To say that Air India‘s fleet renewal is a new tack from the prior passenger experience may be the understatement of the year for the aviation world. But with the carrier’s first A350s now entering service the shift from the prior generation is hard to miss. Among other things, the inflight entertainment system is both modern and well stocked with content, things perhaps unimaginable just a few years ago.
As Air India takes flight into a new era with the arrival of our A350 aircraft, so does our guests’ entertainment experience. This complete overhaul in our inflight entertainment offering mirrors the dynamic transformation underway at Air India. We’re redefining what it means to fly with us, and this world-class IFE system and carefully curated content are a cornerstone of that commitment.
– Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India
Passengers will have access to more than 2,200 hours of entertainment content on board, including more than 250 Indian movies spanning decades and genres. The content selection also includes 76 Indian regional movies in eight languages. The carrier claims it now offers the largest library of Indian movie content in the sky.
The new system, built on Panasonic Avionics‘ eX3 platform, offers 1080p HD screens from nose to tail. In business class passengers enjoy a 21″ screen, while the premium economy screen measures 13.3″. Both premium cabins will also offer noise-cancelling headphones to passengers. The economy class screen comes in at 12″.
The system can be controlled either via the touch screen or via a handset. USB and AC power are also part of the implementation.
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Beyond the Indian content, the company features nearly 200 Hollywood selections on board, including award-winning and nominated titles and the entire opus of popular franchises like Harry Potter or Despicable Me. Passengers can also choose from more than 40 full TV series for an inflight binge.
The kit also comes with Panasonic’s Arc moving map, offering including an interactive experience with city guides and other data-rich features.
The system is notable enough on its own. Compared to 2019, when the carrier was keen to ditch its entire embedded IFE platform in favor of a streaming solution, the new offering is even more impressive. It certainly helps that the carrier picked up its initial A350s with the interiors already designed. But the company expects the offering to extend well beyond the small subfleet.
Read more: Air India’s major order: A first step in rebuilding, but not the most important one
In addition to the A350s, the updated IFE offering will also fly on newly inducted 777-200ERs and other new widebody aircraft as they join the carrier. Furthermore, Air India plans to retrofit much of its existing widebody fleet starting later this year as part of a $400 million interiors update program. That effort will also include the IFE refresh and expanded content for those planes.
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