Flying home from a recent vacation, I had a first for myself. I independently used the in-flight entertainment system to track my flight, listen to music, and watch a movie with audio descriptions. I even played a bit of trivia for a bit. How fun!
I’m not sure when United Airlines added accessibility to their in-flight technology, but it was available on the return flights of my trip. The system used TalkBack and a two-finger triple-tap to start the screen reader. There was a video offered to show you how to use the system. I was in the proverbial cheap seats, so I used just the touch screen option for control. Apparently, premium seats get physical buttons in the arm of the seat as well.
Aside from the map showing you flight progress and some games, I found all the other experiences worked well with TalkBack. Those that didn’t were indicated by a message talking about not being available with TalkBack. In the case of the flight map, the alternative to tracking flight distance, elevation, and such did work with TalkBack. I do wish that display had a compass option as well, but the experience just worked, so what more can you ask for when it comes to accessibility? Picking my own movie, having audio descriptions, and being able to check on my flight independently was pretty sweet!
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