Icelandair has signed an agreement to purchase a new in-flight entertainment system from the U.S. producer Thales, as well as new seats from the French producer Aviointerios. With these agreements Icelandair's policy of offering its passengers full service and state of the art environment in its international flights is confirmed. The total amount of these two contracts is 1,8 billion IKR.

According to Jon Karl Olafsson, CEO of Icelandair Group and Icelandair these are breakthrough contracts for the company. "These contracts embody our decision to totally renew all interiors of our Boeing 757 fleet, and are also a clear statement that Icelandair intends to offer full service on board. This purchase agreement has been in preparation for a long time and has been included in our budgets".

According to Jon Karl, Icelandair is positioning itself in the international airline business with this contract. "We fly on relatively long routes, most of them being 3-5 hours long. The development we see in the airline industry is that people want high quality entertainment on such long flights and that offers us great business opportunities and a competitive edge. We are determined to be among leading airlines in offering favourable fares, but at the same time develop a profitable operation in connection to entertainment, shopping and services for our passengers."

The in-flight entertainment system that will be installed in Icelandair's fleet, the Thales IFE i4500, gives every passenger access to a PTV screen and a control panel where they are offered a broad entertainment selection. "With this agreement we are acquiring hardware and software that can be developed to meet the requests and needs of our passengers. Now we envisage that every passenger will have access to and can choose from a broad selection of new movies, TV programs, music, books, e-magazines and games. In addition to this the technology enables the passengers to download and buy music and other digital products such as computer games as well as ordering various goods and services at their destination. At the same time the passengers can monitor the flight and get information about airports, departures, arrivals and etc. Some of these services will be free of charge for passengers, but the new technology also opens considerable revenue possibilities for Icelandair," says Jon Karl.

The types of the new Aviointerios seats are Andromeda and Centaurus. The seats are produced with latest technology and from new materials. They weigh less, are more durable and take up less space than the existing seats and therefore give the passengers more space and comfort.

The new seats and the in-flight entertainment system will be installed in all of Icelandair's Boeing 757 passenger jets that are used for the company's scheduled routes. The renewal will start in the fall of 2007 and end in the spring of 2008.