Singapore Airlines To Add International Publications To In-Flight Electronic Library

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 in-flight 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™ in-flight entertainment system.

SilverKris, SIA’s travel magazine; KrisShop, the airline’s in-flight sales catalogue; and KrisWorld, SIA’s in-flight 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 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 in-flight 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 in-flight 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, Mr Tan Pee Teck.

“We are pleased to partner Singapore Airlines in offering this revolutionary onboard experience,” said Winston Wei, CEO of SmarttPapers Aviation Pte Ltd. “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.”

About KrisWorld
KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines’ award-winning in-flight entertainment system, is powered by the latest eX2™ technology from Panasonic Avionics Corporation. KrisWorld offers more than 1,000 on-demand entertainment and information options, greater interactivity, as well as features never before seen in previous in-flight entertainment systems.

All programmes are presented on high-resolution wide-screen LCD TVs with crystal-clear audio across all classes in the airline’s new Airbus A380, Airbus A330, Airbus A340-500 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The extensive selection includes more movies, TV programmes, interactive games, audio CDs and hosted radio programmes, as well as a variety of learning applications. With an enhanced new graphical user interface, navigating through programmes and menus is a breeze. Customers can play, pause, rewind and resume at their convenience at any point of a video or audio programme.

About SmarttPapers Aviation
SmarttPapers Aviation is the leading digital partner for premier publishers of magazines, newspapers and other print media. It provides a revolutionary delivery platform for millions of readers and airline applications. The recently patented transformation and compression technology via SmarttPapers’ SuperCompupressor offers an entirely new reading experience for airline passengers and provides innovative marketing opportunities for publishers and advertisers. Publishers are able to utilise the technology to pinpoint articles in their magazines that are most popular among reading passengers. Currently, customers in more than 150 countries enjoy publications that are ordered and delivered through SmarttPapers.

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