Air Transport

British Airways (BA) is remaining quiet about the in-flight entertainment (IFE) it will offer passengers this fall on its new Airbus A318 transatlantic service, but assures that a system will be installed.

The carrier in late October will introduce all-business A318 service between London City and New York JFK. Communications specialist OnAir, which has a partnership with Thales, will provide mobile connectivity to passengers aboard the A318s, although initially voice calls will not be permitted.

IFE will also be available, says a BA spokesman, adding: "I haven't yet seen who the IFE vendor will be, but we've been advised it will be a similar system that is on the larger [Boeing] 747 and 777 aircraft - that is Rockwell Collins. Regarding the A318, I can't confirm yet."

BA last year inked a deal to fit its on-order Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 aircraft with Thales' TopSeries in-flight entertainment system. The systems are also being installed on BA's 777-300ERs.

The BA order "starts with over 40 wideobodies and extends to the entire BA widebody fleet when they decide to retrofit those aircraft," Alan Pellegrini, general manager of Thales' California-based in-flight business told media at a press conference last week at the Paris air show.

At that time, Pellegrini said BA had not yet elected an IFE supplier for the A318s.