Redeem for cash back as a statement credit, deposit into eligible Bank of America® accounts, credit to eligible Merrill accounts, or gift cards or purchases at the Bank of America Travel Center
- Get up to $200 in combined airline incidental and airport expedited screening statement credits + valuable travel insurance protections
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Low $95 annual fee
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.