WORLDBEAT - Singapore Airlines puts a Linux PC in every seat

By Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service, 08/22/07

Flying in economy class doesn't have to be a miserable experience.

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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.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

CommentsAdd to the discussion | Register | Learn about community

RE: WORLDBEAT - Singapore Airlines puts a Linux PC in every seat By Ferdaus on August 23, 2007, 6:21 am Reply | Read entire comment I am an advocate of Open Source Software. Congratulations to Singapore Airlines to be on the forefront of OSS

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