November 17, 2015 – Emirates has introduced upgraded in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems on its newly delivered A380 and B777-300ER aircraft, with bigger screens in first class and economy than the current products, and three times the media storage.
The system, named ice Digital Widescreen, is a customized version of the Panasonic eX3 system, and the displays in first class have grown from 27in to 32in, while in economy they have grown from 12.1in to 13.3in. The displays in business class are unchanged, at 23in-wide.
According to the airline, the system will have 2,186 channels of on-demand entertainment and 1,230 music channels, which amounts to about 4,300 hours of entertainment. This includes over 50 full TV box sets and close to 600 movies, with a multilingual interface in 14 languages.
Other new features on the system include enhanced handset controllers, USB ports and PC power outlets on all seats across the three cabin classes to allow passengers to charge their own mobile phones and portable devices.
Connectivity on board
The new IFE systems will be complemented with connectivity on board. The airline offers wi-fi on 142 of its aircraft, more than half of its fleet, and Live TV on 75 aircraft. Emirates has invested US$15 million in onboard wi-fi systems and began offering passengers free wi-fi access last year. From January to September this year, 2.6 million Emirates passengers connected to wi-fi on board – a four-fold increase from last year, reflecting the strong consumer demand for connectivity services while travelling.
Other product enhancements include new micro fiber-optic carpet in the first class cabin which helps to reduce the effects of jet lag, and private suites in the center aisle have been widened by 1.9in.
