Passengers on more than 100 easyJet aircraft can now enjoy inflight entertainment on their own mobiles, phones and laptops.
They can browse the onboard shop menu, play games, view fight and safety information, destination content, inflight magazine content and a selection of games.
To access the content, passengers simply connect to a local Wi-Fi network onboard with their own devices.
Access to the content is free, and there is no requirement for passengers to download an app before the flight or share personal information to get connected.
easyJet started a trial of the system in October on it’s Swiss fleet of 27 A320 family aircraft from Geneva and Basel.
Happy with the trial, easyJet have expanded it to all it’s EU registered aircraft.
It means that just over half of the airline’s fleet is now offering the digital platform to passengers throughout their flight.
The system is not on offer, at least for now, on UK based aircraft.
As well as improving the passenger experience, the system helps easyJet to save a lot of money by removing the printed versions of the airline magazine, inflight menu and shopping brochures.
Simon Cox , easyJet’s Director of Inflight Retail:
“We saw with the trial program in October that AirFi has got the right stuff to support us as we introduce digital solutions for the convenience and benefit of our customers.
“AirFi has been able to meet our ambitious timelines for this project and have integrated well with our existing partners.
“As a bonus, we’ve been able to save a lot of paper by digitising materials like menus and magazines that were once found in the seatback pocket.
“It’s always a win when you can reduce waste while simultaneously improving the passenger experience!”
Supplier
The inflight streaming system comes from Dutch company AirFi.
The system works by installing a box onboard. It’s about the size of the data flight recorder.
The AirFi box creates both the onboard Wi-Fi network and the supporting IT infrastructure that enables the IFE and retail.
Job Heimerikx, CEO of AirFi:
“We’re thrilled to have been able to expand our work with easyJet and to help deliver engaging digital experiences to passengers all around Europe.
“Having blazed the trail for portable IFE with the launch of our first system in 2014, AirFi remains the leader in this market. We’re always challenging ourselves and we never stop innovating to deliver value to airlines and passengers around the world.”
N.B. Image credit: AirFi
