Emma Kelly/LONDON
Sony Trans Com has secured a third customer for its P@ssport interactive in-flight entertainment system, with US Airways ordering the equipment for an initial seven Airbus A330-300s. The P@ssport order could increase, as the carrier holds options on a further 30 A330s.
The first A330, which will serve transatlantic routes, is scheduled for delivery in February next year. The P@ssport system will offer full audio and video-on-demand (A/VOD), with personal televisions at every seat in the aircraft.
The order comes as Sony demonstrates the long-awaited A/VOD functionality of P@ssport with launch carriers South African Airways (SAA) and Air Canada.
P@ssport began flying in "subsystem" mode last August on board an SAA Boeing 747-400, to be upgraded for A/VOD in late April. Its first passenger flight offering A/VOD is due on 5 May, says Doug Cline, president and chief operating officer of Sony Trans Com.
Air Canada's first new Airbus A340 to carry the system is due to make its first test flight with P@ssport from Airbus Industrie's Toulouse site on 30 May. The flight follows rigorous tests of the system in the laboratory and in the aircraft on the ground, when it "performed beautifully", says Patrick Lappas, the airline's in-flight entertainment manager. Air Canada's first A340 will enter passenger revenue service on 3 June, with seven more A340/A330s to follow.
Cline concedes that P@ssport's A/VOD functionality has come later than planned, but adds: "It always takes more money and a lot longer than you expect. We just need to prove the reliability [of the system] in the air now."
Sony plans a phased implementation of further P@ssport services, including games, shopping and Internet applications.
Source: Flight International
