Air New Zealand gives its inflight entertainment a social twist

11 May 2010 |  Air New Zealand (ANZ) is giving the inflight entertainment on its new B777-300 aircraft a social twist. There’s nothing ‘2.0’ to ANZ’s new social IFE feature though. Instead, the airline wants to bring the experience of watching TV together to the back of the aircraft seat at 30,000 feet, which passengers in ANZ’s ‘Skycouch’ seats may especially appreciate. 

The new ‘screen share’ feature on ANZ’s Panasonic eX2 IFE system gives passengers the option to synchronize video and music with their neighbours so they can watch and listen together. Parents can use the feature to check what their children are watching, for example. How it works: The ‘screen share’ page on the IFE system shows what other passengers in the same row are watching or listening to and passengers can choose to join in or to start the same content from scratch. It is not known if passengers can turn off the screen share option, in order to avoid nosy co-passengers tuning in. ANZ is also catering to those that carry their personal entertainment devices, as every seat comes with in-seat power and an USB connection. 

Another ‘social’ innovation onboard ANZ’s new long-haul service is the ‘Spaceseat’ in premium economy, which comes in two types: ‘Outer Spaceseats’, in pairs by the windows, are angled to provide privacy for people traveling alone, while ‘Inner Spaceseats’, also in pairs, are for people traveling together. Passengers in these ‘inner’ seats can sit together in a more cozy way or share a meal. ANZ’s new inflight menu in premium economy offers food that is easy to share, such as pizza and tapas. 

Passengers can also use the new IFE touch screen system to order food and beverage items outside of main meal times, a service that is also available on ANA and Virgin America flights. This video explains ANZ’s new inflight entertainment system in more detail.

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