News

Never Be Bored On a United Flight Again

by Isobel Markham

The days of being mind-numbingly bored on a flight might soon be over. At least, if you book a flight with United Airlines. Oh, and have an iPad, iPhone or MacBook. In April, the airline is going to start rolling out its new in-flight entertainment service, which will allow iOS users to stream over 150 movies and 200 TV shows on their Apple device during their flight. For free!

All you need to do is download the United Airlines app from iTunes on your Apple device or install a plug-in on your laptop, and you're good to go. You'll be able to start, stop, pause, rewind and switch your movie or TV show at any time, just as you would be able to on any other streaming app.

According to United, the system will first be made available on Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Boeing 747-400 and select 777-200 aircraft, with the aim that all domestic flights will be equipped with streaming capabilities by the end of 2014. Eventually all United aircraft will have some form of the entertainment service.

United said that users of Android and other mobile devices will not be able to access the entertainment system as those platforms are not yet "fully supported." There's no news yet on when the airline might be thinking of making it available to these users.