Edited by Deepali Verma
The Tata-owned airline has made public its plans to completely overhaul its IFE offering by licensing a “colossal library” of content for its new Airbus A350s along with the leasing of Boeing 777-200LRs, which feature Panasonic Avionics’ in-seat IFE from nose to tail.
As part of its US$400 million refurbishment of Boeing 787-8s and 777-300ERs, the carrier will be installing new in-seat IFE systems on the vintage aircraft. Aircraft retrofits are scheduled to start in the beginning of 2024 along with new seats installed across cabin classes. As each twinjet rolls into service, passengers will be exposed to Air India’s vast new content library via the IFE.
Air India’s content line-up, initially for the A350s and 777-200LRs, spans over 2,200 hours of entertainment across formats and genres, says Air India, that includes 1,000 hours of movies, 600 hours of TV, and 600 hours of audio.
“Stretching right from Bollywood blockbusters to Hollywood premieres, global music icons to intriguing documentaries as well as the new Air India Radio, the world’s best content now lies at the fingertips of Air India guests,” said the airline as it shared pictures with RGN from aboard the first A350.
The launch of its own Air India Radio channel is a meta move for the carrier. The channel comes with a lineup of podcasts, a music collection having 800 choices from every genre and over 60 curated playlists. Meanwhile, Binge-watchers will comfortably be accommodated with over 40 full series of TV.
Air India also aims to serve as the repository for Bharatiya content, boasting what the airline guarantees will be “the largest library of Bharatiya content in the skies”. Hollywood movies that have BAFTA and Oscar-winning titles, and international fare also feature in the line-up.
Films are expected to cover 14 languages, says Air India, which includes French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Danish, Icelandic, and Dutch.
Air India’s eagerness to entertain its guests brings a selection of titles from the biggest streaming and OTT platforms, such as Paramount, HBO, Prime, Sony Liv, and Hulu. The content will be cached on board that will be housed in a server rather than streamed over a live inflight connectivity pipe.
Debut of Panasonic Avionics’ Arc immersive inflight map experience is expected in the new A350s.
The maiden A350 is kitted nose-to-tail with Panasonic’s eX3 high-definition IFE system that comes with 12” HD touch screens in economy, 13.3” screens in premium economy and 21” displays in business class. Active noise-cancelling headsets will be facilitated to business and premium economy guests, whilst reusable earphones will be distributed in economy.
Often world-class IFE content line-ups are synonymous with names like Emirates, Turkish Airlines and Delta. However, if Air India keeps its library fresh, it might find itself snagging some gongs as well.
Campbell Wilson, CEO & Managing Director of Air India, says: “As Air India takes flight enters into a new era with the coming of A350 aircraft, so does our guests’ entertainment experience. Overhaul of our inflight entertainment offering is a symbol of the dynamic transformation underway at Air India.”
