Japanese airline, Peach, has co-developed a new inflight entertainment (IFE) system with Asahi Television Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and TEAC. Named ‘Digital Inflight Service’, the system provides passengers with video-on-demand, a moving map, and an ordering system for inflight shopping, with all services accessed via passengers’ own smartphones or tablet devices.
The inflight servers used are the PortaStream PS-V50 portable streaming server, manufactured in Japan by TEAC. According to TEAC, a key function of the server for Peach is that it enables payments to be made even while offline. The proprietary technology that enables this capability not only ensures security, but also cuts operational costs, since the inflight server does not require internet connection via satellite. Peach has applied for a patent (Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication No. 2020-181534) for this payment technology.
Payment is simple, as is the ordering process. The self-ordering service enables passengers to browse, check availability, order and pay for products from the inflight catalogue via their own smart devices without needing to call a cabin attendant, creating the ‘contactless’ inflight service many passengers seek in the Covid environment.
Peach is also working with ABC to produce exclusive content, such as original videos that show the various charms of the airline’s various flight destinations from both the airline’s and the television broadcaster’s perspectives.
Peach, ABC and TEAC intend to continue to expand the variety of measures and services offered in the inflight service system, “without being constructed by existing frameworks”.
