Tech Shout

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If you happen to travel by Volaris, a little known Mexican airline, don’t be surprised if you are offered an iPod. Apparently, Mexican flight attendants now serve the usual salted snacks, colas, and meals during the flight, and they also see to it that you get a healthy dose of music by renting an Apple iPod to all passengers for something as little as $5.

By renting out the popular music and video device to its passengers, the low-cost airline Volaris has now got a one-up over U.S. giants such as Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines, who have for months been talking about offering iPod seat connections.

Since February 8, 2007, Volaris has been handing out 30GB Apple iPods absolutely free of cost, but soon they plan to start charging 50 pesos per flight. These iPods have been pre-loaded with Mexican TV shows and popular music, but soon the airline plans to load U.S. sitcoms as well as other music genres.

According to Alfonso Collantes, public relations officer for Volaris Airlines, “We’re the first to use iPods. We like it because no one else has it.” He said that they just went out and bought a couple of iPods, and then started handing them out to passengers.

Most Mexicans depend on buses for long-distance transportation, however, these days discount airlines have been trying hard to attract passengers by offering tickets at prices similar to bus fares.

Now getting yourself an iPod free of cost, and that too when you are traveling to a beautiful locale for a vacation is simply too good to be true. Great initiative, we say, and very innovative as well.