Summary Etihad partners with AirFi for wireless In-Flight Entertainment on 10 of the airline’s A320 family aircraft.
Passengers can stream movies, music, & shows directly to their own devices.
The partnership has the potential to expand to more aircraft types.
Etihad has partnered with AirFi to provide wireless In-Flight Entertainment for customers traveling onboard the carrier’s fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft. This allows passengers to stream content directly onto their own devices, which has been a growing trend with several airlines in various parts of the world.
To your own screens
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has partnered with AirFi to provide wireless In-Flight Entertainment services for its passengers flying onboard its narrowbody Airbus A320 family aircraft. The system has gone live on 10 of the aircraft today, and this will allow passengers flying onboard these aircraft to stream content, such as movies, TV shows, music, and more, straight to their own screen.
AirFi states that its collaboration with Etihad has been extensive. This milestone of successfully deploying the technology on 10 aircraft was achieved in less than a month of the two organizations signing the partnership agreement.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
The partnership between Etihad and AirFi has the potential to expand, with the system possibly being deployed on more aircraft, both within the airline’s fleet and new incoming aircraft. However, it is unclear if the extended deployment of this technology will include widebody aircraft.
Etihad’s A320s
The A320 family aircraft is the only narrowbody aircraft that the airline operates. Etihad’s narrowbody fleet consists of 28 aircraft, which is further split into Airbus A321-200s and Airbus A320-200s. Depending on the aircraft type and the internal configurations, these aircraft can accommodate configuration between 132 and 196 passengers. The larger A321-200 has the following capacity:
Airbus A321-200 Cabin Class Capacity Business Class 8 Economy Class 188 Total 196
Photo: Nordroden | Shutterstock
Meanwhile, Etihad’s Airbus A320-200s are configured to have two different passenger capacities. The key difference is that one of the configurations is used on a premium-dense route, which sees the aircraft have more Business Class seats, reducing the number of economy class seats.
Airbus A320-200 Normal Configuration Premium-Dense Configuration Business Class 8 Business Class 16 Economy Class 150 Economy Class 120 Total Capacity 158 Total Capacity 132
While the airline downsized a few years ago for restructuring, the carrier over the past two years has been rebuilding its route network and increasing fleet size as the airline finds itself in a stronger position. From returning its Airbus A380-800s to commercial service and restarting flights, the carrier has seen a 40% year-on-year increase in passengers carried.
Rebuilding network, rebuilding fleet
Since last year, Etihad has been busy strategically growing its network and fleet as the airline expands and takes advantage of the recovery in post-pandemic passenger demand. Earlier this month, the carrier added more frequencies to its North American destinations, such as Boston and Airbus.
Furthermore, the carrier is set to deploy its Airbus A380-800s to two more destinations later this year.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Service From To Details EY31 AUH CDG Service Commences November 1st. EY32 CDG AUH EY311 AUH JED A380 service September 1st – October 26th.*Only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. EY312 JED AUH
Additionally, the carrier has announced more services and frequencies for the Winter 2024 schedule, which will be catered for as the airline takes delivery of more new aircraft.
Home Entertainment Etihad Airways Equips 10 New Airbus A320 With AirFi Wireless In-Flight Entertainment