Following United’s path, American Airlines has announced that they are eliminating in-seat screens on its new jets.

Their reasoning is that passengers already carry their own screens, and that, “[i]t makes sense for American to focus on giving customers the best entertainment and fast connection options rather than installing seatback monitors that will be obsolete within a few years.”

My experience has been that personal-device entertainment is incredibly spotty and that the power outlets often do not work, which is a problem if you are having people use their own screens for this kind of entertainment (it drains your battery fast, so without an outlet, you can be stuck for a while without any screen to use).

I am not a fan of this decision and, while I am currently a Gold status member of American, I doubt I will be going for status again in 2018, partially because of this.

Do you think American made the right choice in eliminating seat-back entertainment?