United Airlines is just rolling out its latest customer initiative. We’re not sure how well it will be accepted. The new Kinective Media is worth comparing with another recently Hawaii airline customer initiative, Delta Sync, which similarly leverages passenger data for a personalized Hawaii experience. We’ll tell you in a moment what this means. Both programs signal a significant shift in how airlines use technology everywhere to enhance passenger engagement while raising questions about privacy and data use.
And it turns out that Hawaii flights present an extremely lucrative territory in this regard.
Flights to and from Hawaii, with an average duration of up to six hours, present about double the time an average United Airlines passenger spends using entertainment on its flights.
Kinective Media will present targeted advertising and offers to passengers via the United mobile app, seatback screens, in-flight entertainment, united.com, United Club locations, and airports.
End of the bring-your-own-device era?
United is undoubtedly a leader when it comes to its app and in-flight entertainment options, which include seat-back entertainment with high definition screens, Bluetooth connectivity, and a wide array of other features.
United Airlines is without doubt setting a high standard for in-flight entertainment, moving away from earlier industry trends of minimizing onboard hardware. The airline continues to invest in updating its fleet with hundreds of thousands of seat-back screens, and now, the thinking behind that makes even more sense.
Delta Sync: connectivity without monetary cost.
Introduced last year as a free WiFi service while requiring Delta SkyMiles membership, Delta Sync was touted for its ability to offer tailored in-flight services. However, as we noted then, this service is not just about enhanced connectivity; it’s also a sophisticated data mining tool.
Delta Sync openly collects and utilizes passenger data to offer curated experiences—a move that, while innovative, sparked concerns about the depth of personal data being harvested.
United’s Kinective Media: latest personalization on steroids?
United’s new Kinective Media appears to take the concept a step further by not only targeting MileagePlus members but also customizing ad experiences based on detailed travel behavior and seat location for all passengers.
This method promises an even more customized in-flight experience but intensifies the debate over how much personalization is too much. The detailed level of customization, from seat selection to travel companions, and more, appears to signify that United’s approach could potentially offer deeper insights into passenger preferences at the cost of increased data collection compared with Delta Sync.
United has indicated that it will allow passengers to opt out of customization.
The dual-edged sword: personalization vs. privacy.
Delta Sync and Kinective Media both showcase the airline industry’s push toward using passenger data to enhance both the travel experience and airline revenue. These also highlight a critical trade-off between personalization and privacy.
As airlines explore personalized services, the fine line between enhancing travel and exploiting personal information becomes increasingly blurred.
For passengers, particularly those bound for Hawaii via United, this might mean navigating a maze of personalized offers and ads, prompting them to weigh the benefits of customized travel suggestions against their privacy concerns.
Conclusion: A New Era or a Privacy Paradox?
As we witness the evolution of Hawaii in-flight entertainment and connectivity, with initiatives like Delta Sync and Kinective Media, it’s clear that technology is stretching the future of air travel.
However, as these programs become more sophisticated, ensuring that passenger privacy is not compromised in the quest for personalization will be paramount. Whether these innovations will be as beneficial for passengers as they are for airlines remains a critical question, one that will define the next phase of air travel.
BOH editors will fly United later this week and plan to report on our experiences with Kinective Media, if it is working.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on both United Kinective Media and Delta Sync.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Hawaii will end up poor like Haiti if they move forward with their sharp reduction in tourism. Penny wise and pound foolish. Aloha my backside.
Free today. Pay tomorrow. If popular designates whether the airlines will charge or not. Bottom line make money. You got to think this has to be linked to the planes communication system with the control tower. It is probably setup as a wi-fi hotspot. Is there some more useful way to adopt the system to detect a unbuckled seatbelt so the screen flashes Warning Turbulence Fasten Seatbelt with an alarm sound. But no they would rather make money selling advertisements like a billboard in front of your face. All these systems reset before boarding so you have to select a ton of options to decline the inconvenience.
First off, I love Maui and have always loved the Hawaiian people. It hurts me to say that since the Maui fire, my respect for this special place has left me feeling empty and disgusted. We here on the mainland deal with visitors, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc that are devastating to many people each year. We don’t whine and complain about our fate, we work hard to fight back and rebuild and help each other. We love our visitors who spend their hard earned dollars in our communities for their vacations. They are bread and butter to many hard working people and even if we have to pick up some unwanted trash after they leave…. We appreciate that they choose to boost our economy and that they love our land. For the Hawaii people to think that they are more special than the rest of the world and that they should be handled with kid gloves and be given everything on a silver platter is ludicrist! Take responsibility HI. Where’s the Love? Aloha
Why is it that United charges for a carry on when you travel economy
I’m not receptive to advertising. Way too easy to turn off the screen if it’s annoying, or skip over or delete ads on feeds. Not especially concerned about data collection of this sort either. The world is awash in that kind of data, and how effectively is it used? Not very.
This site seems to have been overtaken by rude bullies
who attack everyone who doesn’t agree with them.
Hi Lee.
If you saw the comments that we get rid of…
Aloha.
BOE,
It’s too bad you can’t/don’t publish all remarks. It sounds as though, with your internal censuring, we may not be getting the real feel of this community.
Block hate – sure, let the rest through. And, return to the old system where we could easily indicate how we felt about specific posts.
If I don’t get feedback from those who disagree (or even agree) with me, I’m less likely to self-evaluate, self-correct.
This is much to do about nothing until a carrier offers paid internet over the pacific using their satellite connection. Thats when the privacy issue becomes important.
Privacy, please
My iPad has the movies I want to watch.
With no cellphone towers in range how many devices are on the same Wi-Fi network after logging in? Think again who can really do the data mining? I don’t need my identity stolen. No thanks. It’s bad enough that when you are on the internet your device receives cookies and trackers. Stay safe. Try using Nord VPN, Bit Defender VPN etc. when connected to public networks. Your network at home is probably set to private and password protected.(Secured) IMO a bad idea just to get entertainment.
How dare them. Download the connection app and bamm. They now know every app on you phone, shopping habits, and where you bank. What do you think data mining is? How rich am I? They already know your name and address by your seat assignment. All this just to get targeted advertisements and some B rated movie. No thanks. Sound like a system so Hawaii can track how many elite rich people are entering the state and finding out annual income data in order to modify (increase tourist prices) based on how rich you are. IMO just a way to victimize a tourist without them really knowing it. I suggest turn your phone off and read a book or magazine. Don’t anyone remember the paperless online survey story. Think again.
Thank you for your detailed report and I do look forward to hearing about your experiences, however I already know that I will be opting out. Not interested in a barrage of personalized advertisements and suggestions. I am quite happy with a good book and my privacy
Will UAL make the process oh-so-simple to opt-out right from their seat using the ever so interactive screen right in front of them?…hardly
Knowing UAL, they will require the passenger to navigate to a very deeply buried section of the web site – and after clicking on screen after screen after screen – there will be a form to fill-out in very small font/print encouraging you not to opt-out.
A treat for everybody!
Good Luck!
I was hoping the competition would mean lower prices. I rarely use the entertainment services offered by airlines—my lowly iPhone is fine if I want that—and it certainly won’t be a determining factor in whom I choose to fly with.
I really don’t care what info they collect. If that data allows them to make my flights more enjoyable – no problem.
Mehhh. I just bring a good book…
Best Regards
Personally for me for the 5-6+ hour flights out & back to Phoenix I just take a good history book or a magazine or two on Hawaii’ to read. I also listen to some nice Hawaiian music (e.g., IZ, Maunalua, Kalini Pe’a, Robi Kahakalau, Willie K, Genoa Keawe, etc.) on my phone to get in the Aloha spirit. I do not need all that invasive techie crud!
Remember Big Brother is Watching.
Pure trash move by the airlines. As if data mining wasn’t bad enough…