United Airlines starts serving passengers personalized ads on seatback screens

So selling ads, selling points (see: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;ideas&#x2F;archive&#x2F;2023&#x2F;09&#x2F;airlines-banks-mileage-programs&#x2F;675374&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;ideas&#x2F;archive&#x2F;2023&#x2F;09&#x2F;airlines-b...</a> )<p>They charge for drinks, you have to pay more to get a humane amount of space, they charge for bags.<p>What&#x27;s next an upcharge for oxygen and a flotation device in an emergency.<p>IM sorry sir, our payment system is down we will be unable to let you sign up for air during this emergency.

Amazing how airlines seem to operate their business on the principle of “what can we do to make our customers hate us even more?”

This reminds me if scenes from the movie Idiocracy. They were mostly right about our future society (the movie is from 2005).<p>One thing they got wrong though. It did not take humanity 500 years to reach this depicted state.

The wonder what kind of revenue they are hoping to get from the short amount of attention users will fork over when they are already stressed from traveling. And how does this revenue compared to the overall cost of the ticket. Are airline margins really that thin?

New no-win nightmare: Having to chose between a UAL flight on an A320, and a non-UAL flight on a Boeing.

I see a market for seatback screen covers. Just use your own device if you need to, otherwise read a book.

United will beat the passengers into misery one way or another