Virgin Australia Unveils First Phase Of Inflight Entertainment Plans

[Virgin Australia]

You may have noticed that in 2011, as our new planes have joined the fleet, they have been missing an IFE system.

There has been LOTS of conversation and speculation on what we will implement.

We have today announced that we will be 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 our 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.

Obviously there isn't all the detail above, but we will update you when we can.

 

[aurora]

You may have noticed...

may have? lol

 

[serfty]

Will each seat have a power supply to enable these personal devices to operate for a period of time?

 

[casanovawa]

Hmmm, quite a cost saving strategy (and i suppose an efficient and lets hope effective) way to provide IFE to encourage customers to bring their own laptops/netbooks/tablet devices (mobile phones??) and just provide a wifi environment... Small initial cost to install the system and then no issues of replacing or upgrading the system as technology improves..

 

[serfty]

Hmmm, quite a cost saving strategy (and i suppose an efficient and lets hope effective) way to provide IFE to encourage customers to bring their own laptops/netbooks/tablet devices (mobile phones??) and just provide a wifi environment... Small initial cost to install the system and then no issues of replacing or upgrading the system as technology improves..

Might reduce food/drink sales as limited tray table room.

 

[777]

Will each seat have a power supply to enable these personal devices to operate for a period of time?

+1

........

 

[Wayne Herring]

Same system that Virgin America is putting in by the looks of it, except Virgin America are putting in their own screens.

Good description of it here:

Virgin America explains new IFE choice - YouTube

Interesting point in the above interview, no recent release (pre DVD) content when using personal devices/notebooks due to licencing concerns from the movie studios.

 

[casanovawa]

Yeah, on any decent length trip over a couple of hours the power source will be useful...

 

[JB007]

I posted the same message on the Virgin Australia blog so apologies for the repeat, especially as some of my points have been raised already

I think its a terrible idea for many reasons.

1) Availability - It's not gate to gate and I am assuming that you won't be able to use devices below 10,000ft so for MEL > SYD that's nearly half the flight where you won't be able to have IFE. It is also awkward to have your laptop under the seat in front of you so most people will be jumping up to get their laptop as soon as the seat belt sign comes off. Not so much an issue for iPads and smartphones though.

2) Power - Batteries run out and as it seems that there is no power points in the economy cabin, those flying trans-cons will want to ration their useage pretty carefully. Especially if you need to do work either before or after the flight. I certainly wouldn't want to be watching a movie on my phone inflight without being certain of how much I would need to use it when I landed and when I can get to the next power source.

3) Space - A meal tray doesn't have much space on it and when its out, there is very little space elsewhere. So if you order something to eat or get your food as part of a Flexi ticket then you will have to put your entertainment away. Not great while watching a movie or documentary, especially on the 2-3 hour sectors. On longer sectors I don't want the tray table out the whole time and restricting my space.

4) Map and Flight Info - This might be just me but I enjoy and rely on the Moving Map and Altitude indicators on most IFE systems. It lets me know where I am and how long to go. It is especially useful in the descent phase if I don't have a window seat. This may be coming in Phase 2 but I can't see how this feature can be used by passengers in the current form.

5) Ergonomics - Display units are displayed in the seat backs so that they are at the eye level of the viewer. With a laptop, smartphone or tablet the user will have a tilted head and neck for the majority of the flight. Seat back TV's are also comfortable to use, you don't have to hold them, you don't have to move them, they don't take up your space.

6) Distractions - People are afraid of flying and use the IFE to help distract them from the fact that they are flying in a narrow metal tube. Giving children something to watch or play will help them become more settled and less of a disruption to other people. I think it's a bit much to expect every passenger to have an entertainment device (or more if they travel with kids), even in this day and age.

I'm sure there are other reasons and while I think this type of IFE sounds futuristic and forward thinking, there are lots of options currently in the market that have seat back TV's and are more futuristic and forward thinking. Hopefully VA goes down the Virgin Atlantic path and installs the TV display sets to go with it to make it a truly perfect system.

 

[serfty]

Yeah, on any decent length trip over a couple of hours the power source will be useful...

I guess the only flights where such a lack may become a real problem will be transcontinental and those over 2½ hours.

Look for fights over power points in the Lounge.

 

[haydensydney]

I think it's great... no irritating IFE boxes under seats and it really is future proofing IFE solutions for the airline - would also allow for rapid updates and presumably will provide greater amount of content.

 

[markis10]

What makes you think its not gate to gate, the restriction on transmission devices in planes is mostly due to older aircraft not being designed to handle such transmission, given the fleet age of Virgin, its possible this restriction will be removed.

I have not relied on airline IFE for some time, although I must admit 50% of my flights dont even have it, so the concerns you express I have already been through as far as operating limitations. I like the idea of using my own device, especially as I have no one to blame but myself when it does not work, and I am not paying in my airfare for something that I dont use. As for battery time, I get 10 hours out of the Ipad and the laptop, so onboard power is nice but not mandatory.

 

[Virgin Australia]

Posting this news was always going to raise more questions, and unfortunately, at this stage, we can't go into too much more detail.

 

[DGW]

I can't really see the point. If I'm bringing my own device, chances are I'm also bringing my own content. Although I can see how it will appeal to some.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using AustFreqFly

 

[djfuzz]

Seems like the FAA's cleared AA to use iPads during all phases of flight, so perhaps gate-to-gate use of this system is not so far out of reach.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/faa...ghpit-american-airlines-to-start-friday/11865

I agree with the comment above about providing at the very least a USB port like VX and QF's new product to provide power, and perhaps a seatback mounting point to give some flexibility during meal services (perhaps that's wishful), but otherwise very excited about this.

As for the content restrictions, they suck - hopefully success and time will drag the licensors into the modern world as it slowly has been with other new forms of distribution.

 

[JB007]

What makes you think its not gate to gate, the restriction on transmission devices in planes is mostly due to older aircraft not being designed to handle such transmission, given the fleet age of Virgin, its possible this restriction will be removed.

I have not relied on airline IFE for some time, although I must admit 50% of my flights dont even have it, so the concerns you express I have already been through as far as operating limitations. I like the idea of using my own device, especially as I have no one to blame but myself when it does not work, and I am not paying in my airfare for something that I dont use. As for battery time, I get 10 hours out of the Ipad and the laptop, so onboard power is nice but not mandatory.

I don't think the technology is the issue for it not being gate to gate but the issue of having non secured items in the cabin and with having a tray table not secured. In a rejected take off situation that would be a lot of potential missiles in the cabin and potentially a lot of injuries coming from movement into a deployed tray table. If they can get around this then well and good and I would be a lot happier about the solution but I can't see it being an easily surmountable problem.

I like my iPad as well and the 10 hours is fantastic, but for those that only have a laptop or a phone then onboard power becomes very necessary. The other issues are probably not as a big deal for others as they are for me but I feel that its not as an ideal solution as seat back IFE. That's based on the info given so far only though, I will be more than happy to eat humble pie if further details voids everything that I have said.

 

[markis10]

I don't think the technology is the issue for it not being gate to gate but the issue of having non secured items in the cabin and with having a tray table not secured. In a rejected take off situation that would be a lot of potential missiles in the cabin and potentially a lot of injuries coming from movement into a deployed tray table. If they can get around this then well and good and I would be a lot happier about the solution but I can't see it being an easily surmountable problem.

Its partly non secured items but mostly the fact that there is a radio transmitter involved/PED, most PEDs weight less than the inflight magazine these days. I wonder what the restrictions are on the QF streaming trial aircraft?

 

[serfty]

I am quite used to employing my own device on AA flights around the USA - however they do have in seat power throughout the cabins (either 15VDC or 115VAC).

 

[JB007]

Its partly non secured items but mostly the fact that there is a radio transmitter involved/PED, most PEDs weight less than the inflight magazine these days. I wonder what the restrictions are on the QF streaming trial aircraft?

True, but most inflight magazines remain in the document holder in the back of the seat and have more give in them when they hit another object. A PED is made of glass and stronger materials, I know what I would rather be hit in the head by

I am hoping that the next phase will involve some sort of securing system, not sure how that could be done but it would make it an almost ideal solution.

 

[munitalP]

Will each seat have a power supply to enable these personal devices to operate for a period of time?

[scoff] I have an Apple so this is a redundant question [/scoff]