Renting DVD players for long flights

January 3, 2007 9:34 AM

My wife and I are travelling from O'Hare to Tokyo to Bangkok next week. We don't have the ability to bring our laptop, but I was wondering if there's a way to rent a DVD player for the trip -- either a service that operates out of O'Hare and NRT or BKK, or something where I could rent it for the trip, lock it up in a BKK locker, and retrieve it for the plane rides home.

I've looked up previous threads and researched my plane on SeatGuru. It seems we may have individual screens, but I'm not clear on what our selection of movies will be like. Advice on how AirShow works would be welcome as well. It's been years since I've been on an overseas flight. Thanks.

posted by sandor to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

Not sure if you know this but the price for portable DVD players has dropped a lot. For about $100 you can buy one.
posted by vacapinta at 9:49 AM on January 3, 2007

Here's one of them that I've seen at O'Hare, though at $15 a day you'd probably find it cheaper to just buy one.
posted by milkrate at 10:06 AM on January 3, 2007

And witih almost any airline you can look up what movies are playing and in which direction.
posted by milkrate at 10:09 AM on January 3, 2007

If you're flying ORD-NRT-BKK, you have the wrong 777 configuration in SeatGuru. You want the 777XP. Big change in coach is that you lose the crew rest area in 17-20 HJ and, hence, the insane amount of legroom in 21HJ.

The controls for the video and audio are all explained in a brochure located in the seat pocket. It's pretty basic - a number of video channels and corresponding audio channels. I usually leave the map and channel 9 (atc chatter) on.

If either the video or the audio are broken in your seat, ask the flight attendant for a 'SkyKit'. It's a form you fill out and either return to the purser or mail in after your flight... you'll get an option of mileage plus miles or travel vouchers.

Do both you and your wife have Mileage Plus numbers attached to your tickets? ORD-NRT-BKK r/t is about 18,500 miles.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:00 AM on January 3, 2007

Oh, also, bring an empty water bottle and board and politely ask one of the flight attendants to fill it with water from the pitcher. United's flight attendants are very good with keeping water glasses in C and F topped-up but, with coach, there's just too damned many people for that level of service.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:04 AM on January 3, 2007

I usually leave the map and channel 9 (atc chatter) on.

nathan_teske, I envy you in that you apparently live near a United hub and fly them a lot. I want to hear ATC chatter sooooo bad it hurts. Got my GPS receiver at the ready ...
posted by intermod at 12:33 PM on January 3, 2007

intermod - Actually I live in St. Paul, MN but I fly United to SE Asia (ORD-HKG, 7800 miles one-way) several times a year. It's a quick hop on UAL from Minneapolis to Chicago or Denver and the extra domestic leg doesn't really add much cost to the international portion of the itinerary.

Your profile says you live in Atlanta... can't you pick-up ATC chatter?
posted by nathan_teske at 1:06 PM on January 3, 2007

intermod -
Streaming ATC chatter online

sandor -
I was pleasantly surprised by the seat-back movie choices on my recent trip (on Northwest). About 20-25 films, from recent to classic, indie cinema to Dude, Where's My Car. Little Miss Sunshine was the pick of the litter.
posted by Rock Steady at 1:39 PM on January 3, 2007

I have done this exact flight. If you are flying Al Nippon (as I was), the movie selection was good with about 10 to choose from sort of like a PVR. Also, there were some old school Nintendo games as well as TV shows. Sure a few soprano episodes or whatever would have been nice on a portable DVD, but certainly I wouldn't have needed it and would rather spend that money in SE Asia where it will go a lot farther.
posted by maxpower at 4:15 PM on January 3, 2007

Thanks for the tips, all. I think I will be forgoing the rental and just stick with the seatback choices. As appealing as watching an entire season of The Wire on our trip is, I don't think it's worth the cost or hassle.
posted by sandor at 9:30 PM on January 3, 2007