Effective this April, passengers on United Airlines will be able to access the airline's inflight content via their iOS devices and laptops.
However, the service will be initially rolled out only on select aircraft - Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Boeing 747-400 and select 777-200 aircraft, and also Android and other mobile devices are not fully supported yet.
By the end of 2014, this new in-flight entertainment system will be deployed on most domestic aircraft on the United fleet.
Users can access the inflight content via the airline's iOS app, or a laptop. While some content can be accessed directly, certain type of content needs a browser plug-in to access.
This free of charge inflight content - over 150 movies and about 200 TV shows - can be played at will (play, stop, rewind anytime).
Of late, there has been a lot of interest among airlines to offer inflight content directly to passenger devices.
Recently, Lufthansa announced its plan to wirelessly stream content (movies, TV programs, music, games) to passengers’ smartphones or tablet devices starting from this summer. The service would be available on routes such as Europe to Russia, Middle East or North Africa, starting with 20 Airbus A321 aircraft.
Also, Japan Airlines will be launching a similar service starting from May 2014 - with both free to access content, and paid content.
In September 2013, SITA reported that it is testing the service with LAN airlines, at Santiago Airport.
In July 2013, Southwest Airlines partnered with television provider DISH Networks to offer free streaming live television to passengers’ Wifi enabled devices.
NB:Inflight image via Shutterstock.