China Eastern becomes first Chinese airline to offer Wi-Fi
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China Eastern Airlines has started rolling out Wi-Fi onboard it aircraft.
In a first for the Chinese aviation industry, the Shanghai-based carrier has teamed up with China Telecom Satellite and Panasonic Avionics to offer connectivity services for flights over the Chinese mainland.
Using Panasonic’s eXConnect system, the first of 27 China Eastern aircraft has now been equipped with Wi-Fi. Passengers onboard the Airbus A330 were recently invited to trial the service on a flight from Shanghai to Beijing.
This test was also designed allow government agencies to observe the Wi-Fi service before granting full regulatory approval for its use on additional domestic and international routes.
The in-flight Wi-Fi system allows passengers to use their electronic devices to access the internet and send and receive emails.
“This is a momentous day for China’s commercial airline industry, and we are very confident of providing better broadband connectivity to China with our partners at China Eastern Airlines and Panasonic,” said Lu Junli, president of China Telecom Satellite.
Paul Margis, president & CEO of Panasonic Avionics, added that the move marked the “next step in the evolution of in-flight entertainment over China”.
China Eastern’s in-flight Wi-Fi service will now be rolled out onboard an additional six Boeing 767 and 20 B777 aircraft.
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