Charging MacBook air on planes

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Charging MacBook air on planes

I am thinking of transitioning to MacBook Air + external SSD rather than continuing with MacBook Pro. One reason: My 16" 2021 MacBook Pro (AppleCare expiring in a few months) does not charge (nor even maintain power from outlets) on planes. My hope is that a MacBook Air (i.e., the upcoming M4 model) will charge on planes.

1) What do we know about ability to charge current MacBook Air models on planes?

2) What de we expect about the ability to charge the upcoming M4 MacBook Air model on planes?

Thanks!

Posted on Feb 18, 2025 7:00 AM

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Answer 1

varjak paw

Level 10

183,286 points

Feb 18, 2025 7:58 AM in response to StochasticNYC

It's completely up to the specific airplane, not your computer model. Many planes do not provide sufficient power to the seat to charge a laptop, and a new laptop isn't going to be any different than an older laptop in that regards, nor will the type or brand of laptop in any significant way. This is something you'll need to take up with your airline, and is going to depend on the specific plane you're on for any given trip.

For some discussion, see:

https://www.lifewire.com/mobile-power-options-how-to-charge-phone-or-laptop-on-a-plane-2377218

Regards.

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Charging MacBook air on planes

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