Continental Airlines has entered an agreement with LiveTV, L.L.C to offer 36 channels of live, in-flight satellite-based television programmes.
The service - provided by DIRECTV(R) - will be available at every seat on Continental”s fleet of Boeing 737 New Generation and 757-300 aircraft on flights operating within the continental US beginning in January 2009.
”Our customers want more in-flight entertainment and communication options,” said Continental chairman and chief executive officer, Larry Kellner. ”We have been closely watching technology developments and are delighted to have teamed up with LiveTV to offer television programming and communication to our customers.”
A variety of programmes ranging from news, sports, weather and general entertainment will be available on channels which initially include CBS, NBC, FOX News, CNN Headline, Animal Planet, The History Channel and MTV.
The TV service will be offered in first class as complimentary, while economy class customers will have to pay an access fee of $6 (”3).
Continental also hopes to offer complimentary Wi-Fi connectivity - allowing customers to access e-mail and instant messaging ” but this is subject to LiveTV being able to offer the service, which is still in the testing phase.
Continental follows other airlines in the race to be the first carrier to offer broadband on board flights, as last week ABTN reported that both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are also awaiting tests on their own systems.