Air India finds a solution to its in-flight entertainment problems and follows Vistara’s strategy

Air India, which was acquired by the Tata Group in 2022, has been in the firing line on many counts. From delays to in-flight issues, passenger complaints have mounted over cabin quality and the faulty in-flight entertainment (IFE) system, to name a few.

But the IFE part will change soon.

In recent days, travelers have reported seeing ways to connect to “Vista Inflight Entertainment,” which instructs users to turn on Wi-Fi on their devices with airplane mode enabled and visit a URL to connect to the internet.

Air India has partnered with Bluebox – one of the leading providers of streaming solutions for in-flight entertainment (IFE), the same company that has been operating Vistara’s ‘Vistara World’ app since 2018. Vistara is expected to merge with Air India in the coming months. The development comes after the airline came under criticism for non-functional IFE solutions in its legacy fleet.

What is Bluebox WOW?

Bluebox WOW creates a proprietary wireless network and is placed in two to six locations depending on the aircraft type to provide better coverage throughout the aircraft. It is deployed on several airlines including Vistara, enabling streaming across cabins and allowing storage of up to 1.6 terabytes of movies, TV shows, audio, games and other digital content. The box is safely stowed in overhead bins and each box’s single, removable battery provides up to 15 hours of simultaneously streamed video content. At Vistara, the experience became app-free within a year of going live and passengers could experience the content by visiting ‘VistaraWorld.com’ on their personal electronic devices. Air India is also introducing an app-free experience.

The boxes are lightweight and the airline does not need to invest in heavier screens and IFE boxes that take up more space on the plane. This also ensures that the repair and maintenance costs are almost zero, which would otherwise be incurred for the screens on each seatback. There are savings as the airline does not distribute headphones, as passengers can rely on their headphones when streaming.

Differentiation of the full-service experience

Air India is currently converting its aircraft to a three-class configuration, and a few of them are already in service. All but ten of Vistara’s aircraft are also in a three-class configuration and the merger will help standardise the service. The conversion has enabled Air India to add more seats, even though it has already introduced another class of service. This has been achieved by reducing the seat pitch.

The seatback IFE became popular in India with Kingfisher Airlines, followed shortly after by Jet Airways. While Kingfisher Airlines went under, Jet Airways apparently moved to running the screens with content only on international flights, as the content was paid for by users. So the airline bore the burden of the IFE, but the usage was limited.

IndiGo is currently testing an IFE solution. IndiGo has also announced that it will introduce business class cabins from this year and is working on a loyalty program. This puts IndiGo and Air India on a par. Before privatization and after the demise of Jet Airways, Vistara and Air India were the only two full-service airlines. So what is Air India’s unique selling point?

Final note

Air India had previously announced that the major overhaul of its widebody fleet will begin in the second half of 2024. Various media reports have suggested a delay, but the airline has not yet announced a new timeline. The decision to proceed with Bluebox is likely due to the protracted delay so far. A modernized fleet, especially widebody aircraft, would not need Bluebox. However, if fleet modernization was not in sight and the complaints were visible, then what really stopped Air India from implementing this solution? It could well be the supply chain constraints and the inability of the service provider to provide so many boxes for use on the aircraft. A seemingly simple solution could have been implemented much earlier.

The next time you travel with Air India, you may suddenly notice a blue box in the overhead bin above you, offering you the pleasure of in-flight streaming on your personal device.