Airlines with power outlets

United has seat power in First/Business on many, if not most, of its aircraft. Unfortunately I've not found consistent application across the UAL fleet, some 757s are equipped, others are not, as one example.

USAir had this on at least one A320 I was in, not only in first class but at least 1/3 through steerage class. That was a nice surprise!

These are both the DC (16 volt?) connectors, for which you require a special adapter.

I recently did a round-the-world Business Class ticket. Air New Zealand had DC power in its 767, but in a clumsy location. Singapore had 110VAC on both the 747 and 777 (I think, it was available at least on the 747, which had modernized seats in business class that reclined flat. The 777 seats were NOT as nice, and of course that was the overnight flight were I could have appreciated them...) Lufthansa had conventional 110VAC connections on its A340, but the connection on my seat didn't work, so I don't know if that was true through the whole plane or just my particular seat.

Bottom Line: Check the airline and in particular make sure that you do NOT depend on it. There have been several times where the connectors were there, but the power didn't work (not just on that LH A340 from Munich yesterday...) Frankly, you'd be better advised to buy an extra battery.

One more relevant thing: Stay Away from Kensington adapters. The Apple Store sold me one that would have been great, if it worked. DC airplane and auto power for both iPods and PowerBooks from the same unit (but not at the same time...) The problem is that the damn PB adapter didn't work, and what makes this unacceptable is that Kensington told me this was a known problem for which they had no fix other than 'take it back to the store where you bought it.'

dave

>One more relevant thing: Stay Away from Kensington adapters. The
>Apple Store sold me one that would have been great, if it worked. DC
>airplane and auto power for both iPods and PowerBooks from the same
>unit (but not at the same time...) The problem is that the damn PB
>adapter didn't work, and what makes this unacceptable is that
>Kensington told me this was a known problem for which they had no
>fix other than 'take it back to the store where you bought it.'

You mean the changeable tip for the powerbook? What was the problem?
It just flat out didn't work? Mine is a little fluky (doesn't sit in
firmly), but it works.

--
=alex hoffman

>You mean the changeable tip for the powerbook? What was the problem?
>It just flat out didn't work? Mine is a little fluky (doesn't sit in
>firmly), but it works.
>
>--
>=alex hoffman

Yeah, the changeable tip for the newer PBs didn't work. Wiggling
would make it have momentary contact.

I emailed Kensington. They said "that's a known problem. Return it
to the store for a refund." I said "Could you send me just another
PB tip?" "No."

That set a new low in my experience for tech support. They sell a
defective product and provide no real support. This is not the kind
of company I want to send my $$ to.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Apple Store receipt, and it does
provide a working airplane-to-iPod adapter, so I kept it.

                dave

--
David Emery, mailto:demerydsci-usa.com
703 298 3473 (m) 703 272 7496 fax

 

>Yeah, the changeable tip for the newer PBs didn't work. Wiggling
>would make it have momentary contact.

I have that issue, but wiggling it fixes it.

>I emailed Kensington. They said "that's a known problem. Return it
>to the store for a refund." I said "Could you send me just another
>PB tip?" "No."

They just sent me a whole new one. So, I have two. Neither is great,
but I did get two for the price of one.


--
=alex hoffman

Just an FYI: I travelled recently from San Jose to Austin on American
(the Nerd Bird, as it's affectionately known) and while my seat had the
power outlet, it had been disabled. Not sure whether or not the outlet
or my adapter was the problem, I asked the flight attendant and he
confirmed that they had been disabled on some planes. Very
disappointing!

I plan to write American Airlines and ask why they would do such a thing
(fuel costs? "encouragement" to upgrade to first class?)...


Stefan


 

Seat Guru is a great web site that tells you which planes have power
ports for each domestic airline. <http://www.seatguru.com/>. It also
tells you which seats to avoid on each airline's planes. Very handy.

Select the airline on the left and the type of aircraft on the sub-
menu. Power ports are denoted by black dots. JJ