Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians - Thursday, January 22, 2026
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Colin Howard
Jan 23, 2026, 1:36:15 AM (8 days ago) Jan 23
to post AVIP list
Greetings,
I found this fascinating and if implemented for UK flights, would be most
useful to pass the time on long-haul journeys.
A Welcome Surprise at 35,000 Feet: Accessible In-Flight Entertainment on Air
Canada
By Peter Quaiattini
During my recent holiday travel between Calgary and Toronto on Air Canada, I
had an experience I didn't expect. As a totally blind traveller, I
discovered that the in-flight, seat-back entertainment system was
accessible. That alone made this trip stand out.
How did I learn about this? Before the flight, I stumbled across a note in
the Air Canada app on my smartphone. It mentioned upcoming features tied to
my trip, with a brief reference to "accessible entertainment." This caught
my attention.
Once on board, after receiving my personalized safety briefing, I decided to
ask. I mentioned the accessible entertainment note to a flight attendant and
asked if they knew anything about it. They stepped away, checked, and
returned with good news: the accessible feature had been enabled on my seat's
system. I was offered a headset as well, which I declined since I prefer
using my own headphones.
When I plugged in my headphones, to my surprise, a welcome message played
automatically and explained how to use the screen through touch and
gestures. Each corner of the screen had a specific function, such as help,
information, and moving up one level. I can't recall the fourth corner, but
the layout was logical and easy to learn. Touching my finger to the middle
of the screen and holding does things like select, start and stop. Swiping
left and right moves through choices and, while content is playing, enables
rewind and fast-forward.
The content available to me didn't appear to be identical to what my sighted
travel companion could access, though I can't say how large the difference
was. On the outbound flight, I browsed the options independently and chose a
movie. Even better, I was able to turn on audio description and enjoy the
film from start to finish. Very cool!
On the return flight, I explored further. I moved through categories without
assistance and selected an audiobook. Audio description wasn't needed in
that case, but the player controls were fully accessible and worked as
expected.
Overall, I came away impressed. Being able to choose content, control
playback, and enjoy a movie with audio description made a real difference to
my travel experience. It was smooth, intuitive, and respectful of my
independence.
My only lingering question is about scope. I'm not sure how broad the
accessible content library is compared to what sighted passengers can
access. I suppose you could argue both sides. It's possible that once the
accessibility feature is enabled, the system only presents content that
includes described audio. If described audio isn't needed, there may be an
assumption that a traveller is at least partially sighted and therefore
doesn't require the accessible mode at all. I'm only guessing. Still, this
was a strong step in the right direction and a genuinely positive
experience. Credit where it's due-this made flying more enjoyable.
https://www.blindcanadians.ca/post/a-welcome-surprise-at-35-000-feet-accessible-in-flight-entertainment-on-air-canada
David Goldfield,
Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
http://www.DavidGoldfield.com
Director of Marketing,
Blazie Technologies
http://www.BlazieTech.com
JAWS Certified, 2022
NVDA Certified Expert
Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive blindness technology
news, events and information.
Email: tech-vi+...@groups.io
http://www.DavidGoldfield.com
Colin Howard, living in Southern England.
I found this fascinating and if implemented for UK flights, would be most
useful to pass the time on long-haul journeys.
A Welcome Surprise at 35,000 Feet: Accessible In-Flight Entertainment on Air
Canada
By Peter Quaiattini
During my recent holiday travel between Calgary and Toronto on Air Canada, I
had an experience I didn't expect. As a totally blind traveller, I
discovered that the in-flight, seat-back entertainment system was
accessible. That alone made this trip stand out.
How did I learn about this? Before the flight, I stumbled across a note in
the Air Canada app on my smartphone. It mentioned upcoming features tied to
my trip, with a brief reference to "accessible entertainment." This caught
my attention.
Once on board, after receiving my personalized safety briefing, I decided to
ask. I mentioned the accessible entertainment note to a flight attendant and
asked if they knew anything about it. They stepped away, checked, and
returned with good news: the accessible feature had been enabled on my seat's
system. I was offered a headset as well, which I declined since I prefer
using my own headphones.
When I plugged in my headphones, to my surprise, a welcome message played
automatically and explained how to use the screen through touch and
gestures. Each corner of the screen had a specific function, such as help,
information, and moving up one level. I can't recall the fourth corner, but
the layout was logical and easy to learn. Touching my finger to the middle
of the screen and holding does things like select, start and stop. Swiping
left and right moves through choices and, while content is playing, enables
rewind and fast-forward.
The content available to me didn't appear to be identical to what my sighted
travel companion could access, though I can't say how large the difference
was. On the outbound flight, I browsed the options independently and chose a
movie. Even better, I was able to turn on audio description and enjoy the
film from start to finish. Very cool!
On the return flight, I explored further. I moved through categories without
assistance and selected an audiobook. Audio description wasn't needed in
that case, but the player controls were fully accessible and worked as
expected.
Overall, I came away impressed. Being able to choose content, control
playback, and enjoy a movie with audio description made a real difference to
my travel experience. It was smooth, intuitive, and respectful of my
independence.
My only lingering question is about scope. I'm not sure how broad the
accessible content library is compared to what sighted passengers can
access. I suppose you could argue both sides. It's possible that once the
accessibility feature is enabled, the system only presents content that
includes described audio. If described audio isn't needed, there may be an
assumption that a traveller is at least partially sighted and therefore
doesn't require the accessible mode at all. I'm only guessing. Still, this
was a strong step in the right direction and a genuinely positive
experience. Credit where it's due-this made flying more enjoyable.
https://www.blindcanadians.ca/post/a-welcome-surprise-at-35-000-feet-accessible-in-flight-entertainment-on-air-canada
David Goldfield,
Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
http://www.DavidGoldfield.com
Director of Marketing,
Blazie Technologies
http://www.BlazieTech.com
JAWS Certified, 2022
NVDA Certified Expert
Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive blindness technology
news, events and information.
Email: tech-vi+...@groups.io
http://www.DavidGoldfield.com
Colin Howard, living in Southern England.
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