It seems the first order of Panasonic Astrova entertainment systems has been made, with Qatar Airways launching the product.
The Astroid system will be deployed on Qatar’s fleet of 40 Boeing 777x and will be the first aircraft type to feature this innovation. With this agreement, Qatar is the first airline to sign as a launch customer globally.
Panasonic Avionics’ newest IFE seat-end solution features a cinema-grade 4K OLED with High Dynamic Range (HDR) experience, offering blacks and cinematic colours in its palette utilising OLED technology
Qatar Airways has selected 22-inch screens in Business Class and 13-inch in economy class.
The monitor is a singular design featuring gentle curves, and soft rounded touchpoints, that invite passengers to engage in Qatar’s entertainment and brand experience. It also offers programmable LED lighting that enables airlines to optimize the cabin environment to complement various phases of flight with animated sequences synchronized to improve the passenger experience and reduce eye strain.
The new system is designed to stay at the forefront of consumer trends and in-flight entertainment products and services throughout its lifetime. Key hardware and software components have been designed to evolve to meet changing market requirements and satisfy ever-increasing passenger expectations.
This helps ensure that travellers will always be able to seamlessly interface their personal devices to the IFE system to create the same omnichannel, multiscreen, multi-purpose environment which they are accustomed to at home.
In Quotes
Ken Sain, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, said:
“We are pleased that Qatar Airways, one of the premier airlines in the world, has chosen Astrova for its fleet of 777x aircraft. Using our IFE innovation, Qatar Airways can leverage the latest consumer innovations to deliver unique passenger experiences to drive higher Net Promotor Scores, enhance passenger engagement, increase revenue, and achieve even greater operational efficiencies through IFE. We are very honored to launch this exciting new product and for Qatar to be the first to sign as the launch customer for the 777x aircraft type.”
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said:
“Panasonic Avionics Corporation has a long history of building market-leading IFE solutions, and today, we are excited to unveil that Qatar Airways will be the launch customer of the new Astrova screens onboard our fleet of Boeing 777x. Our partnership is a testament to our commitment to providing a second to none customer experience. This industry-leading solution will provide our passengers with a cinema-grade, 4K OLED clarity that will captivate them when watching our latest blockbusters using Oryx One IFE system.”
Continual innovation pays off
It seems the promise of OLED, lighter screens and lighter equipment overall (combined with the server and analytics products), is enough for Qatar Airways to look to Panasonic to deliver their new inflight experience.
Given there are two screen sizes on order, Qatar Airways will maintain both a business and economy class cabin for some time to come.
As for the battle of OLED vs QLED… that’s going to be interesting to dive into.
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