FunFunGolf讯：【阿联酋迪拜，2008年8月20日】阿联酋航空公司（下称“阿航”）连续第四年荣获令人垂涎的Skytrax 2008年度最佳机上娱乐大奖，阿航以坚持创新再度受到高度认可。

        通过Skytrax开展的乘客调查，阿航的ICE（信息、通讯和娱乐）系统以及ICE数码宽屏系统问鼎殊荣。从2007年8月至2008年6月，来自93个国家的1500多万名乘客参与了Skytrax涉及航空业数个领域的“全球航空公司调查”。

        奖项评选的标准包括机上娱乐节目的质量、最佳精选电影、电视和纪录片以及最佳音频节目。耳机质量和音效、音频节目的编排、游戏、屏幕尺寸也在考评范畴之内。

        阿联酋航空公司乘客通讯及视觉服务部门副总裁帕特里克•布兰里尼（Patrick Brannelly）表示：“连续四年获得该奖项是一个不可思议的成就，但也再度证明阿航在机上娱乐产品上的巨大投入已广受青睐。我们在前沿科技上投入巨资以保证乘客能够在尽情享受娱乐节目之余，还能与地面上的亲朋好友保持联络”。

        “去年推出的ICE数码宽屏系统是我们持续提升机上创新产品和服务的又一典范。获此殊荣之后，阿航将坚持更进产品技术和内容，继续致力于向乘客提供业界顶尖的机上娱乐系统”。

        自1992年起，阿航就为打造最好的机上娱乐投入巨额资金，并成为世界第一家在飞机上所有舱位的全部座位上安装个人视频系统的航空公司。

        2003年，阿航全面推出ICE系统，并将其迅速发展成为引领航空业界的娱乐系统。乘客们一伸手就可以从600余个娱乐频道所提供的数百部电影、电视剧和音频节目中选择自己所好。节目语言包括英语、阿拉伯语、印度语、乌尔都语、中文和日语。

        阿联酋航空自主构思的ICE系统，打破了传统产品纯娱乐的界限，并创造独一无二的增值创新服务，比如成为首家提供机上移动电话通讯系统的航空公司。该系统允许乘客通过接打手机和收发短信与地面上的人进行联络沟通。阿航提供的其他特色服务包括安装在座椅靠背上的短信（SMS）和无线E-mail服务系统，以及在飞行全程中实时更新的新闻。

        为了再度巩固机上创新服务的先驱地位，阿航安装了全新的可以提供更多电影、电视和音频节目，以及约100个空中游戏的ICE数码宽屏系统。自2008年7月至奥运期间，阿航将在其飞往六大洲的航班上播放一系列北京奥运宣传片——《国际导演拍北京》。

        阿航是世界上首家为存在听力障碍的乘客提供标准化编码电影字幕的航空公司。阿航的新特色包括用于浏览照片和PDF格式文件的My USB数据线接口，以及可以让乘客从将近一万首音频文件中自行编选出自己的收听列表的My Playlist音乐列表。

        阿航ICE数码宽屏系统配备的屏幕是所有航空公司中最大的。安装在每个座椅靠背后的系统都配有一个先进的ICE电视遥控器、带标准键盘的具备卫星电话和游戏操纵手柄双重功能的手机、阅读灯调节按钮和栩栩如生的3D飞行实况录像。头等舱的乘客可以使用一个独特的无线掌上控制器来挑选娱乐节目、调节座椅位置和灯光以及选择按摩功能。

        60%以上的阿航飞机都配备了ICE系统或ICE数码宽屏系统，二者为乘客提供的机上娱乐选择远多于其他航空公司。

        Skytrax的首席执行官普拉斯提（Plaisted）表示：“近年来，整个航空业内机上娱乐的水准都有显著提高。而乘客只是希望他们选择的航空公司能够提供视听节目，因此业界先锋要实现产品差异化越来越有挑战”。

        Skytrax卓越航空公司大奖是航空史上最重要的奖项之一，用于表彰杰出的产品质量和卓越的客户服务。这些独立航空业奖项对一线的航空服务给予认可，并被视为实际产品和服务的公正评判。

        Dubai, UAE, 20th August 2008 – Emirates has again received plaudits for its innovative inflight technology after scooping the much-coveted Skytrax 2008 Best Airline Inflight Entertainment Award for the fourth consecutive year.

        The airline’s ice (information, communication and entertainment) and ice Digital Widescreen systems received top honours based on a passenger survey carried out by Skytrax. From August 2007 to June 2008, more than 15 million travellers of 93 nationalities took part in Skytrax’s World Airline Survey, which covered several areas of the airline industry.

        The criteria for the award included the quality of inflight entertainment, best movie selection, TV and documentary programmes, and best audio choices. Quality of headsets and sound, audio programming, games selection and screen size were also considered.

        Patrick Brannelly, Vice President Passenger Communications and Visual Services, said: “To win this award for the fourth consecutive year is a fantastic achievement, proving yet again that Emirates’ significant investment in the inflight entertainment product is appreciated by our customers. We also make significant investments in the latest technology to ensure our passengers enjoy not only the widest range of entertainment, but also the capacity to communicate with family and friends on the ground.

        “Launching ice Digital Widescreen last year is another example of how Emirates continually enhances its inflight technology and product offering. The ongoing aim following this latest success is to keep improving the technology and content to provide passengers with the industry’s best inflight entertainment system.”

        Emirates has invested huge sums to provide passengers the very best inflight entertainment since 1992, when it became the first airline in the world to offer personal TV screens in all classes on its entire fleet. 

        In 2003, Emirates launched ice and quickly developed it into the airline industry’s leading entertainment system. Passengers have hundreds of films, TV and audio options available at their fingertips, with more than 600 channels of entertainment on offer. The content available covers several languages, including English, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese.

        The ice system, which was conceived in-house, has pushed the boundaries of traditional entertainment-only products by offering unique services. These include the pioneering inflight mobile phone technology offering – the first such service to be launched by any airline in the world. The mobile phone system allows passengers to communicate with people on the ground by making or receiving calls and sending or receiving text messages. Other inflight features that Emirates provides includes seatback SMS and email services, and live text news updates throughout the flight.

        Reaffirming its position as an inflight technology pioneer, Emirates launched the new ice Digital Widescreen, which offers even more movies, TV and audio, as well as some 100 games. Starting from July 2008 and during the Beijing Olympics, Emirates’ launched Vision Beijing—a series of Beijing Olympic promotional films across its network connecting six continents.

        The airline is the first in the world to introduce closed captions on movies for passengers with hearing difficulties. New features include My USB, enabling passengers to view photos and pdf files, and My Playlist where travellers can create personal music compilations by choosing from nearly 10,000 tracks of available music.

        ice Digital widescreen also offers the largest wide-screen televisions in the airline world. Each individual seat-back system is equipped with an advanced ice TV remote control; handset with a qwerty keyboard doubling up as a satellite telephone and games controller; laptop charging points and 3D animated Airshow. In premium classes, a unique wireless handset controller allows passengers to select entertainment, adjust seat positions and lighting, and choose massage functions.

        More than 60% of Emirates’ fleet carry the ice or ice Digital Widescreen systems, both of which offer travellers significantly more inflight entertainment choice than any other airline.

        Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said, “The standards of inflight entertainment have improved considerably across the airline industry in recent years, and passengers simply expect their chosen airline to provide AVOD programming, so product differentiation becomes more difficult to achieve for the world leaders in this section.”
 
        The Skytrax Awards for Airline Excellence is among the most prominent recognitions of outstanding quality excellence for product and customer service delivery across the airline industry. These independent aviation awards recognise front-line service realities and are considered a fair measure of actual product and service being delivered.