Portable in-flight entertainment (IFE) specialist digEcor has partnered with gaming provider Flight Deck Gaming to offer airlines a new, custom list of game options wth built-in revenue opportunities on their handheld video players.

According to statistical research from GrabStats, online gaming related revenue is expected to exceed $20 billion by 2012. In-Stat Research says revenue derived from various Wi-Fi enabled devices will surpass $1 billion by 2012.

"We explored a number of gaming options and found that Flight Deck Gaming's airline operations and gaming expertise made them uniquely qualified to support our airline customers and various initiatives in this arena," says digEcor president Brad Heckel.

The games will include a range of casual, skill-based, and casino style games which Flight Deck Gaming optimizses for play on a given platform, in this case, digEcor's digEplayer handheld device.

Heckel says digEcor's customers can take advantage of "recurring revenue over the in-flight or post-flight gaming life-cycle of their gamer passengers".

Separately, digEcor says it has added various documentaries from well-known news source CNN to its content line-up. "In an effort to regularly provide airlines and passengers with a greater variety of content from which to choose, CNN comes as a first-rate complement to our content list - which is the most comprehensive in the portable industry," says content administrator Jed Thompson.

"We are also excited to add Flight Deck Gaming to our current repertoire of content and offer airlines a superior gaming solution," he adds.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news