The technology behind RAVE Wireless was developed by TriaGnoSys, the expert in communications technology for the aviation industry, which was acquired by Zii in September 2013.
BΡΕΑ CA – Air Transat will soon offer RAVE Wireless, Zodiac Inflight Innovations’ ground-breaking content streaming technology. Passengers flying on Canada’s leading holiday travel airline will be able to stream movies, TV shows, music and moving maps directly to their own smartphones, tablets and laptops.
RAVE Wireless will be retrofitted on Air Transat’s fleet of nine A310-300 aircraft. Air Transat is a long-standing customer of Zodiac Inflight Innovations (Zii), with RAVE embedded IFE being installed on the A310 fleet in business class, as well as on the airline’s A330 fleet throughout the aircraft.
“Our embedded IFE has been very popular with our passengers for several years,” said Jon Turner of Air Transat. “With the introduction of wireless streaming, we are taking our cabin service to a new level. This is an exciting development and we are very pleased that Air Transat is one of the first airlines in the world to provide content streaming.”
The technology behind RAVE Wireless was developed by TriaGnoSys, the expert in communications technology for the aviation industry, which was acquired by Zii in September 2013. That acquisition added connectivity to Zii’s IFE offering, meaning Zii provides the full range of IFEC technology.
“We have a very strong relationship with Air Transat and we are very pleased it will be our launch customer for RAVE Wireless,” said Harry Gray, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Zodiac Inflight Innovations. “This marks not only a step-change for Zii, but also for the whole industry. Passengers want on-demand content on their own personal electronic devices, mirroring their behavior on the ground. There is no question that wireless streaming is a part of the future of IFE for specific market segments.”
RAVE Wireless uses wireless access points (WAPs) to create an onboard wireless network for content distribution. Importantly, RAVE embedded IFE and RAVE Wireless can be connected to enable passengers to use two screens – the seat-back screen and their own PED – simultaneously. It includes the ability to extend content across both screens, just as people can do with dual screens at home and in the office.
Zodiac Aerospace was also selected to provide the Economy Class seats and the passenger-centric IFE system for Gulf Air’s refurbishment of its A330 fleet. The RAVE Centric embedded AVOD (Audio-Video on Demand) system was selected to provide passengers with the very best inflight entertainment experience.
All seats in Gulf Air’s retrofitted A330 aircraft will include an integrated Audio-Video on Demand (AVOD) feature, with an individual high resolution capacitive touch screen in every seat. A suite of movies, video and audio titles in several languages will be available, in addition to games. A USB port is available in every seat to allow passengers to charge electronic devices, and the intuitive graphical user interface mirrors the usability everyone is used to with smartphones and tablets.
RAVE Centric IFE is a modular system, providing airlines with a wide range of choices about what they offer passengers in each cabin. Furthermore, each seat is independent, so a failure in one seat will not impact another. More importantly, the patented dockable seat display means the crew can quickly replace the seat display during the flight.
“It is great that Gulf Air has joined the growing number of airlines using RAVE Centric IFE,” said Larry Girard, Executive Vice President at Zodiac Inflight Innovations. “As our market share increases, it’s clear our innovative technology is providing airlines with exactly what they need, both to provide passengers with what they want, as well as reliable and affordable IFEC technology that is very easy to install and manage.”
RAVE Centric’s lightweight design and low power requirements greatly reduce airlines’ fuel costs, allowing Zodiac Inflight Innovations to maintain a price tag that all airlines can celebrate.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
