SpiceJet went live with its WiFi streaming based in-flight entertainment(IFE) a few weeks ago. With SpicEngage, the airline became the first Indian no-frills player to have IFE. I recently flew SpiceJet a couple of times, and I had the chance to check out what was on offer by SpicEngage.
How to Connect to SpicEngage?
While walking toward my seat onboard, I saw a prompt on my iPhone that a WiFi network called SpicEngage was available. Unlike JetScreen, which is turned on once the aircraft goes above 10,000 feet, SpicEngage is a gate-to-gate implementation,i.e., as long as you are in the aircraft, you’ll be able to use the IFE.
After connecting to the network, I had to enter a few details like my name, email ID and phone number. I’m wondering why this step exists as the airline already has all my details anyways. Once you hit submit, you are in.
The content format is snackable. SpiceJet has invested in licensing short-form videos, games, short reads on the IFE. There is also SpiceJet’s onboard menu and their magazine in PDF format. As most of SpiceJet’s flights are short hauls, the short videos are a far better fit than long movies. This is a smart move financially as well. It is way cheaper to license a 20-minute web series episode than to pick up the latest Bollywood blockbuster. At the same time, I think that there needs to be more content. If you are a frequent flyer, you’d quickly end up watching everything over a few flights.
I ended up re-watching a few episodes of TVF’s Permanent Roommates during my flight. The streaming was fast, and there were no buffering issues. Also, whenever I switched between videos, I was reminded to use my headphones to avoid disturbing fellow passengers. Another good thing about SpicEngage was there were no pre-roll ads before my videos. So no one asking me to buy floor tiles there.
SpiceJet has rolled out SpicEngage across their fleet, which means you don’t need to bank on the airline to tell you if your plane has IFE or not. You can just assume it will be there and carry your headphones accordingly.
Bottomline
SpiceJet’s SpicEngage is an excellent step towards improving the passenger experience. Though the content library is a bit limited, it is more than enough to keep you occupied on SpiceJet’s domestic flights. And SpiceJet, given you are an international airline, it might be a good idea to change the name to something more palatable.
Have you used SpicEngage yet? What has your experience been like?
Not on all flights, I have used Spicejet twice recently but there was no SpicEngage on my Wi-Fi
“So no one asking me to buy floor tiles there.”
Haha, I know. Kajaria and Akshay Kumar will be disappointed.
Rather than ‘Apne desh ki mitti se bani tiles’, it is far better to have ‘Isse sasta aur accha koi nahi’. This is not a reference to Big Bazaar. I am talking about SG itself. It is a commendable decision for a budget carrier to have streaming IFE, and that too gate-to-gate unlike 9W. You cannot imagine the two Blue Airlines (the big Go and the little Go) bothering with things like Wi-Fi and streaming IFE. If they are the equivalent of Spirit and Ryanair, SpiceJet is slowly turning in the direction of Southwest and Norwegian, and investing in an overall better experience for their passengers (I don’t know how this will affect the bottom line, but it’s the effort that counts). Kudos, SG!