In seat power - wattage, current and limits

[theevilmuppet]

Hi all,

A question that many airlines have had massive problems answering whenever I've asked is around the actual power available in a given seat.

For example, Air New Zealand responded with details of voltage and socket pinout when being asked about wattage (and things sort of got clarified from there).

Does anyone have any answers to (or, better yet, experiences on) some the questions below?

• Are any airlines typically better than others in terms of the wattage they offer at each outlet?
• A common thread amongst the airlines I've flown with seems to be a maximum outlet wattage of 75W - does anyone know of any airlines that allow above this limit?
• In the Air New Zealand example I've mentioned, there was much mention of power being shared across the aisle of Business Class (I was in an aisle seat and was told I would be sharing allocation with the seat directly adjacent). Is sharing across seats the norm or are there more dedicated options available?

Thanks to all that reply.

 

[medhead]

Depends, why do you want power? I'm guessing medical equipment, in which case it is a whole new ballgame over the standard charging of a laptop.

 

[theevilmuppet]

Depends, why do you want power? I'm guessing medical equipment, in which case it is a whole new ballgame over the standard charging of a laptop.

Definitely not Medical Equipment. The laptop I travel with can easily draw well above 75W, and the brick provided by the manufacturer unfortunately sucks in the maximum current at startup (so just using it to charge doesn't reduce the consumption below 75W).