S7 Airlines is testing an in-flight entertainment system onboard Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
The system can be accessed with any personal electronic device, including a smartphone, a tablet, and a laptop. Content is broadcast in streaming mode and does not need to be downloaded to the smartphone.
Passengers can watch movies, TV shows, and children’s cartoons, listen to music and audio performances, read books, and track their flight on a special map. Passengers can view a map of Domodedovo hub airport with information on connecting flights. The system also allows passengers to submit their reviews to S7 Airlines using a feedback form.
Svetlana Kulyukina, the director of the S7 Group’s customer experience department:
“We expect the new service to be popular. The majority of our passengers travel with tablets or smartphones. Now there is no need to download movies or music in advance. All you need to do is connect to the local network and make a choice. Content will be constantly expanded and updated.
“We plan to introduce access not only to entertainment, but also to educational programs so that time in flight can be used in the most interesting and useful ways.”
To access content on the Airbus A320neo and Airbus A321neo aircraft, passengers have to download or update the S7 Media app in advance, before the flight. The app is available in the App Store and on Google Play.
Once on board, passengers switch their personal devices to airplane mode, activate the wireless Wi-Fi connection, and connect to the S7 network. Next, they will open the S7 Media app and follow the instructions.
Seats on the Airbus A320neo family in the S7 fleet are equipped with special holders that allow passengers to adjust their devices to their eye level.
To connect to the system on other Airbus and Boeing aircraft, passengers have to download or update the S7 Airlines app in advance. Once on board, they switch their devices to airplane mode, activate the wireless Wi-Fi connection, and connect to the S7 network. When all these steps are completed, passengers open their browser and, after being automatically redirected, select the content they wish to view.
About S7 Airlines
S7 Airlines is a Russian airline with its main bases at Domodedovo International Airport and Tolmachevo Airport. It is Russia’s largest domestic airline.
Routes: The airline has a wide network of domestic routes, with their home base at the air transportation hubs in Moscow (Domodedovo) and Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo). S7 Airlines operates regular flights to the CIS countries, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Fleet: S7 Airlines operates an all narrow body fleet of over 90 aircraft from Airbus, Boeing and Embraer, including:
- 18 Airbus A319
- 30 Airbus A320
- 11 Airbus A321
- 23 Boeing 737-800
- 2 Boeing 737 MAX 8
- 17 Embraer 170
(It is difficult to know the exact number at the time of writing.)
Passenger numbers: In 2018, S7 Group carried more than 15.9 million passengers.
Alliance: oneworld
N.B. Image credit: S7 Airlines
