Singapore Airlines to add intl. publications to inflight eLibrary

In keeping with its ongoing drive towards more environmentally-friendly operations, Singapore Airlines is pleased to announce the launch of e-Magazines, an electronic version of international magazines, on its KrisWorld inflight entertainment system.

In addition to the existing collection of printed publications, the new selection of 20 major magazine titles will offer customers wider access to quality reading materials without additional paper copies being carried on board.

Singapore Airlines will be the first airline to provide this unique feature across its Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER fleets which are equipped with the latest Panasonic eX2 inflight entertainment system.

SilverKris, SIA’s travel magazine; KrisShop, the Airline’s inflight sales catalogue; and KrisWorld, SIA’s inflight entertainment guide; were the first publications to be featured as part of a trial in July 2010. Beginning this month, the selection will be expanded to include international magazine titles such as The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, Wall Street Journal Magazine, Prestige and Elle Magazine.

Through a collaboration with SmarttPapers Aviation Pte Ltd, a privately held Singapore-based company, the new application uses a patented file compression technology to compress and transform magazines and newspaper contents into a digital format for integration into the inflight entertainment system. Singapore Airlines aims to extend this initiative later in the year to other publications, including e-newspapers, e-books, as well as a wider selection of international and local magazines. In addition, this online feature will be progressively introduced on the Airline’s Airbus A330-300 and A340-500 fleets.

“Following a successful trial with three SIA publications, we are now able to move to the next phase and offer electronic versions of prestigious international publications as an added choice to our inflight selection. With this new electronic initiative, customers of Singapore Airlines will be able to enjoy the pleasure of reading 20 magazine titles in high resolution from the comfort of their seats – with more to come,” said Singapore Airlines’ Senior Vice President Product & Services, Tan Pee Teck.

Added Winston Wei, CEO of SmarttPapers Aviation Pte Ltd: “We are pleased to partner Singapore Airlines in offering this revolutionary onboard experience. The new e-Magazine initiative offers features such as keyword search, personalised font size, auto-scrolling and different zooming levels to aid reading. Better yet, passengers will be able to see more information of a certain destination while reading a relevant article.”