AIX 2018: Global Eagle launches low-cost portable solution for regional aircraft

By April 11, 2018 January 16th, 2020 General News

Global Eagle Entertainment has launched an all-in-one wireless in-flight entertainment (IFE) solution aimed specifically at regional carriers and low-fare airlines.

The latest product in the Airconnect family of connectivity and in-flight entertainment system hardware, Airconnect Go doesn’t require installation, fits into the overhead bin and enables passengers to stream content to their own personal electronic devices (PEDs) by logging on to the airline portal, says the company.

“Passengers are demanding quality in-flight entertainment, wherever they are, and Airconnect Go provides this on any flight, anywhere in the world,” said Global Eagle CEO, Josh Marks. He added that the low-cost IFE option will enable larger airlines to provide a continuous entertainment experience when passengers switch to regional partners and ultra-low-cost (ULCC) airlines, providing them with the ability to add IFE at a lower price point than installed AVOD systems.

Key features of Airconnect Go are its 15 hours of battery life while streaming concurrently to over 50 users, hot-swappable batteries to enable an even longer duty cycle, and comprehensive analytics available via Global Eagle’s Airview reporting system. In addition, the hardware is bundled with entertainment products and management services.

Commenting on how passengers are able to use their own device to connect quickly to the IFE system, Per Noren, executive VP and CCO of Global Eagle, said: “We are pleased to offer the ability to integrate our Airtime Player into an airline’s mobile app to enable playback of protected Hollywood content, in addition to monitoring customer usage and fine-tuning performance via our best of breed Airview analytics product.”

She added: “Through our support of Apple Fairplay DRM [digital rights management] technology, we can now deliver native playback of DRM content via the Safari browers on iOS and are working with Hollywood studios for the appropriate approvals, building on an environment where native playback was previously only possible on other leading browsers on Android and laptops.”