Gulf Air launches the first aircraft with global live television and the latest in In-flight connectivity Including Broadband and mobile phone service

Gulf Air Airbus A330-243 A9C-KD (msn 287) (Grand Prix 2010/Bahrain International Air Show 2010) LHR (Antony J. Best), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Gulf Air (Bahrain) took delivery of its first A330-200 aircraft retrofitted with Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s (Panasonic) Global Communications Suite. The comprehensive communications and entertainment solution, ‘Sky Hub,’ offers passengers onboard full broadband connectivity to access internet, mobile phone services and, for the first time in the world, a global, live television service onboard. The Panasonic’s Global Communications Suite is being installed across Gulf Air’s entire fleet of aircraft progressively.

Using Panasonic’s Global Communications Suite, Gulf Air will offer two-way broadband connectivity at speeds of up to 50 Mbps to the aircraft, enabling faster browsing, chatting and other internet based services. Gulf Air will offer deeply immersive, content-rich entertainment in addition to live, uninterrupted television services on routes across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Travelers can now watch their favorite football teams on IMG Media’s Barclays Premier League channel or keep up with world events on favorite news channels such as BBC World News, BBC Arabic and Euronews.

Passengers also will be able to browse the web at broadband speeds, and access social media services such as Facebook and Twitter. In addition, business travelers can access their virtual private network (VPN) to send and receive emails while watching live-news and stock market updates at 35,000 feet. They simply need to turn on their personal device, connect to the in-flight Wi-Fi network, and log into the service through Deutsche Telekom, the wireless internet service provider onboard.

Panasonic’s mobile voice and data service, offered in collaboration with AeroMobile’s award winning in-flight mobile phone technology, will enable passengers to use their mobile phone, Smartphone or BlackBerry device to call, text, email, browse the internet and use other applications throughout the flight. They will also be able to use GSM-enabled tablets and laptops to go online in flight.

Gulf Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE