Virgin Australia has formally launched the rollout of wireless streaming of entertainment content to passengers’ portable devices as its inflight entertainment system for domestic and short-haul international flights.
The airline began trialling the technology in August 2012 and has already fitted 37 aircraft with the system. It expects rollout across its 737-800 and E190 fleets to be complete by the end of this year.
The wireless system allows movies, TV shows and music to be streamed to passengers’ own wifi-enabled devices such as iPads, iPhones, Android smart phones and tablets and Windows laptops. To access the system passengers need to download a free app or have Microsoft’s Silverlight downloaded on their laptop.
“We know that in-flight entertainment is a key driver in customer satisfaction. Our research shows that around 90 per cent of our customers travel with at least one smartphone, laptop or tablet,” said Virgin Australia chief customer officer Mark Hassell.
“We were instantly drawn to this technology because it represents a quantum change in the way entertainment is experienced in the sky. Our customers are the first in the region to be able to stream content to their very own personal device and the feedback we are receiving is fantastic.”
