“These latest generation investments in our WiFi and entertainment platforms allow us to provide the largest breadth of streamed content ever available at 35,000 feet”, said Abby Lunardini, Virgin America’s vice president of brand marketing and communications.
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Bill Holmes, who serves as Netflix’s global head of business development, spoke to a growing opportunity for passengers to gobble up content: “As Wi-Fi becomes more ubiquitous, it’s going to be increasingly possible for members to enjoy Netflix wherever they want”.
Virgin America remains a Virgin Australia airline partner, with members of Velocity Frequent Flyer able to earn and redeem points on Virgin America flights in the USA.
House of Cards’ Michael Kelly (Doug Stamper) took to the skies in character between San Francisco and Washington DC to mark the Netflix tie-up in a specially-painted aircraft, with passengers naturally treated to morally-ambiguous political advice.
It seems safe to say that travelers on these select Virgin America flights will enjoy the addition of Netflix.
As the only airline based in Silicon Valley, Virgin America has always been known for its innovative in-flight experience – including being the first (and still only) US airline to offer WiFi on every flight and power outlets at every seat. Significantly faster WiFi will also bring speeds closer to those we’re used to on the ground, and are eight to ten times faster than any other in-air WiFi service.
Right now, in-flight WiFi provider Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) provides 80% of services on US carriers.
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The ViaSat technology has been installed on the A320 flying the SFO-DCA route, and it will be added to one aircraft each month until June 2015. For one thing, “House of Cards” will be emblazoned on the side of Virgin America planes that offer the higher-speed Internet access. Virgin America announced Monday that the video on-demand service is now available for free on its seatback system and on passengers’ smartphones, tablets and laptops.
