Adapt IFE to new habits
Passenger habits have changed dramatically in 2020. April Waterston finds out how Global Eagle is keeping passengers entertained on post-COVID flights
OFFER RELAXING CONTENT
Understandably, some passengers may experience new feelings of anxiety when travelling during or after the pandemic, so Global Eagle has partnered with Simple Habit to provide a meditation app for its IFE platform. There are six categories available – Business Travel, Ease into Vacation, Fear of Flying, Flying for Kids, Music and Sounds, Sleep on the Plane – each designed to help passengers relax during their flight.
SUPPORT BYOD
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) options are cost-effective solutions for airlines that negates the need for seat-back screen hardware. Per Norén, president, Global Eagle, explains: “Whether reducing touchpoints with Wireless Inflight Entertainment (wIFE) delivered to passengers’ own devices, or streamlining playback on our Airtime Portal removing the need for an app download, we remain committed to helping airlines make every flight memorable through content and connectivity.”
UPGRADE THE OFFER
Global Eagle has recently announced Airconnect Go 2.0, the second generation of its portable wireless inflight entertainment system. It provides over 3,500 hours of content including Hollywood movies, TV series, games, music, podcasts, digital publications, and an interactive flight tracker that passengers can stream to their own devices. The unit is compact enough to fit into the overhead bin of most commercial aircraft, and weighs only seven pounds.
INVEST IN GAMING
During COVID-19, many airlines extended their content cycles or vastly reduced the amount of content onboard. Stale video content offering has pushed passengers toward inflight games, tripling game usage in some cases. At the same time TV viewing remained flat and music received a slight uptick in usage. Branded games such as Angry Birds helps drive the increase so investing in an extended gaming portfolio will help keep your passengers entertained.