http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2007/082207-worldbeat-singapore-airlines-puts-a.html
Flying in economy class doesn't have to be a miserable
experience.
To make flying more enjoyable for its passengers, Singapore
Airlines Ltd. is adding bigger screens, more in-flight movies and a
PC, running Red Hat Inc.'s distribution of the Linux operating
system, in every seat on its newest planes.
Unlike many U.S. airlines, the carrier doesn't view in-flight
service as a cost center where cutbacks can be made to reduce
losses or boost profits. Instead, Singapore Airlines' latest
investments in cabin service are designed to help it stand out from
the competition and attract more passengers
KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines' in-flight entertainment system, is a
main focus of these efforts, offering on-demand movies, television
shows, games and music to passengers. Now, the airline aims to
raise the bar, rolling out a new version of KrisWorld that improves
significantly on existing systems and hints at what passengers can
expect to see on the Airbus S.A.S. A380 and The Boeing Co. 787
Dreamliner, when these aircraft enter service.
In recent years, video-on-demand and audio-on-demand have become
common offerings on many airlines.
"It's become expected," said Eric Tong, senior manager of inflight
entertainment product innovation at Singapore Airlines, during a
recent interview. Carriers have to push the boundaries of what's
possible with these systems to stand out from the competition, he
said.
The latest version of KrisWorld is based on Panasonic Avionics
Corp.'s eX2 in-flight entertainment system and was jointly
developed by the two companies. The system consists of a central
Linux server that connects to a network of PCs installed in every
seat on the aircraft. The KrisWorld software offers an improved
user interface and each economy-class seat is fitted with a
10.6-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) screen that offers
resolution of 1,280 pixels by 768 pixels.
They are larger in business and first class, where each seat comes
with a 15.4-inch and 23-inch screen, respectively.
Only thing - no Internet access, but that is set to change.
