Saturday, June 26, 2004
Virgin on-demand
I flew Virgin Atlantic on the London-New York sector and they have introduced an excellent new video-on-demand system. I saw "new" because the system wasn't in use the last time I flew Virgin, 6 months back. The VOD system offered me a choice of 52 movies on my personal screen, including a few Bollywood films (which are normally only offered on the India routes, not on the trans-atlantic ones). For my own part, I watched Love Actually (whatta stupid movie), Gus Van Sant's Palme D'Or winning Elephant (a real let down) and Lost in Translation (reviewed on this blog earlier and a real delight, no matter how many times you watch it).
I'd say 3 movies during a 7 hours flight is not bad at all, especially when you're struggling with asthma. Now, if only Virgin could provide a little more leg room to go with the 52 movies. Sir. Richard???
PS: The other good thing about Virgin is that they do not censor in-flight movies. Even a movie like In the Cut can be watched in all its graphic glory. I have never seen the point of censoring in-flight movies since the advent of personal screens. Hopefully, more airlines will take the cue from Virgin.
PPS: The other innovative new service Virgin offers is the ability to SMS other passengers in their seats. What better way to kill time on long flights than to flirt with fellow passengers :)
I'd say 3 movies during a 7 hours flight is not bad at all, especially when you're struggling with asthma. Now, if only Virgin could provide a little more leg room to go with the 52 movies. Sir. Richard???
PS: The other good thing about Virgin is that they do not censor in-flight movies. Even a movie like In the Cut can be watched in all its graphic glory. I have never seen the point of censoring in-flight movies since the advent of personal screens. Hopefully, more airlines will take the cue from Virgin.
PPS: The other innovative new service Virgin offers is the ability to SMS other passengers in their seats. What better way to kill time on long flights than to flirt with fellow passengers :)
