Frankly, I think they are the same. Seatback entertainment is good because the airline eats the costs and it’s easier to manage. However, BYOD is also just as good because you have your own device that you can manage and it is a fun way to process the media as you can use your own earbuds or headphones.
But, as @Maxmustang would say, the best entertainment is simply looking out of the aircraft window.
I like entertainment screens on long haul flights. The ability to pass time by watching movies and TV shows is awesome. But i also keep my phone with me whenever I’m not watching anything so that i can listen to my playlist.
I personally wouldn’t use the entertainment screen, if provided, on a short haul flight as id rather just look at the scenery outside the window.
Why would you want to remove them if they are already there? They provided a great selection of movies I would usually not care to watch, along with the fun mini-games, inflight map, cameras in the outside of larger aircraft, etc. There is a reason airlines like DL are putting them in, they make everyone excited! If they really want BYOD how about give me free wifi so I can actually watch a movie with it. Airlines shouldn’t expect me to use my device without Wi-Fi as it’s essential to so many apps and games.
I always bring my ipad with me on any flight. Since I’m a Sky customer I can use Sky Go to download movies and series to watch offline making it perfect for when I’m looking for something to do on a flight or any sort of travel!
However if there are IFE screens then I will tend to watch movies on them depending on the selection.
MaxSez: As noted above; I don’t look out the window, I’ve seen it all before.
Don’t put words in my mouth or use me as a reference in future @Mattheus Pls. Plus I have no dog in this fight.
( Last time I flew it was to Hawaii on United. On the return on a 777, 1st Class the entertainment system and galley weren’t working. Miserable long haul, warm wine, chips and my IPad saved me… American gave me a $100 voucher for my inconvenience. I’ll never fly American again. True NS!)
MaxSez.
BYOD hands down, but only if the airline has a service you can connect to and watch movies from them, it helps because they often have some new release of movie you forgot about from way back when, not the ones you watch every day…