To say that Air India‘s fleet renewal is a new tack from the prior passenger experience may be the understatement of the year for the aviation world. But with the carrier’s first A350s now entering service the shift from the prior generation is hard to miss. Among other things, the inflight entertainment system is both modern and well stocked with content, things perhaps unimaginable just a few years ago.
As Air India takes flight into a new era with the arrival of our A350 aircraft, so does our guests’ entertainment experience. This complete overhaul in our inflight entertainment offering mirrors the dynamic transformation underway at Air India. We’re redefining what it means to fly with us, and this world-class IFE system and carefully curated content are a cornerstone of that commitment.
– Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India
Passengers will have access to more than 2,200 hours of entertainment content on board, including more than 250 Indian movies spanning decades and genres. The content selection also includes 76 Indian regional movies in eight languages. The carrier claims it now offers the largest library of Indian movie content in the sky.
The new system, built on Panasonic Avionics‘ eX3 platform, offers 1080p HD screens from nose to tail. In business class passengers enjoy a 21″ screen, while the premium economy screen measures 13.3″. Both premium cabins will also offer noise-cancelling headphones to passengers. The economy class screen comes in at 12″.
The system can be controlled either via the touch screen or via a handset. USB and AC power are also part of the implementation.
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Beyond the Indian content, the company features nearly 200 Hollywood selections on board, including award-winning and nominated titles and the entire opus of popular franchises like Harry Potter or Despicable Me. Passengers can also choose from more than 40 full TV series for an inflight binge.
The kit also comes with Panasonic’s Arc moving map, offering including an interactive experience with city guides and other data-rich features.
The system is notable enough on its own. Compared to 2019, when the carrier was keen to ditch its entire embedded IFE platform in favor of a streaming solution, the new offering is even more impressive. It certainly helps that the carrier picked up its initial A350s with the interiors already designed. But the company expects the offering to extend well beyond the small subfleet.
Read more: Air India’s major order: A first step in rebuilding, but not the most important one
In addition to the A350s, the updated IFE content will also fly on newly inducted 777-200ERs and other new widebody aircraft as they join the carrier. Furthermore, Air India plans to retrofit much of its existing widebody fleet starting later this year as part of a $400 million interiors update program. That effort will also include the IFE refresh and expanded content for those planes, though most will be fitted with hardware from Thales, not Panasonic Avionics.
And the older planes undoubtedly need the boost. But, perhaps more importantly, they need the carrier to commit to maintaining the system long-term. When Air India was ready to ditch its embedded IFE it was because keeping the kit in working order became too expensive. Paying for a massive content library that can never be viewed because the screens are broken would be an even worse position for the airline.
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Rohit Ganda says
Air india need to improve basic customer services including information for passengers otherwise nothing will attract more customers.
Vipin tailor says
I was traveling in Air India
On 28/1/24 from Mumbai to UK
Not a single TV was working,
Every one complained but nothing was done.
Anyway it’s easy to say that new aircraft has 2500 pack of entertainment but I would say
It’s good but only if the TV works,.
Who’s fault is it?????
Seth Miller says
This is a very real challenge for the company. It has historically not managed to keep its cabins in good repair. That has to change if the airline truly wants to deliver on the promise it is making of a transformation to being competitive in the global market.
Amitkumar Prangivane says
From when is the new service starting for flight number AI130??
Seth Miller says
The long haul services for the new planes are not filed yet. Presumably the carrier is waiting until it has enough planes to operate on a regular schedule. The first 6 are expected to be in the fleet in Q1, so likely by this summer.
Ramesh Sharan says
Air India got a bad review for its maintenance, however I must point out a major problem, and that is its passengers. The same passengers when they fly other airlines their behavior is entirely different than when they fly air india. They also need to respect the airlines and its crew. I don’t want to point out what kind of behavior I have seen by passengers on Air India, but we all should be respectful when we fly on any airline.