Let The Music Play or NOT !

[mannej]

I couldn't possibly agree more. For me, Guy Noble's Concert Hall and the wonderful collection of classical music CDs are the main reason I pay the extra to fly Qantas overseas. Apart from anything else, the music is wonderfully soothing and relaxing, especially when it's time to settle down for sleep.

I've just enlisted with the Marco Polo club, and from now on Cathay Pacific will be my airline of choice when travelling overseas (which I do a lot).

Bye bye Qantas, it was once nice knowing you ...

OT, but have you worked out if MPC is the best program for you from a status PoV with your new choice of airlines?

 

[ferntree]

OT, but have you worked out if MPC is the best program for you from a status PoV with your new choice of airlines?

Pretty sure it's my best bet. They give by far the best coverage of the places I fly to, certainly more than any other One World airline. Because of limitations in the Qantas network about a third of my O/S flights are currently with Cathay anyway - but at the moment of course only getting 50% Qantas status credits and a derisory number of points. Been considering this for some time ... this is the tipping point.

 

[harvyk]

I couldn't possibly agree more. For me, Guy Noble's Concert Hall and the wonderful collection of classical music CDs are the main reason I pay the extra to fly Qantas overseas. Apart from anything else, the music is wonderfully soothing and relaxing, especially when it's time to settle down for sleep.

I've just enlisted with the Marco Polo club, and from now on Cathay Pacific will be my airline of choice when travelling overseas (which I do a lot).

Bye bye Qantas, it was once nice knowing you ...

Wait a sec, you're going to dump QF over this change?
Is it this change alone or is this simply a straw breaking a camels back?

 

[ferntree]

Wait a sec, you're going to dump QF over this change?
Is it this change alone or is this simply a straw breaking a camels back?

See my post immediately above yours! In a word or two ... last straw!

 

[Chief Wiggum]

Surprised to see so many people using the QF music. Personally, I prefer to be in charge of my own entertainment, be it music, podcast, audiobook or video. I only use my own BT headphones to listen when flying so maybe I'm not the target market for the in-flight canned music channels.

Do the people here listening to these do so on the QF headsets handed out by the cabin-crew? Can't think of anything worse than having to crank the noise way up to hear anything over cabin/engine noise... terrible way to enjoy music IMO.

If they can save a few $$$ by not paying for the music channels and provide me with WiFi option more often then I'm happy.

 

[Catweazle]

Well, not sure how this helps increase their annual budget because the whole world might just as well tune in to the ol' FM radio network for free... Or would that mess with their airwaves again...? Either way, seems like a dumb idea. Not sure where the logic lies.

 

[Himeno]

Well, not sure how this helps increase their annual budget because the whole world might just as well tune in to the ol' FM radio network for free... Or would that mess with their airwaves again...? Either way, seems like a dumb idea. Not sure where the logic lies.

They would have to get a license for any music played on IFE from APRA. There are a number of different types of licenses available. For airline transport, the current license fees are about 10c per international pax and 1c per domestic pax with adjustments for how the music is used if it is just boarding cabin music or if IFE is included, etc.
They also need to submit a list of what music is used on a regular basis so APRA can divide the license fees up to the copyright holders.

QFd carried 22 million pax in FY16. That's a license fee for IFE music of about $220,000.

 

[kermatu]

Was listening to Triple J in the car this evening on way home from work - the QF decision to scrap all music was being discussed by a rather annoyed host, with several callers / listeners voicing their disapproval too.

 

[nutwood]

They would have to get a license for any music played on IFE from APRA. There are a number of different types of licenses available. For airline transport, the current license fees are about 10c per international pax and 1c per domestic pax with adjustments for how the music is used if it is just boarding cabin music or if IFE is included, etc.
They also need to submit a list of what music is used on a regular basis so APRA can divide the license fees up to the copyright holders.

QFd carried 22 million pax in FY16. That's a license fee for IFE music of about $220,000.

That's one way of looking at it. The other way is $0.01 per domestic passenger or about 0.0025% of a $400 fare. Do the sums really add up, even if only a very small number of passengers use the service?
Qantas has probably done some deal with Apple, where Apple pay for access to a captive audience. I can see that appealing to a bean counter. Turn an expense into an income and who cares what the customers think!

 

[JohnK]

Disappointing as I used to listen to the comedy channel and music on most flights.

What next? Bring your own food and beverages? That will go down well on international flights?

 

[SeatBackForward]

I don't use Apple anything.

I have no idea when I last listened to any pre programed audio on a Qantas aircraft. It's all been terrible. I've gone to my MP3 player because the audio options in the IFE system aren't interesting. The music on the JL IFE is better then the QF music.

What bugs me most is there used to be an option on the A380s to plug your own USB device into the IFE and make your own playlist from your own music. That seems to have been disabled 2 or 3 years ago.

I once suggested on here, what would be need is if you could link your QFF number to a playlist and it would automatically be retrieved on any plane you flew on..

Far too much "outside the box" thinking ..

 

[Rebekkap]

I can't believe everyone in this day and age doesn't have access to their own music on their phone, whether via streaming or some other way... also on flights with wi-fi as well as streaming you can listen to just about any radio station anywhere in the world...

 

[Himeno]

I can't believe everyone in this day and age doesn't have access to their own music on their phone, whether via streaming or some other way... also on flights with wi-fi as well as streaming you can listen to just about any radio station anywhere in the world...

If more then around 5-10% of pax on the same aircraft tried to stream anything that wasn't locally held on an onboard server, they would lag to the point that the stream isn't viable.
Aircraft internet doesn't have the bandwidth for any reasonable amount of media streaming access.

 

[harvyk]

This morning I realised where I do listen to the radio even on domestic. Whilst the moving map is up.

I had some TV shows going this morning when I switched over to the moving map I didn't like the "generic non-offensive easy listening" stuff that was playing, so like I normally would I went across to change the radio station... Then I remembered...

The 5 minutes I was on the moving map, wasn't long, and I certainly wouldn't have changed over to my own music, but it would have been nice to have it tuned to my normal radio choice even if only briefly.

 

[Flyin_Penquin]

I was only just thinking that we don’t have an option on NZ domestic flights, so it’s became “the norm” to listen to ones own device, but I fully understand also that some may like the use of the option if it’s always been there for them, so it’s a tricky question to answer depending on ones regular flight habits/preference’s.

 

[get me outta here]

This is bad news for me. I really miss the lowest volume 'meditation' or 'light classical music' sleep to/ And, no I do not stream or something on my whatever device.

 

[nutwood]

I suppose the question that comes to me after reading the comments and hearing some other discussion is, what's the point?
There may not be a large percentage of passengers using the service but there are some. To those passengers, they are taking away something they enjoy. It's a reduction in service on an airline that is meant to be about service.
If cost saving is the reason, it's a very poor one. Adding wi-fi should be about increasing choice, not directing it down the path that Qantas feel suits the majority.

 

[Prof Henry]

This is a Bad Move, QANTAS.
NOT appreciated by this long-term Platinum Frequent Flyer.

Yes, I do have music on my devices, but I appreciated the opportunity to choose from different selections.

Will we have to pack our own lunch, next?

 

[PineappleSkip]

A long long time ago
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But September made me shiver
They sent the music down the river
Bad news on the airplane
A disenhancement campaign

I can't remember if I cried
When only podcasts were supplied
Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died

So bye, bye music in the sky
Hooked my headphones to the plugin but the plugin was dry
And them good aisle boys were serving whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the way that we fly
This'll be the way that we fly...

Cheers skip

 

[davidj]

This is simply another 'enhancement'.

A similar event happened years ago with the removal of seat back screens on domestic services. Pax were annoyed but eventually behaviour changed and it seems pax have accepted (or championed) 'BYOD'.

RIP airline entertainment.