In early December, Icelandair became the first airline to introduce Panasonic’s brand-new Astrova In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system, doing so on its Airbus A321LR.
Icelandair inaugurates Astrova
At a delivery event in December, Icelandair unveiled its first-ever Airbus delivery, an Airbus A321LR, which also featured Panasonic’s Astrova system. Tómas Ingason, Icelandair’s Chief Operating Officer, said:
“We are excited to bring Panasonic Avionics’ Astrova to our A321neo LR fleet. I look forward to offering this next generation entertainment system to our passengers, supporting our promise of a smooth and enjoyable travel experience.
The aircraft itself features 187 seats across two classes. This includes 165 economy class seats and 22 business class seats in Icelandair’s SAGA Premium product. Both classes feature the new Panasonic system, with 16-inch screens in Business and 13-inch screens in Economy. The thin displays providing high-quality streaming simply add to the modern atmosphere of Icelandair’s newest aircraft. Speaking to Simple Flying’s Dillon Shah, Panasonic’s Vice-President of Product Management, Andrew Masson, echoed this sentiment.
“We’re super proud. We’ve been working on this system for three and a half years. It’s great to see it finally fly – it looks absolutely phenomenal. The differential that OLED provides Astrova as a system is built on three tenants: design, technology and sustainability.
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We really see that today with the A321LR. The design element that you’ll see when you get on board, it looks fantastic. It looks like something you’d put in a yacht or in a Rolls Royce. It’s a beautiful piece of equipment. It does not look like an IFE screen. It’s really, really high end.”
Astrova’s key characteristics
Some of the system’s primary characteristics include:
4K OLED HDR10+ displays
Wireless connectivity and spatial audio
Extremely thin display with small edges
Lightweight
Programmable LED lighting
USB-C ports
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4K OLED displays
Panasonic says that Astrova offers modern displays that provide accurate color reproduction, “infinite” contrast ratios, and perfect blacks. It adds that the visual experience is much enhanced compared to previous-generation systems. Masson sang its praises:
“The technology, the OLED screen, it’s the best screen you can get. It produces a phenomenal picture, absolutely phenomenal. It has the best color ratio contrast that you can see. When you look at it, you feel like you’re at the very high end electronic store. I mean, it’s really, really good.”
Wireless connectivity & spatial audio
One thing that will benefit customers across the board is the ability to connect audio devices through Bluetooth. Gone are the days when specific, bad-quality headsets needed to be distributed by airlines for passengers to watch movies on an IFE screen. “You have them as well but you don’t have to use it,” Masson adds.
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Instead, you can bring your own. Commenting on his own journey onboard the Icelandair A321LR delivery flight from Hamburg to Reykjavík, Masson said:
“I used Bluetooth the whole way over. It syncs perfectly. I have Beats headphones and it’s a really, really nice system. We have a digital system called spatial audio as well, which turns the Bluetooth headphones into 3D surround sound as you move your head around.”
An upgradable system
One of the new Astrova system’s benefits for airlines is that it is “sustainable on the long term.” Aside from being 30% lighter than traditional IFE systems, Astrova can also be updated over time.
“It is built at the latest recyclable materials, which is really cool. And then what’s really important is the system is designed to be sustainable in the long term. It’s upgradable. It’s the first IFE platform ever that you can put in, and you can change and upgrade as time goes on.
So when new software comes available, if you want to put a new payment system on there, new personalization system on there, something with new security or AI, you’ll be able to upgrade the system in years to come. So the system that’s in there today will be relevant for the long term.”
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Masson also noted that the possibilities that IFE provides have evolved. Previously, the system would have a map and a few movies. Now, passengers are looking for a more personalized experience and one that can cater to an increasingly digitalized world.
“More applications and software are becoming available, and they’re becoming available all the time, and you’re starting to see that manifest in aerospace. People want applications on the seat back that they have on their smart TVs, and by being upgradable, we can cater for that.”
This also benefits airlines, as an easily upgradable system means the need for a lengthy and expensive certification, testing and installation program for new IFE screens or updates are no longer necessary.
Ancillary revenue: the new purchase platform
Icelandair has not opted for this add-on.
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Some airlines can also choose to integrate a new payment system onto the IFE directly. This serves to drive ancillary revenue to airlines, ensuring passenger satisfaction through an increasingly personalized platform. It uses passenger preferences and combines a customizable offering according to an airline’s needs with an integrated and varied payment capacity. Masson explained: