EVA Air gets connected

Wi-Fi services will be offered in all cabin classes

EVA Air has unveiled plans to offer mobile and Wi-Fi services on its long-haul flights.

The Taipei-based airline will equip seven brand new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with the technology from their delivery in 2014, enabling passengers to make and receive mobile phone calls and use the internet during flights. The new B777s, ordered in May 2012, will be fitted with Panasonic’s Android-based eX3 in-flight entertainment system and a Global Communications Suite (GCS), making them the first aircraft of their kind to combine both technologies on assembly.

Taiwan’s National Communications Commission has approved the GCS technology, which will operate on an independent frequency so as not to interfere with flight navigation communications.

“The Panasonic eX3 is a new and upgraded in-flight entertainment system that provides our passengers with a more user-friendly and visually inviting environment, complete with a high definition screen for watching films and feature programmes. It will be available to all our passengers, regardless of which cabin they book,” said EVA’s Executive Vice President for Public Relations, Nieh Kuo-wei.

EVA will also upgrade its IFE experience, with the addition of 16-inch touch-screen monitors in Royal Laurel business class cabins and 11.1-inch monitors in economy class.

The roll-out of the new services will make EVA the first Taiwanese airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi.

By Mark Elliott, 16 December 2012, Sunday 3:56 AM