Emma Kelly/LONDON
Virgin Atlantic has signed a $100 million letter of intent with Matsushita for the interactive in-flight entertainment (IFE) system supplier's new System 3000 hardware. The airline, expected to announce the deal later this month, is the first carrier to confirm a commitment to the fully interactive IFE system. System 3000 will allow Virgin to offer "a couple of hundred hours of entertainment" and audio- and video-on-demand (A/VOD) throughout the aircraft.
The hardware will be installed on 31 aircraft - 10 new Airbus A340-600s on order, plus eight options - and retrofitted on its five Boeing 747-200s, six 747-400s and 10 A340-300s, says Dave Tharp, product development executive.
The A340-600s will be delivered from March 2002 with the System 3000 installed, with retrofits expected before the new deliveries in 2001. The fully digital System 3000, a development of Matsushita's market-leading System 2000E, will offer faster full-cabin A/VOD and improved interactive capabilities and picture quality compared with its predecessor.
Virgin also evaluated Sony Trans Com's P@ssport and Rockwell Collins' Total Entertainment System. Although P@ssport came a close second, Matsushita clinched the deal based on system upgradability and the airline's positive experience with the System 2000E on its A340s, says Tharp.
• United Airlines is replacing the ill-fated GEC-Marconi InFlight Systems (GMIS) IFE hardware on its early Boeing 777s with Sextant In-Flight Systems d2000 hardware. The retrofit of the 16 aircraft will start in the second quarter of next year. It follows persistent problems with the GMIS kit, with the hardware unable to perform reliably in interactive mode. United launched legal action against GMIS in 1997, later settling out of court. GMIS has since withdrawn from the market.
• Sony Trans Com is expected to announce shortly additional orders for P@ssport from South African Airways (SAA) and other carriers. The orders are expected following Boeing Airplane Services' deal with Sony to install P@ssport on six in-service Boeing 747s, with options on 44. Sony declines to comment on the customers. SAA already has P@ssport installed on two 747s and has been considering extending the programme for some time.
Source: Flight International
