The Future Of... Airplane Service

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>> These days, when people think of quality airplane service, they envision friendly flight attendants and nourishing free snacks. But in the future, new hightech features could take the inflight experience to new heights.

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>> Virgin America is trying to make air travel more enjoyable by adding more choices for its customers. We went up in the air to look at their new services. It starts with a screen they set up right in front of the passenger.

>> It allows guests to watch TV, choose from one of twentyfive movies, play video games like Doom, even seattoseat text chat with other passengers.

>> Travelers can also order from a list of food and beverages using a touchscreen ordering system.

>> Right here on your screen, you just touch the eat button, and you can click from drinks, snacks, meals. So I might want to order some Patron, so I'll order tequila, and you add it to the cart. And you actually can go back and order more food, and you give it the credit card swipe at the bottom of the screen here.

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>> It's these simple amenities that could make a big difference to passengers. But what everyone really wants is to be connected at 35,000 feet.

>> Delta, American and Virgin are all getting on board with WiFi on the plane. This is how it works with a laptop computer on a Virgin flight.

>> If you have a laptop, you would just power it up, and you would go to your normal browser here, and we would have a screen, basically a login screen so you can kind of enter your information, log on, and then you can go right to Google or whatever you want to do. Most people use it for email, social media sites and networking, and a lot of people work.

>> The airline is also exploring internet on the seatback and will soon start integrating apps like Twitter and Facebook while in the air.

>> Another innovation that's currently being tested in select cities is OnTouch. The designers of the program call it an onboard concierge.

>> Say you're headed to New York and want to see a Broadway play. Take out your seatback card, pick from a list of shows, buzz your flight attendant, and they'll bring a small computer device where you can choose your tickets. The attendant gives you a receipt and you can pick them up at Will Call later.

>> Right now, OnTouch is being tested with American Airlines in New York and Dallas. And Virgin services are available today.

>> The future of airplane service, bringing the comforts of your living room and office while in the air. For SmartPlanet, I'm Sumi Das.

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==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====