Air Canada has officially begun operating Panasonic Avionics’ Astrova in-flight engagement (IFE) systems on its fleet, with the first equipped aircraft having entered service: an Airbus A321. Air Canada is retrofitting Astrova on board 19 A321s in its fleet, and is also line-fitting Astrova on an additional 67 aircraft, comprising 23 new Airbus A220-300s, 30 new A321XLRs, and 14 new Boeing 787-10s.
Passengers flying on these aircraft will enjoy 4K OLED HDR10+ Astrova seatback displays, with the option to stream spatial audio directly to their own wireless headphones via Bluetooth. The Astrova systems also provide up to 67W of DC charging power via USB-C at every seat, available during all phases of flight.
The future tech tastes of passengers are already catered for, as the modular design of Astrova includes a removable peripheral bar can be quickly ‘hot-swapped’ to add new features and services. Air Canada can thus update the system to meet evolving customer expectations without major investment.
John Moody, managing director onboard product at Air Canada, said of the installations: “Providing a consistent, premium experience across our diverse fleet is a top priority for Air Canada. The scalability of the Astrova system allows us to seamlessly integrate industry-leading entertainment across all aircraft and all classes of service. We are excited to offer our passengers this exceptional level of high-fidelity video audio, and in-seat power as we continue to modernise our cabin interiors.”
This week has also seen Air Canada reveal ‘Glowing Hearted’, its next-generation aircraft cabin scheme, which will debut this summer as the airline’s fleet of 30 A321XLRs.
