The little TV screen you stare at during flights, particularly long haul ones, is pretty boring. It’s either a movie you’ve already seen, or a digital rendering of the plane on a map/globe.
You could make the flight way more interesting by having a series of camera feeds the passenger can switch between, which show the pilot’s eye view, the straight-down view, the view from the tip of the tail, looking downward and towards the nose, so you can see your plane like in a video game, etc.
The only reservation about this would be the effect it might have on people with a fear of flying. Or if something minor goes wrong that is seen by a passenger and then assumed to be catastrophic and causing panic. But it would be worth the risk, the views would be insane. They could even build in touch-screen functionality or a mechanical button which will send a high-res screenshot to your phone via Bluetooth or something.
Lots* of long haul inflight entertainment systems have this feature.
* I don’t have an objective number but I’d say over half the long haul flights I’ve been on in the past 5-10 years. I’d guess I average about 4 a year.
Oh damn, I haven’t been on a plane in 22 years so I probably should have checked before posting 😂 That’s cool to hear!
You weren’t wrong. It’s a fantastic feature, especially for takeoff, landing, and my favorite taxiing to the jetway. (It can be pretty boring on long haul flights mid-flight though)
It can be buried deep in the menus but definitely worth looking for next time you fly…