ANA’s onboard experience is about to be enhanced through the availability of a free, “infotainment portal” on selected international flights, via OnAir wi-fi connectivity. The portal contains English and Japanese content, from a range of categories including news, business, arts and culture, technology, and sports, and the content is constantly updated via satellite connectivity. Alongside the infotainment portal, passengers using Internet OnAir will be able to use their smartphones, tablets and laptops to stay in touch with the world.
ANA is OnAir’s first customer in Japan, and the Internet OnAir system is being retrofitted to the airline’s B767-300 and B777-300 aircraft. The service will be provided in partnership with JSAT Mobile Communications, a joint venture of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation and Inmarsat Solutions.
“We are very excited to be expanding our Asia business,” said Ian Dawkins, OnAir’s CEO. “Passengers now expect to fly in a connected aircraft, and ANA has recognised and acted on this. New services like those which enable passengers to access on-demand content and live streaming mean that it is a very exciting time to be introducing connectivity onto your aircraft.”
The ANA announcement also marks the first time a B767-300 has been retrofitted with OnAir services. This means that OnAir’s services are now available on all types of aircraft flown by the world’s major airlines.
