Like the general public, the business world has its fashions, its new trends and... its acronyms. One of these acronyms has become inescapable over the last few years: the BYOD - understand Bring Your Own Device ", " bring your own camera "This is now the rule for many business travellers, who use their personal smartphones for professional purposes, and vice versa. The trend extends beyond the walls of the company, as shown by a study published at the beginning of June by SITA. The specialist in communications and information technologies for the airline industry looked at how travellers use in-flight entertainment. The conclusion is clear: whether they have their feet on the ground or their heads in the clouds, travellers are increasingly using their own devices, encouraged by the new possibilities offered by IFE (inflight entertainment) solutions.
Almost half of the travellers questioned (46%) would have watched their last in-flight film using their own device. This figure even exceeds that for passengers who had only used the seat screen (44%), with 10% of those surveyed having alternated between the two options. This trend is unlikely to slow down, as 65% of travellers would prefer to use their own in-flight device rather than the 'traditional' screen.
SITA also points out that the rise in BYOD is based on the widespread use of smartphones, indicating that 86% of travellers now board with - at the very least - a 'smart' phone. This figure has increased by a third in the space of a year... Music is the most common in-flight use (68%), ahead of games (54%), reading (48%) and videos (44%).
These new practices could ultimately enable airlines to reduce the weight of their aircraft and, above all, their investment in in-flight entertainment systems, with SITA pointing out that some carriers have already decided to do away with in-flight screens.
