Passengers with Air Transat will soon be able to access free IFE following an agreement being reached between the Canadian airline and Bluebox Aviation Systems to implement the Bluebox Wow portable wireless streaming platform. The standalone, portable Bluebox Wow unit – which can stream up to 1.6 terabytes of film, TV, audio, games and other digital content to passenger devices in any aircraft cabin – will be deployed on Air Transat’s fleet in an arrangement designed to meet both seasonal demands on the airline’s fleet and the additional temporary aircraft it brings in to meet that demand, ensuring both flexibility and consistency of IFE services.
The deployment, which is awaiting final Transport Canada approvals, will see Bluebox Wow in service on a range of both narrow- and wide-body aircraft (it can easily be switched between aircraft types), including Airbus A310s, A321ceos, A321neos, and Boeing B737s. Initially, the deployment is expected to include 17 aircraft during the summer 2019 season, expanding to 38 aircraft for the winter season.
“Offering a seamless IFE experience across a fleet like ours, with different aircraft types and some only joining our fleet for seasonal deployment, is a challenge,” explained Dave Bourdages, VP of inflight services and customer experience at Air Transat. “Introducing Bluebox Wow across all of these aircraft resolves that challenge and will deliver the same high-quality experience to all. Bluebox Wow offers a powerful range of capabilities and we are excited to deploy a system upon which we can further develop our in-cabin experience.”
