Laptop on a plane?

[Nairnyn]

When I go to WDW next month, I was planning on taking my laptop. I know they are allowed as carryon's, but does anyone know if you're allowed to use your laptop on board, for things like watching movies? I couldn't find an answer on the Southwest website....does anyone know?

 

[Pinnie]

Yes you may as long as you are not connected to the interent! You will hear the FA announce when it is safe to turn on portable electronic devices when the plane reaches a certain altitude. ON descent, you will also hear an announcement to turn them off.

pinnie

 

[Nairnyn]

Awesome, thank you!

 

[azgal81]

Please please bring headphones for your laptop as well. I hate when people watch a movie and leave the sound on and say it's for their kids or they don't want to wear the headphones. It's so annoying and you can hear it loud and clear. I always have my laptop on the plane with me.

 

[DebbieB]

Depending on the model of the plane (distance between rows), it can be difficult to use if the person who is sitting in front of you fully reclines.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Please please bring headphones for your laptop as well. I hate when people watch a movie and leave the sound on and say it's for their kids or they don't want to wear the headphones. It's so annoying and you can hear it loud and clear. I always have my laptop on the plane with me.

THANK YOU!! Great point made, if you plan on watching a movie or anything that creates constant noises, please, for the sake of all the passengers sitting around you, bring headphones!!!

 

[kennancat]

You may want to investigate how to get power on the plane, or make sure you bring extra batteries. I went through three sets of batteries in two hours, although the laptop I was using was old and I believe many are better at power managment these days. Depends on whether you're watching a file on the laptop or off a DVD, that can change your power consumption too.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I always take my laptop with me on my flights for that purpose.

Depending on the length of your flight, a few tips I might have:

Close your windows, and dim your screen brightness
Instead of DVDs, watch the movie from the hard drive. I know there's a way to rip them to the hard drive, but I don't know. I usually rent movies from MovieLink.com.

Also, the suggestions of headphones are great. Get a splitter if there will be more than one person watching. And be VERY careful of those people who recline. Keep the laptop forward, so that it doesn't get caught.

 

[Nairnyn]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I would definitely take headphones. I wouldn't want to bother anybody else with my movie.

Okay, my laptop is fairly new, so I may sound idiotic, but how can you get extra laptop batteries? I'm flying from CA to FL, so I've been thinking that the battery won't last the 5+ hour flight, but I didn't know that you could get extra batteries.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I wouldn't recommend an extra battery. They can run $100-$150, and since you have to shut down to switch, they can be a pain.

Being a fairly new laptop, you should be fine for an extended plane trip. I flew MCO to LAX and back non-stop last week. It was 5.5 hours to LA, and 4.5hrs to Orlando. Each time, my laptop battery lasted, and had battery to spare. (I have a Dell 700m with the extended battery)

Make sure to disable WI-FI, as that is a big power hog. Set your battery meter to MAX BATTERY. (Right click on the task bar icon to adjust power properties) Reduce the brightness of the screen to minimal. It may seem dim, but you'll get used to it. And running movies from the HD will use less power than a DVD player.

In addition to movies, I downloaded games to my computer to use. MSN and AOL games can be downloaded. They all have a 60 minute trial period, but there are over a hundred games to choose from. Download a bunch, and you'll have other stuff to entertain yourself with.

 

[shafke]

Also, check with your airline. Some planes are outfitted with power adapters for laptop and such. I think they are like cigarette lighters/accessory outlets in your car. If you plane has these then you may be able to plug your laptop in for the flight although you may need to purchase an adapter for your laptop.

 

[JDietz40]

Also, check with your airline. Some planes are outfitted with power adapters for laptop and such. I think they are like cigarette lighters/accessory outlets in your car. If you plane has these then you may be able to plug your laptop in for the flight although you may need to purchase an adapter for your laptop.

I think that the OP said that they are flying SWA and they do not have the power adapters. I joked with the flight attendant last trip and she said come on its Southwest were the no frills airline be happy you get peanuts. I knoww AA has the power adapters and some of the other airlines do also. They are like the adapter in your car as mentioned but they are not at every seat. We bought a spare battery for our laptop for our last trip and it was around
$ 150.00 but to us it was worth it as it added a couple of extra hours of use. One thing that I notice while waiting in the airport is several people were staked out near outlets and had their computers plugged in and wer using them in the airport. Many of the airports now have free wireless access.

John

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Many of the airports now have free wireless access.

John

Many of the airports have free wireless access, but you have to have a service provider to recieve the wiFi (Boingo, TMobile, At&t, etc.).

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Not always... the United terminal at MCO had free wi-fi. SWA's terminal supposedly had it last time I was there, but I couldn't get it to connect.

LAX's United terminal and all of MHT uses Boingo, though.

 

[JDietz40]

Not always... the United terminal at MCO had free wi-fi. SWA's terminal supposedly had it last time I was there, but I couldn't get it to connect.

LAX's United terminal and all of MHT uses Boingo, though.

Tampa had free wireless in November. They were even announcing it periodically as one of the perks of flying from there. DS enjoyed surfing the web while waiting for our SWA flight.

John

 

[ducklite]

Free Wi-Fi access in the SW terminal at MCO. Some of the newer laptops allow you to hot swap batteries.

Anne

 

[NotUrsula]

If you want to make instant friends in an airport, carry a 3-way outlet plug, or better yet, a short extension cord with multiple outlets. That way you can share those oh-so-scarce power outlets to recharge.

Free Wi-Fi is great, and I love it, but honestly the power outlets are worth even more to me.

Spare batteries are usually cheapest purchased online. Here is an example of the sort of site that sells them: http://www.batteries.com/index.asp
(Shop around for the best price, and don't forget to check shipping costs, batteries can be heavy.)

 

[bg4]

Many of the airports have free wireless access, but you have to have a service provider to recieve the wiFi (Boingo, TMobile, At&t, etc.).

Factually this statement is incorrect in so much as free and Boingo/TMobile etc dont go together. To get these providers you have to pay either by minute, hour or day but either way it is not free. Orlando airport has free wifi throughout and all you need is a laptop and wifi card correctly setup.

 

[rgf207]

Yes you may as long as you are not connected to the interent! You will hear the FA announce when it is safe to turn on portable electronic devices when the plane reaches a certain altitude. ON descent, you will also hear an announcement to turn them off.

pinnie

On a side note. Lufthansa offers free wireless internet onboard their planes. It's very nice

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Factually this statement is incorrect in so much as free and Boingo/TMobile etc dont go together. To get these providers you have to pay either by minute, hour or day but either way it is not free. Orlando airport has free wifi throughout and all you need is a laptop and wifi card correctly setup.

That is what I tried to say. The access is free, but the service is not in many airports around the country....