Etihad steps up inflight multimedia
Etihad Airways is enhanceing the in-flight travel experience of its customers with the introduction of a new interactive Airshow TV channel across its fleet of aircraft.
The new channel will be launched as part of Etihad’s in-flight entertainment system in June and allows each passenger to view flight path, destination and flight information, all in extensive detail, high definition and on-demand.
A second upgrade is scheduled for 2008 and will offer passengers live network news feeds, airport arrival and connecting gate information, airport terminal maps, and destination city guides.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ executive vice president marketing and product, said: “Etihad is proud to offer its customers the world’s most advanced and sophisticated in-flight product, so it is not surprising that we are the first commercial airline to introduce this latest version of the interactive Airshow TV channel.”
The multimedia platform captures real-time flight information from the aircraft’s flight management computer, long-range navigation system and aircraft communication system.
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Passengers using the Airshow TV channel can choose to access it in English or Arabic, and view detailed flight information such as estimated time of arrival and distance travelled during the flight.
Mr Baumgartner added: “The Airshow TV channel sets new standards of in-flight entertainment because not only does it enable each passenger to follow the progress and flight path of the aircraft, they can also gain a wealth of information about their destination which will help and entertain.”
The interactive Airshow TV channel is made available via the Thales TopSeries i4000 audio-and-video-on-demand in-flight entertainment system and will complement the extensive entertainment suite currently offered on Etihad flights.
The platform is unique from traditional video broadcast systems and is made possible through the use of an Ethernet LAN and HTML browsers.
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