Air India expands IFE, IndiGo its business class

Air India has extended its wireless inflight entertainment service, Vista Stream, to its narrowbody fleet, while IndiGo announced it will expand its business class service to another significant metro route. The Vista Stream service, which debuted in August 2024, is already running on Air India’s wide-body fleet, excluding the newly inducted Boeing 777 and Airbus 350 aircraft. Instead of the typical screens mounted behind the plane seats, this streaming service enables passengers to view a wide variety of content directly on their personal electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. “As we continue to transform Air India into a world-class airline, we are happy to introduce Vista Stream that enables our guests to access digital entertainment content on their personal devices during their flights. With the introduction of Vista Stream across our narrowbody fleet, uninterrupted entertainment (BYOD) service will be available throughout the entire domestic and international network,” said Rajesh Dogra, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Air India. Passengers can explore 1600+ hours of curated content, from Bollywood and Hollywood hits to documentaries, classic tunes, and children’s programs while flying. According to the airline, the service also features a live map for real-time flight tracking and is compatible with iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. Air India, taken over by the Tata Group in 2022, is investing millions in refitting its legacy fleet, buying new planes, and improving its service standards with some oversight from Singapore Airlines, which also holds a 25.1% stake in the legacy airline. Air India Group employs more than 30,000 people and uses 300 aircraft to connect 55 domestic and 48 international destinations, including some of the longest flights to the United States. Meanwhile, its arch-rival IndiGo, a low-cost operator since its foundation in 2005, has shifted gears to become a hybrid airline, launching a business class service on the Delhi-Mumbai route in November on its new A321neos. IndiGoStretch, as the offering is called, will debut on the Delhi-Bengaluru route from January 10. By March, all 15 daily flights will offer this product, moving from the all-economy services currently sold. All 20 daily flights between Delhi and Mumbai will also have this business-class product by January. IndiGo is offering complimentary benefits like priority check-in, anytime boarding, advance seat selection, and zero convenience fee. In addition, there is an additional baggage allowance starting from 30 kg (two bags) at check-in and one bag of 12 kg in the cabin for those opting for business class. “In line with our announcement to serve 12 Indian routes with our business class product, IndiGoStretch, we have added Delhi-Bengaluru as our second route. This follows the successful launch and positive customer feedback of IndiGoStretch on flights between Delhi and Mumbai. This initiative is another step towards our endeavor to provide greater comfort and accessibility to our customers. Soon, we will announce IndiGoStretch on flights between Delhi and Chennai,” said Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo. IndiGoStretch starts at around $25, nearly one-third of the current economy fares.

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