American Airlines rolls out in-flight Entertainment On Demand, lets you continue watching after you land

American Airlines gives its Boeing 767-200 fleet all the love -- first it sends some 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs through the gate, and now in-flight streaming videos get the all-clear to board. If you'll recall, AA's been testing Aircell (Gogo) in-flight video streaming, and now the service has gone live on 15 of the transcontinental wide-bodies flying New York to San Francisco or Los Angeles. You won't need to purchase in-flight WiFi to access Entertainment On Demand, but it currently only works on "select laptops," with rentals for television shows priced at $0.99 and movies at $3.99. You'll also be able to access your purchased TV and movie content on your device for 72 or 24 hours, respectively, if your flight soars into its destination ahead of time -- pickins' are quite slim, though, with only around 100 vids to choose from presently. The airline plans to add the service to all of its WiFi-enabled aircraft -- while also expanding device support -- beginning later this year. Fly on for a demo video and press release, parked just past the break.

Show full PR text

American Airlines Becomes the First North American Airline to Offer Inflight Streaming Video Product

American Enhances Onboard Travel Experience with Initial Rollout of Entertainment On Demand to Entire 767-200 Fleet

Plans to Roll Out Entertainment On Demand to Virtually Entire Domestic Fleet

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines, a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, today announced the initial phase of the launch of Entertainment On Demand – an inflight streaming video product – as a brand-new, innovative inflight entertainment option for customers on board its entire fleet of 15 Boeing 767-200 aircraft. American is the first North American airline to offer inflight streaming video, which enables customers to wirelessly stream content such as movies and TV shows from an inflight library to select types of Wi-Fi-enabled laptops during flights.

"We've been deeply involved in developing the concept of streaming video with Gogo, as part of our vision of continuing to elevate the travel experience by pushing the envelope with our inflight entertainment offerings," said Rob Friedman, American's Vice President – Marketing. "We continue to execute this strategy and lead in this space by making prudent investments in innovative, cutting-edge technologies. During this initial phase of launch, Entertainment On Demand allows customers to access content through select personal Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, and in the coming months Gogo intends to make tablets and other devices available for use with the product."

Entertainment On Demand is now available on board American Airlines flights operated by a 767-200 aircraft – primarily transcontinental flights between New York JFK and Los Angeles and JFK and San Francisco – for the introductory price of 99 cents per TV show and $3.99 per movie. Customers do not have to purchase inflight Wi-Fi to utilize Entertainment On Demand. Using their own compatible personal Wi-Fi-enabled laptop, customers simply click on the Entertainment On Demand banner on the inflight Wi-Fi homepage, select a movie or TV show from the popular titles housed in the content library, create an account or log in, enter the form of payment and click "rent." All major credit and debit cards are accepted. To view a demonstration of Entertainment On Demand, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ_HyK-FgzY.

The inflight library features more than 100 movies and TV shows from major Hollywood studios to offer customers a variety of entertainment choices. Customers can sort titles by movie or TV, genre, length of feature, and other categories. Trailers are available for complimentary viewing prior to renting content. Movies and TV shows will remain accessible for viewing after the customer has landed – movies for 24 hours and TV shows for 72 hours. Unexpired rentals will be available for playback on the ground by using the same device and browser used on board.
American began testing the new inflight video system on two Boeing 767-200 aircraft in May and received FAA certification this month. While American is rolling out Entertainment On Demand to its entire fleet of 767-200s for customer use, the product will continue to evolve over time. The airline's goal is to roll out this product on all of American's Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft beginning later this year, pending FAA certifications.

American's Entertainment On Demand is powered by the Gogo system. Movies and TV shows are stored on the onboard server, allowing the air-to-ground connection to be fully available for American's Wi-Fi product. During this initial phase of launch, select personal Wi-Fi- enabled laptops are compatible with Entertainment On Demand. Gogo is currently working to increase the number of compatible devices and intends to make tablets and other devices available for use with Entertainment On Demand in the coming months. For more information, visit http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/entertainmentOnDemand.jsp.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® serve 250 cities in 50 countries with, on average, more than 3,600 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines fares are also available through Kayak.com and Priceline.com, as well as thousands of travel agencies worldwide. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve approximately 900 destinations with more than 9,000 daily flights to 145 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)

About Gogo

Gogo is fast becoming everyone's favorite part of flying. By allowing travelers to get online, in air, Gogo keeps them connected to life. Using Gogo's exclusive network and services, passengers with laptops and other Wi-Fi enabled devices can get online on select American Airlines flights and many other commercial airlines.

Back on the ground, Gogo's 350+ employees in Itasca, IL and Broomfield, CO are working to continually redefine flying as a productive, socially connected, and all-around more satisfying experience. Connect with us at www.gogoair.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gogo and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gogo.

Current AMR Corp. releases can be accessed on the Internet. The address is http://www.aa.com