Music Sumi Das: These days, when people think of "quality airplane service," they envision friendly flight attendants and nourishing free snacks. But in the future, new hi-tech features could take the in flight experience to new heights. Music 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 the screen they've set up, right in front of the passenger.
>> It allows guests to watch TV, choose from one of 25 movies, play video games like "Doom," even seat-to-seat text chat with other passengers. Sumi Das: Travelers can also order from a list of food and beverages using a touch screen ordering system.
>> Right here on your screen, you just touch the "Eat" button and you can select from drinks, snacks, meals, so I might want to order some Petron Silver Tequila and you add it to the cart and you actually can go back and order more food and you pay with a credit card swipe at the bottom of the screen here. Music Sumi Das: 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 Wi-Fi on the plane. This is how it works with a lap top computer on a Virgin flight.
>> If you have a lap top, you would just power it up and you would go to your normal browser here and you would have a screen, a, basically a log in screen so you can kind of enter your information, log on and then you're, 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. Sumi Das: The airline is also exploring Internet on the seat back, 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 "on board 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's services are available today. The future of airplane service. Bringing the comforts of your living room and office while in the air. For ZDNet, I'm Sumi Das. Music
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