yooperfan said:
Do airline seats have a place to plug in for electricity for a dvd player or do you have to use your battery? Also, is there anyplace while your waiting for a flight to plug it in, we have a couple of long layovers and the batteries cost almost as much as the dvd player, making that a poor option. Thanks
Seat power varies by airline. I primarily fly on American Airlines. They've done an excellent job installing powerports for first class and business class seats, and in many rows in economy, on most American Airlines aircraft -- their 737, MD-80, 757, 767, 777 and A300 aircraft. Powerparts are rather sparse in the back of the economy section. There are no powerports on American Eagle flights, and, as far as I know, American still hasn't finished powerport installation on some MD-80s and 757s acquired from TWA.
American's powerports aren't regular 110V outlets. They're essentially cigarette lighter outlets (without the lighters).
Electronic devices with adapters for 12V-15V cigarette lighter outlets will work in American Airlines' DC power outlets. If your DVD player has a cigrarette lighter adapter, you should be all set. The owner manual or the device itself should indicate that it's for "12-15V." (Several other airlines use EmPower sockets instead of cigarette lighter sockets for laptop power, but not American.)
If you're flying American, be sure to look up the seating chart for your aircraft type to make sure you get a seat assignment for a seat with a powerport.
http://www.aa.com/content/aboutUs/ourPlanes/ourPlanes.jhtml
For more about American's powerports, see:
http://www.aa.com/content/travelInformation/duringFlight/onboardTechnology.jhtml
It's surprisingly difficult to find regular power outlets at most airports. If you check the baseboards and the bottoms of columns at US airports, you may find power outlets. You may end up several gates away from your gate before you find an outlet. You'll often find business travelers with laptop computers using those outlets.