Virgin Australia Unveils First Phase Of Inflight Entertainment Plans

Virgin Australia group of airlines is collaborating with industry leader, Lufthansa Systems, to develop a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system using Wi-Fi technology delivered to personal, hand-held devices on its aircraft.

Group Executive Product and Guest Services, Martin Daley, said the two companies had signed a letter of intent to produce and install the initial systems, known as BoardConnect, from mid-2012.

“This system, considered to be at the leading edge of inflight entertainment technology, provides guests with a wide range of products including video and audio streaming delivered on demand to personal entertainment devices or Wi-Fi enabled laptops.

“Our new entertainment system will provide guests with more options than ever before to tailor their inflight entertainment experience to their personal tastes along with the freedom to choose how and when they access inflight entertainment."

“This latest product release, combined with our new Business Class and Economy Class cabin environment, further enhances the inflight experience,” he said.

Mr. Daley said the growing number of travellers carrying their own devices meant this new inflight entertainment system would allow Virgin Australia to remain at the forefront of technology.

Features will include:

• Ability to control and view content from personal entertainment devices (PEDs) and WiFi enabled laptops;
• Extensive range of movies, television and audio content;
• On demand controls to start, stop, rewind, fast forward and pause content;
• Selection of games for adults and children including arcade style games in future releases; and
• Service and Product information including destination / airport guides, travel offers and Velocity information in future releases.

About Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia group of airlines (ASX: VAH) Virgin Australia operates a fleet of modern Boeing 737, Boeing 777, Airbus A330, ATR-72 Turboprop and Embraer E-Jet aircraft flying to Australian and international destinations including the USA, UAE, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands. The group employs more than 7,000 people and includes Virgin Australia international and domestic airlines and Virgin Samoa, a joint venture with the government of Samoa.

About Lufthansa Systems

Lufthansa Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group and provides consulting and IT services for selected industries and has a leading position in the global aviation industry. Headquartered in Kelsterbach near Frankfurt, Germany, the company operates one of the most modern data centres in Europe. It has offices in 16 other countries and employs about 3,000 people.