23/02/2012

Virgin Australia will introduce the first phase of the airline's new inflight entertainment system with the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 on most of the airline's Boeing 737 and Embraer E190 aircraft in April, 2012.

Group Executive Product and Guest Services, Martin Daley, said the Samsung GALAXY 10.1 featured high resolution graphics and superb sound to deliver an outstanding on-board entertainment experience. The GALAXY Tab is principally for Business Class guests and will be available to them on all sectors. Economy Class guests will have access to the GALAXY Tab on flights over three hours, responding to customer demand for comprehensive inflight entertainment on these longer sectors.

"During this first phase, the GALAXY Tab 10.1 will be provided to guests pre-loaded with a range of movies, television and audio programs to keep guests entertained and informed."

Mr. Daley said that this state of the art device was the perfect choice to experience the next generation of inflight entertainment.
"Phase II will see the roll-out of the leading edge Wi-Fi system developed by Lufthansa Systems.
"In Phase II guests will have access to a wide range of products including video and audio streaming delivered on demand to their own personal electronic devices, Wi-Fi enabled laptops or the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1."

Mr. Daley said the growing number of travellers carrying their own devices opens up the future possibilities for inflight entertainment. The Wi-Fi inflight entertainment system will allow Virgin Australia to remain at the forefront of technology that will include:

• Ability to control and view content from personal electronic devices (PEDs) and Wi-Fi enabled laptops;
• Extensive range of movies, television and audio content;
• On demand controls to start, stop, rewind, fast forward and pause content;
• Selection of games for adults and children including arcade style games in future releases; and
• Service and Product information including destination/airport guides, travel offers and Velocity information in future releases.

"Meanwhile, we are confident that our guests will find the GALAXY Tab 10.1 full of features which makes it the perfect companion for inflight entertainment," Mr. Daley said.

The Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 inch device features include:

• The 16:9 screen aspect means that the GALAXY is the best device to view movies;
• Excellent screen sharpness with 149 pixels per square inch;
• Easy to hold and lightweight (565g) and slim design (8.6mm thick).

The GALAXY Tab 10.1 will be provided to all Business Class guests, and will also be offered for rental by guests travelling in Economy on flights over three hours, subject to availability.