Nowadays, Internet access inflight is going to be a vital and ubiquitous part of any inflight experience, just as it is in everyday life on the ground. Adam Li, Vice President, Emirates China, said, "With the popularity of smart phones and mobile Internet in China, being connected inflight is increasingly important to Chinese passengers, especially business travelers on our longer flights. By introducing the real inflight internet access to China, Emirates is committed to continuously introducing the latest advanced technology and innovative service to our treasured Chinese passengers on board our fleet."

Emirates first introduced the Wi-Fi service to the A380 fleet last December. Within a few months, the service has now been expanded to its entire 380 fleet. Furthermore, from July, all new A380s will be delivered to Emirates with full Wi-Fi, mobile phone and data services available, allowing the Emirates passenger to be in touch like never before.

Price plans for inflight Wi-Fi service start at just US$2.50 for mobile devices and US$10 on laptops for generous data packages that allow plenty of Internet at an accessible price. The US$2.50 package should be sufficient for the average Blackberry user to stay almost connected all the way from Dubai to Beijing and Shanghai - a flight of over eight hours.

The new interface will be available in all classes of service, a unique Emirates standard and includes a wide range of advanced capabilities that enhances the distinctiveness and elegance of Emirates' inflight system, ice Digital Widescreen. The new ice experience includes the capability for passengers to discover the full entertainment system by "swiping" or "scrolling" through the vast library of media and entertainment that is available on Emirates, send SMS and email messages, explore the moving map system, Airshow, watch the in-flight landscape cameras, and access live text news from the BBC.

Always at the forefront of inflight innovation, Emirates will roll-out a number of additional inflight product enhancements across the next few months as part of a multi-million dollar investment in onboard technology. Larger video screens, in all classes, will come into operation from May on new Boeing 777 aircraft, in addition to future A380 deliveries. An enhanced in-seat telephone handset and new Mode Controller in First Class and Business Class will also be introduced, ensuring a more seamless customer experience.

Emirates is committed to keeping its passengers the most connected in the sky. Every seat on all Emirates aircraft is already equipped with a seatback telephone and SMS/email service plus 90 aircraft feature the AeroMobile system, which allows passengers to use their own mobile phones inflight.

Emirates has maintained its industry-leading position by continuously investing in and expanding its entertainment offering. Since Emirates first introduced individual seatback video screens in 1992, it has invested millions of dollars in further onboard product enhancements, from the latest IFEC technology, to an ever increasing choice of entertainment content from around the world. Emirates also worked closely with its partner, Panasonic, to design and tailor its state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment communication (IFEC) system. For many years, Emirates has been leading and driving the industry with the positive impact that IFEC can have on air travel with a unique, home-theater experience environment that ensures an amazing experience for passengers.

Nowadays, Emirates' ice Digital Widescreen, offers a staggering choice of over 1300 channels of entertainment, including over 280 movies from around the world, hundreds of TV choices and thousands of music tracks from contemporary to classical. ice Digital Widescreen is featured on all Emirates A380s and select Boeing 777s. 2011, Emirates has again received Skytrax 2011 Best Airline Inflight Entertainment Award for the seventh consecutive year.

Contributed by Emirates