David Neeleman started JetBlue, but left the airline back in 2008. His newest venture, codenamed “Moxy,” will be a U.S. based airline launching in 2021 with a fleet of Airbus A220 aircraft. Neeleman has a firm order for 60 A220-300s and is planning on flying them primarily between secondary cities in the U.S. as well as some ambitious plans for international flights to Europe and South America.
See Also: Review of Delta’s Amazingly Customer-Friendly Airbus A220
What Will ‘Moxy’s’ In-Flight Entertainment Look Like?
In an interview with Runway Girl Network, Neeleman revealed that he isn’t too keen on having seatback entertainment screens on his new airline. Unlike the days of JetBlue when free live television and screens at every seat were revolutionary, Neeleman thinks that the proliferation of personal devices these days means that the only important thing is to have access to streaming entertainment and internet connectivity.
We’re certainly going to go with the Internet, probably have it for free — David Neeleman
Airlines are sometimes reluctant to install seatback entertainment (American Airlines comes to mind) because it weighs a lot (more fuel burn) and the hardware itself becomes obsolete after a few years.
Delta A220 seatback screens.
However, wireless in-seat entertainment systems are coming to market these days, and Delta notably has them on the Airbus A220s with Gogo. The technology is therefore available to be less reliant on the entertainment hardware and instead have software that could be updated as time progresses.
While “Moxy” will likely be marketed as a budget airline, it still would be a but disappointing to not have screens of any kind for a longer transcontinental or even transatlantic flight. It’s definitely not unheard of, but it does seem like a change of attitude for Neeleman who with JetBlue brought “humanity back to air travel” with a host of perks (like seatback screens) at an affordable cost.
If free internet does pan out though, “Moxy” will join JetBlue as the two carriers in the U.S. that will offer such a thing. Delta is also reportedly mulling the notion of free Wi-Fi and was testing it earlier this year.
See Also: The Complete Guide To Airlines That Offer Free Wi-Fi
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