Business travel is coming back.
I know this because I just saw a headline[1] in the Wall Street Journal that read: "Business travel is coming back."
Then again, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky insists[2]: "Business travel as we know it has changed forever."
I confess I recently took my first cross-country business trip for a very long time and concluded that the changes were slight. Other than the mask, it all felt very normal.
Some airlines, though, had already raced ahead with changes long before the pandemic began. One that causes perhaps some of the more severe friction is the seatback screen.
American Airlines insists everyone should use their own device[3] and stream content to their phones over a superb Wi-Fi connection. (Please continue dreaming. Life will be perfect one day.)
Delta, on the other hand, has pursued a strategy of seatback screens[4] giving customers the freedom to use their devices for other things while watching their choice of horror, action or miserable documentary.
United Airlines[5], one of the most important for Silicon Valley as it's the dominant carrier in the Bay Area, seemed firmly aligned with the idea of taking out seatback screens. Airlines believe it saves them money and that's far more important to them than, say, earning the passionate loyalty of customers.
I was taken aback, therefore, that United seems to have endured a change of heart. As The Points Guy reported[6], United is unveiling new, spiffily updated Boeing 737 Max 8 planes[7].
A seatmap slipped onto United's site just last week -- and soon disappeared -- and what is it we see there? Why,