Lufthansa Systems has revealed, during this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, that it is continuing to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region with its BoardConnect IFE solution.
Since the beginning of 2018, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines has been providing passengers on their routes from Western Australia with in-flight entertainment (IFE) based on BoardConnect Portable.
With its 16 aircraft, this makes the Australian regional carrier the second largest customer for the portable IFE solution in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region after the Indian low-fare carrier SpiceJet which has a fleet of 55 aircraft.
“On-board connectivity is an important topic in the APAC region. Thanks to our strong partners and the flexibility of the open aircraft IT platform BoardConnect, we can offer airlines the perfect solution tailored to their individual requirements,” said Tom Vandendael, CEO, Lufthansa Systems Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.
In collaboration with 2Ku in-flight connectivity provider Gogo, Virgin Australia is also rolling out in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity based on BoardConnect Plus. The airline is also in the process of migrating to the latest version of BoardConnect – 5.0.
Explaining how his airline is “passionate” about elevating its passenger experience, Damon Stanton, Virgin Australia’s general manager of product, confirmed: “We’ve been working with Lufthansa Systems to bring a nuanced in-flight entertainment product to guests across our network.”
Meanwhile, Jan-Peter Gaense, head of passenger experience products & solutions at Lufthansa Systems, said: “Our three product variants make BoardConnect the perfect IFEC solution for a customer like Virgin Australia with its fleet and guest requirements.” He added “Keeping our customers happy is key. This project shows the diversity and flexibility of BoardConnect as well as the solution’s scalability.”
