Qantas licensed to thrill passengers

By GREG ANSLEY

CANBERRA - Qantas yesterday launched a $A300 million bid to lure more business from its rivals with phones at every seat, PC power in first and business class, individual video screens, TVs, videos and computer games.

Starting on Australia-United Kingdom flights and extending to Boeing 747-400 routes to Hong Kong, Paris, Buenos Aires and the United States next year, the new inflight entertainment system leaps beyond the traditional one-movie plus radio channels.

Economy passengers will have their own 14.5cm touch screen on the rear of the seat in front, offering seven movie and five TV channels, 10 computer games - from solitaire and noughts and crosses to Gold Digger and backgammon - and 16 audio channels.

In business and first class, the screens are 18.5cm and mounted in the seat sidewall. They have 12 movie and six TV channels.

First-class seats also have a video player and a 50-title library.

Both business and first-class seats have PC power.

As well as individual seat-mounted handsets, two extra phones are mounted at the rear of each cabin for private calls.

Over the next year, Qantas intends licensing more than 250 new-release movies for the service, and providing sport, comedy, documentary and lifestyle TV channels.