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ICYMI: Airlines Are Thinking About Eliminating Our Favorite Perk

If you're waiting for your next flight to binge-watch your favorite TV show or catch up on last year's Oscar noms, you may want to think again.

A Brooklyn-based writer and editor, Chelsea's work has appeared in Matador Network, The Huffington Post, the TripAdvisor blog, and more. When not planning her next trip, you'll usually find her drinking way too much iced coffee (always iced—she’s from New England) or bingeing a Netflix original series.

See recent posts by Chelsea Stuart

For years now, airlines have been decreasing legroom and increasing the sheer amount of bodies on every flight. But their latest effort to save space and money is *arguably* the most offensive yet. Soon, seatback entertainment could be a thing of the past.

In an effort to reduce costs, some carriers—including Qantas, American, and United—are eliminating in-flight entertainment on domestic and short haul crafts. According to the New York Times and Dan McKone, senior partner and head of travel and transportation at the consulting firm L.E.K., a single seatback screen can cost upwards of $10,000 to install. Consider the fact that the displays are heavy and that the hardware often becomes obsolete in just a few years, and their decision makes a little more sense. (But we still feel personally attacked.)

So what are we to do now as we glide 39,000 feet above flyover country? Well, as a peace offering of sorts, many airlines will instead offer in-flight apps so passengers can stream TV, movies, and music from their personal devices (granted they’re in airplane mode the entire time).

Guess this means we’ll be packing lots of portable chargers.

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