Watching live TV has not been possible on aircraft on a major scale up to now. But Qatar Airways is changing all this with the launch of live TV on five of its fleet of Aribus A330 long-haul aircraft. It’s part of a plan to equip all its aircraft with live in-flight entertainment – by the end of the year, the airline intends to have 14 planes with its new TV system operational.
Independent, personal television viewing allows each passenger to select from a suite of premium European and Arabic-language TV channels. The systems multi-directional antenna allows passengers to enjoy uninterrupted entertainment as their flights pass from Middle Eastern into European airspace. In the Middle East, passengers have access to AIB Platinum Member Al Jazeera plus BBC World, EuroNews, CNN International, TV5, EuroSport News, MBC and Disney Channel. Within Europe channels available are Al Jazeera, BBC World, EuroNews, CNN International, TV5, EuroSport 2, Future TV and Bloomberg.