US airline launches sky-high cocktails to order

(VIRGIN AMERICA)

US airline Virgin America has launched a new in-flight entertainment service that allows passengers to order drinks, shop and view Google Maps on their flight.

The airline's "Red" seatback entertainment system allows passengers to open a tab at the aircraft's bar by swiping their credit card, before being offered a choice of drinks names in the series "Cocktails at Altitude."

Using the touchscreens, customers can select cocktails such as a "Mile-High-tini," which will be made on board and delivered to the seat by cabin crew, along with any snacks also ordered on the tab.

When the plane begins to descend and moves below 10,000 feet, all open tabs at the bar are closed in preparation for landing.

The airline has also done away with traditional seatback shopping catalogues, moving its product choice online and allowing passengers to order with their credit card for delivery to their home seven days later.

Thanks to a partnership with Google, the aircraft's GPS position is relayed onto a Google Map so that customers can see the exact topography over which they are flying, along with details of nearby cities.

Virgin America's new functionality, in planes this week, will be seen as a challenge for Emirates, which prides itself on the quality of its in-flight entertainment service and has won the Skytrax Best Airline Inflight Entertainment Award for the past six consecutive years.

Its ICE system offers seatback calling, SMS and email services, inflight text news updates, the largest widescreen televisions on any aircraft and a wireless handset controller.

See the new Red system in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io39lxCIIBo

http://www.virginamerica.com/