SCOTS holidaymakers will be among the first in the world to stream in-flight films and television direct to their own laptops, tablets and other devices after an operator unveiled plans to scrap seatback screens on its long-haul routes.

Passengers travelling on Air Canada's new "rouge" planes, which are launching with a direct service from Edinburgh to Toronto in July, will be able to log into a wi-fi system on board and stream entertainment straight to their own iPads, tablets, smartphones and laptops.

However, industry-watchers have warned that the move could alienate some customers – particularly older passengers – who would be less likely to take laptops and tablets on holiday.

Kevin Thom, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association, said: "There are positives in being able to use your own device in that it gives passengers the flexibility to manage what they're watching and when, and it is true that a lot of these seatback screens are vulnerable to technical problems – I've been on flights where mine hasn't been working.

"But I would be concerned about how many people boarding the plane in Scotland will have iPads or similar devices."

Mr Thom said operators would need to make it clear to passengers well ahead of time that the planes did not have seatback screens. He suggested airlines could hand out tablets for free or rent them out to passengers, especially if a flight was being marketed as a leisure flight.

"If you're a family of four travelling, for instance, you're probably not going to have a tablet or laptop each," he said.

"Also, you have to remember that Scotland-Canada tends to attract an older market and I can't image the 'silver brigade' being fully equipped with tablets and other devices."

Australian carrier Qantas rolled out a wireless Q-streaming service in March on a selected number of its Boeing 767 aircraft, providing passengers with access to 200 hours of on-demand entertainment via Qantas-owned iPads in every seat.

However, Air Canada rouge is believed to be the first airline to allow passengers to use their own devices.

Airline chiefs hope the move, which will be introduced for passengers on the seven-hour flight between Edinburgh and Toronto, will eventually pave the way to passengers being able to watch live news and sport during flights. The airline said it had received positive feedback from market research in North America.

But Roger Bray, chairman of the British Guild of Travel Writers and an aviation specialist, said he was dumbstruck by the decision to scrap seatback screens.

He said: "Most people on long-haul flights like to watch movies and television so if I was travelling without my iPad, tablet or whatever, and discovered once I got on the plane that I had no other way of accessing the on-board entertainment, I would be pretty annoyed."

Air Canada rouge, which will also operate return services to Toronto from Venice and Athens as well as a Montreal-Athens service and various connections to the Caribbean, is being billed as an "affordable" leisure, rather than business, carrier.

The planes will be smaller than Air Canada's traditional transatlantic fleet, with a 264- passenger capacity and no first-class cabin. Instead, customers wanting to upgrade from economy can opt for rouge plus – equivalent to premium economy – or premium rouge, similar to a business class cabin on North American domestic routes.

Renee Smith-Valade, vice-president of customer experience at Air Canada rouge, said the move to allow passengers to use their own devices would bring them in line with "what customers want and need".