In 1992, Emirates made the decision to install TV screens in all seats across all cabin classes throughout its fleet, a revolutionary move that shaped travelers expectations and the inflight entertainment industry in the decades to come.
Since the introduction of satellite phones in 1993 Emirates became the first to install systems that enabled mobile phones to be used on aircraft. Today every Emirates aircraft has connectivity.
Emirates’ ice inflight entertainment system, originally launched in 2003 with 500 channels, today offers every passenger over 5,000 channels of on-demand movies, music, TV shows, box sets and documentaries, in over 40 languages.
Emirates’ IFE received numerous industry awards including ‘Best Inflight Entertainment’ at the 2022 APEX Passenger Choice Awards®, and ‘Skytrax World’s Best Inflight Entertainment’ every year since 2005.
Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Retail, IFE and Connectivity said: “When Emirates introduced personal screens on every seat back in 1992, it was considered a massive industry innovation. Other airlines questioned the sense of this huge investment, estimated at about US$15,000 per seat at that time.”
