I’ve frequently heard people complain about Ryanair’s in-flight advertising. For those of you who have not flown the ultra-affordable European carrier, the interior of Ryanair’s planes are covered in advertisements. The back of the seats have an ad, the luggage bins have an ad, and during the trip flight attendants will walk up and down the aisle offering items from catalogs and lottery tickets.
Delta is significantly more expensive to fly than Ryanair, and it does not bill itself as a “discount” airline. In the past few months, I’ve seen a disturbing trend towards more intrusive advertising. Delta, to their credit, has introduced personal video screens. They allow you to view any number of movies and videos for free. However, during takeoff, Delta has decided to show a few minutes of advertising. You can’t shut off the video, and the sound is broadcast throughout the cabin at a high volume. You are trapped in your seats, as the videos are shown before you are allowed to walk around the cabin. It is, in fact, the most intrusive advertising I’ve been subjected to recently.
I love flying–it’s still incredible to me that I can quickly and easily go around the world. But it’s junk like this that makes me frustrated and not want to fly on Delta. I hope they discontinue the mandatory advertisements soon.