Indian airline SpiceJet has announced its intention to offer IFE and e-commerce across its entire aircraft fleet, which will be equipped with the BoardConnect Portable system from Lufthansa Systems this year.
“SpiceJet expects to be the first low-cost carrier in India to provide this unique entertainment and shopping experience to customers,” stated Ajay Singh, chief managing director at SpiceJet.
BoardConnect Portable combines a server and access points in a single device, named the Mobile Streaming Unit (MSU). This unit is about the size of a conventional tablet computer, powered by a battery module, thus avoiding any elaborate cabling – and qualifying as non-permanently installed equipment, which can be mounted or removed without affecting other components in the aircraft, for example in the galley. This eliminates high costs for hardware, fitting and certification.
An integrated modem allows rapid wireless updates of content while the aircraft is on the ground. Furthermore, the BoardConnect digital platform caters for hosting and integration of third-party elements such as e-commerce.
