Slovenia’s flag carrier Adria Airways, which flies 1.13M passengers a year, is flying the AirFi system on 11 aircraft in its fleet of Bombardier CRJs and A319s.
AirFi is a wireless IFE system comprising a portable box which can be stowed in the overhead locker, combined with wireless access points (WAPS) to distribute content direct to passenger-owned devices (PEDS).
AirFi fits into a cross-platform service, covering print and digital. The print-paper inflight magazine OnAir is digitised in the wireless IFE content OnAir Entertainment from the AirFi system. There is also a wide range of entertainment content including short movies and destination video clips, flight information, inflight retail catalogues, food and beverage menus, HTML5 games, newspapers and onboard seat-to-seat and group chat functions, and soon, commercial and ancillary revenue opportunities.
Adria’s marketing and IT director Iztok Franko says, ‘With the introduction of OnAir Magazine and OnAir Entertainment, we have brought rich and diverse archive of content together under a single brand.’
AirFi CEO Job Heimerikx says, ‘It is rather fun to be honest. Adria created a new approach with their inflight magazine. You can read the magazine and then go and watch a clip using the link in the magazine’.
The wireless IFE service is publicised to passengers via cabin stickers, through the magazine and by the public address system onboard. The wireless IFE is active as soon as passengers board so they can log into the system by switching on their PED, turning to airplane mode but still activating the wireless network by clicking on the AirFi browser icon. Passengers are required to switch off their PEDS prior to take –off but once at cruising altitude can switch on to the wireless IFE network from AirFi.
Using AirFi boxes (powerful, lightweight server/wireless access points or WAPs) the airline is streaming magazine content directly to passenger’s own mobile devices.
AirFi is now in service on nearly 100 aircraft including those flying long-haul sectors. Even on longhaul the demand for long movies is not strong according to Heimerikx.
He says usage rates range from 30-35percent of all passengers onboard – this includes the full range of AirFi’s airline portfolio.
