Travel Technology News.

Apr 7, 2008

AeroMobile, Emirates Airline

AeroMobile, the pioneering provider of inflight mobile phone services, is leading the way with inflight passenger connectivity following the launch of its system with Emirates Airline last month, and the announcement of new airline customers. The AeroMobile system debuted on an Emirates Airbus A340-300 aircraft on its Dubai to Casablanca service on March 20th. The airline's passengers were able to make and receive voice calls the first ever made on a commercial flight - and send and receive SMS text messages via their mobile phones. The system, which has received full STC (supplemental type certificate) approval from EASA, has also been installed on an Emirates Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Apr 2, 2008

AeroMobile, V Australia

AeroMobile, the pioneering provider of inflight mobile phone services, and Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), the market-leading in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems provider, have signed an agreement with V Australia, the new Australia-based international airline, to provide the technology for mobile phone and BlackBerry/PDA use on board its new Boeing 777 aircraft. Apr 2, 2008

Airvod

Airvod Launches New Compact Portable Unit, The Crystal. At Aircraft Interiors Expo, Airvod launched the latest in its series of innovative portable inflight entertainment products, the Airvod Crystal. Crystal has all the same great features as the original Airvod Mach5 product, but is lighter and more compact, making storage and carriage easier and more cost efficient. It is backwards and forwards compatible with the Mach5 allowing airlines to use the same peripheral equipment. The Airvod Mach5, which has industry leading battery duration, continues to be Airvod's core product for airlines looking to minimise onboard logistics and provisioning. Mar 31, 2008

Amadeus

Amadeus unveiled the Amadeus Airline Retailing Platform, designed to allow carriers to merchandise their products through GDSs much the same as they do on their own websites. Developed in conjunction with Iberia, Qantas and other airlines, the new platform will enable carriers to showcase features and brand attributes such as flat beds or satellite television via mouse-over popups on the availability screen. It also will present a list of upsell opportunities, such as desirable seats, lounge access or other optional services, at the time of pricing. Airlines that choose to merchandise their products through the platform will pay a per-use fee, which David Doctor, director-airline distribution and low-cost carriers, described as "a fraction of a cent." Apr 4, 2008

Amadeus

Carriers also will have a graphical user interface through which they can manage their distribution through all Amadeus points of sale. The retailing platform can be delivered to online travel agencies and corporate booking tools through an API. Doctor, who introduced the new platform at the Amadeus Horizons airline forum in Bangkok, said it will automate a number of functions including compliance with fare rules and will prompt the agent to ticket a reservation within the required timeframe. The platform will be rolled out in stages beginning in May with automatic prompts, flight attributes and banners being the first features. Additional functionality will be added in 2009-10. Apr 4, 2008

Amadeus

Amadeus Activities & Entertainment destination services platform was selected by Iberia. It will be integrated on Iberia's website and contain more than 7,000 bookable destination products at more than 400 destinations worldwide. It automatically displays content according to the destination and dates of the customer's booked flight segment. Apr 3, 2008

Apple

Apple said on Thursday its iTunes online music store has surpassed Wal-Mart Stores to become the largest music retailer in the United States. Apple's statement, citing industry data, came on the same day that iTunes faced a new challenge as News Corp's MySpace social networking site said it had formed an online music venture with three record labels. Apple said its announcement was based on consumer data collected in January and February by market research firm NPD that counted 12 songs being equal to one CD. In February, NPD said iTunes overtook Best Buy Co and Target Corp in 2007 to become the No. 2 U.S. music seller. Apr 3, 2008

ARINC Incorporated

ARINC Incorporated is showcasing its newly developed onboard Internet service for passenger laptops known as Oi this week at Aircraft Interiors 2008. Available to airlines this year, Oi is the newest addition to the ARINC portfolio of Satellite Communications applications. ARINC's Oi connectivity enables passengers to surf the Internet (by the hour, day, or flight leg), access e-mail during flight, chat over Instant Messenger, watch real-time news and sports flashes, hear bulletins all on their own personal laptops. They can even watch and download the latest Podcasts. ARINC's Oi technology makes optimum use of Inmarsat Swift satellite communication services. Passengers merely switch on their PCs and can connect instantly via a wired or wireless cabin backbone to the Oi Web Portal. The Portal is fully customized to each airline's requirements, supporting a combination of free view or paid applications. Oi will feature a range of price points to suit most budgets, and ARINC expects webmail prices will be under US$10 a flight, with larger attachments requiring an extra charge. A number of payment methods will be offered, including credit cards or pre-paid cards with special access codes, or passengers can use pre-existing mobile or Internet service provider accounts. Apr 2, 2008

British Airways

OpenSkies, the new airline from British Airways that intends to fly from certain European cities to New York beginning this summer, has chosen IMS' PAV-705 touchscreen portable media player (PMP) for its IFE system on its Boeing 757 aircraft, IMS announced today. California-based IMS, a travel industry solutions provider, will supply OpenSkies with content management services and turnkey ground service provisioning for the proposed airline, including all content loading, battery charging, packing catering carts and provisioning of headsets. Mar 31, 2008

e.Digital Corporation

e.Digital Corporation, a leading innovator of dedicated portable inflight entertainment (IFE) systems and patented flash memory-related technology, announced today it has received an opening eVU portable IFE systems and services order from Corsairfly, France's second largest airline. To date, thirteen airlines have purchased the Company's proprietary eVU portable entertainment system and over 30 airlines have made dedicated portable systems powered by e.Digital technology their inflight entertainment choice. Apr 2, 2008

e.Digital Corporation

e.Digital Corporation, a leading innovator of dedicated portable inflight entertainment (IFE) systems and patented flash memory-related technology, announced today it will be presenting its enhanced eVU IFE system April 1 - 3 at the Aircraft Interior Expo in Hamburg, Germany (Booth 2D25). In 2007, e.Digital quadrupled the number of airline customers using its proprietary eVU IFE system. To date, thirteen airlines, including Malaysia Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France, Alitalia, Neos Air and Corsairfly, have purchased eVU systems and services and over 30 airlines have made dedicated portable systems powered by e.Digital technology their inflight entertainment choice. e.Digital's eVU revenues increased more than 260% in 2007 over 2006. Apr 2, 2008

e.Digital Corporation

e.Digital's enhanced studio-approved eVU portable entertainment system features a multi-language customizable passenger-friendly interface and an industry-leading 20+ hours of continuous video playback from a single battery charge. eVU is available in either 7" or 8" high resolution LCD screen with 40 GB to 200 GB of rugged and reliable storage for many hours of movies, television shows, music, specialty programming and games. eVU is the smallest and lightest dedicated long play portable IFE product available today and integrates the latest in battery safety features through its removable "Smart" rechargeable high capacity battery pack. Apr 2, 2008

Jazeera Airways, OnAir

Jazeera Airways announced, the Kuwait and Dubai based low cost airline, will provide its passengers with OnAir inflight mobile phone services, including voice, SMS and GPRS, starting in 2008. The OnAir service will enable Jazeera Airways passengers to use their mobile phones and BlackBerrytype devices to send and receive text messages, emails including attachments, and to make and receive mobile phone calls inflight. The service is the only one based on Inmarsats SwiftBroadband. The airline, which was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in January, currently has six Airbus A320 aircraft flying on routes in the Middle East. All six aircraft will be retrofitted with OnAir equipment; the airline also has 34 further A320s on order, which will be linefitted. Mar 31, 2008

Oman Air, OnAir