Inflight Internet

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Over the past 10 years, inflight passenger services such as on demand video, music and entertainment systems have made massive strides forward. Gone are the days when passengers were subject to a single movie selected by the airline and played on a cen...

Over the past 10 years, inflight passenger services such as on demand video, music and entertainment systems have made massive strides forward. Gone are the days when passengers were subject to a single movie selected by the airline and played on a central screen.

Most modern aircraft are now fitted with state of the art entertainment systems which allow passengers access to hours of interactive entertainment. This isn’t just restricted to international flights or first class either. A typical domestic flight on Virgin Blue for example will still allow you access to over 25 Foxtel channels or a selection of movies for just a few dollars extra. You no longer have to be relegated to reading the inflight magazine should the movie being shown not take your fancy. Most people will think that all this is pretty good but it gets you thinking – if the entertainment being afforded today is so impressive compared to just a few years ago, then what is in store for us next?

The next big challenge for the aviation industry is to get people onboard easily connected to their digital world. With the prevalence of social media and internet being accessible pretty much anywhere, why shouldn’t easy access be afforded on aircraft as well? I think we are all aware of the standard line, “Transmitting devices may interfere with the aircraft navigational systems and should be switched off at all times...” but what happens if you could connect to the internet on a flight? Well the good news is that this is now a reality. Internet connectivity is being included by a number of carriers across the world in various trials (with some going on to make it a permanent offering). With the aviation industry being embattled by all sorts of issues, onboard internet potentially makes a good source of additional revenue. It currently isn’t cheap or available in Australia, but that doesn’t mean that affordable onboard internet is a distant dream in the Australian market. Both Virgin and Qantas are considering the feasibility of such a service and with the proliferation of onboard technology, it hopefully shouldn’t be very far away.

On-board internet isn’t the only innovation currently used by airlines around the world. Here are some of the other features you might find interesting:

• iPod connectivity, document writing and passenger v passenger interactivity on Singapore Airlines (Airbus A380, A330 and Boeing 777-300ER)
• Touch-screen controls on Etihad (Airbus A340 and Boeing 777-300ER) and Kingfisher Airlines (Airbus A340 and A330)
• SMS (both air-to-ground and ground-to-air) on Qantas (Airbus A330 and Boeing 747-400)
• The ICE entertainment system available on Emirates including 600 channels of entertainment and the ability to use email

* Please note, services vary from airline to airline and may not be available on all aircraft.