FoCus on inflight entertainment
OnAir relies on the Inmarsat network and
is looking to ramp up its service with the introduction of ka band service. The Geneva- based company, part owned by Airbus, has 12 customers already operating the current service and a further eight signed contracts. However OnAir ceo Ian Dawkins believes
American Airlines’ vice president – marketing Rob Friedman says, “We’ve been deeply involved in developing the concept of streaming video with Gogo… Entertainment On Demand allows customers to access content through select personal wi-fi enabled laptops, and in the coming months Gogo intends to make tablets and other devices available for use with the product.” The launch of ‘Entertainment on Demand’ follows a trial earlier this year on two B767- 200s which gained FAA certification in July. Initially only accessible to laptop users, Gogo is increasing the number of compatible devices for use with Entertainment On Demand in the coming months. It will initially be on the B767-200 fleet of 15 aircraft. Longhaul transcontinental flights are the first platforms operating between New York JFK and Los Angeles and JFK and San Francisco. Entertainment is priced at 99 cents per TV
show and $3.99 per movie and are paid for by customers’credit or debit cards. However passengers do not have to
purchase inflight wi-fi to access the ‘library’. Content includes over 100 movies and TV
shows. Viewers can sort titles by movie or TV, genre, length of feature, and other categories. Trailers are available without paying upfront. The airline claims to be the first to opt for
this delivery method of content. Certainly it is the first Aircell Gogo customer to offer it. What does appear to set a precedent is the ability to watch the IFE content on the ground, post-flight. In other words, movies and TV shows will remain accessible for viewing, after landing, on the same device. The window of viewing lasts 24 hours for movies and 72 hours for TV shows.
Left to right: A passenger connects to the OnAir service; stowed iPad connected to the inflight wi-fi-service FlyNet on Lufthansa
Unexpired rentals will be available for playback on the ground by using the same device and browser used onboard. LiveTV, based in Florida, whose live television programming service is distributed to 700 commercial aircraft operated by nine airlines, this summer announced an ambitious timetable to provide ka band connectivity to be launched next year in a brand marked Global LiveTV. Ka band is regarded as an accelerator of
all types of connectivity and entertainment service, due to the power and speed of the bandwidth on this spectrum. vp/gm Spectrum Services, Mike Moeller calls Global LiveTV ‘hotter than a firecracker’. He says, “We have a Tri-band solution (Ka, Ku and L-band) to provide TV and internet globally. Ku-band is excellent for broadcast and Ka-band will be the standard for internet/broadband. We utilize the best of both worlds.” LiveTV counts among its customers JetBlue,
Continental, Frontier, AirTran, Alitalia, Virgin Blue, WestJet and Azul. Similar to Gogo and American Airlines,
the new ka band LiveTV service will stream wireless content to both legacy inseat IFE and PEDS using the onboard wi-fi equipment and signal. Aircraft will need to be fitted with the correct antenna and onboard equipment to qualify. The company has all the content
relationships in place; and access to a global network of bandwidth that enables the service. Initial launch will provide live television content over the Atlantic with three to five channels of live sports and news. Additional regions will be added to meet demand. The service is scheduled to launch late 2012. The Inmarsat timetable for ka band is likely to begin towards the end of 2014.
that airlines may be misled in thinking that connectivity takes care of all their entertainment needs. Dawkins says, "There’s lots of hype that’s
been created. There’s also been a lot of confusion about the technology about what you can do. The reality is fundamentally different. You can stream video … but the reality is yes you can do that but it’s about providing a service throughout the aircraft." Full service at OnAir means broadband
connectivity to provide internet in addition to GSM service to mobile phones. Usage is as high as 95 per cent among passengers using and accessing data via smartphones. Of those passengers buying inflight Internet access, more than half use smartphones or tablets to access the Internet. Of the top 20 websites accessed over OnAir’s inflight Internet service, facebook is number one with nearly 40 per cent of all usage. To put that into perspective, the second-ranked website is Google, with only 10 per cent. He says, “With every airline which has our service the numbers are very much the same. So only a small percentage of people want to use a laptop. We’ve also seen an explosion of all these tablets in the last six months.” He concludes, “Today you can’t fly
globally and guarantee to be connected on an aircraft." The reality will come in the next three to five years. Once that starts to happen airlines will see connectivity as a good investment.”
CONTACT US
IFE Focus is now a regular feature in OnBoard Hospitality. If you have a new product, new technology, a relevant report, or a new partnership to announce please email sally@
gethinsinflight.com (text only, please). Please send any picture files, marked IFE in the subject line, direct to
jo.austin@
onboardhospitality.com.
www.onboardhospitality.com 45
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