Iceland Express to offer in-flight iPads

Budget airline Iceland Express is to offer the iPad on all transatlantic flights.

Passengers will be able to watch films and TV shows, listen to music, read magazines/books and play games. The low fare airline plans to roll out the service to the rest of the fleet early next year.

“We have been offering a mobile entertainment unit to our passenger for the past two years onboard our European flights, which has been extremely popular.

“Now that Iceland Express is going transatlantic, it makes sense for us to invest in a device that is more geared towards long-haul,” says Georg Haraldsson, Iceland Express’ Ecommerce Manager.

“We don’t want our passengers to be limited to watching a film on a small screen. The iPad is 9.56 x 7.47 inches, so our customers won’t be straining their eyes and it is also extremely lightweight.”

The London Gatwick – Newark International route will have up to 25 devices onboard.

The iPad has a 10 hour duration and the onboard rental price for the gadget is £9. Iceland Express plans to introduce Wi-fi at a later date.

The airline currently uses the Bluebox lite entertainment system (IFE) onboard its European flights.

Iceland Express currently flies twice weekly from London Gatwick to New York City’s Newark International Airport, via Reykjavik. Starting in May 2011 the schedule frequency will increase, with daily flights between London and New York.

Flights to Chicago and Boston will be introduced next June, as well as departures from Edinburgh, Dublin and Belfast.