• As of August 1, Eurowings passengers can enjoy premier entertainment on their own smartphones and tablets

Raunheim, Germany | August 3, 2016– Over 400 songs, blockbuster movies, TV shows, games and numerous audiobooks – Eurowings passengers on business trips and summer vacation alike can now enjoy a broad range of inflight entertainment on their own mobile devices. As of August 1, Lufthansa Systems had completed the biggest go-live of a portable IFE solution for a well-known airline to date. More than 70 aircraft – nearly the entire Eurowings A320 fleet – were equipped with BoardConnect Portable over the weekend. The remaining planes will follow by the middle of the month.

Immediately after boarding, when the plane is still on the ground, passengers can pass the time before takeoff by using the entertainment program. They can decide in advance which features they want to use during the flight and view the latest blockbusters in their entirety even on shorter flights, because the content remains available after landing until the aircraft is at the gate. Along with the entertainment options, including music and audiobook streaming via Napster as well as current films and TV shows, the system called Wings Entertain offers access to the onboard shop, the menu and information about airports and cities. Another popular feature is the Moving Map, which shows the aircraft’s current position.

“An innovative IFE solution like BoardConnect Portable fits very well with our business model. With Wings Entertain, we are offering our passengers a modern entertainment platform and thus improving their travel experience,” said Oliver Wagner, CEO of Eurowings. “And not only that – thanks to our large partner network and the ability to integrate paid content and marketing campaigns, we can generate additional revenues with the new IFE system.”

BoardConnect Portable is even easier to use and more flexible than the conventional BoardConnect solution from Lufthansa Systems. The advantage of the all-in-one solution is that all of the technical components needed for an IFE system – such as a server and access points – are combined in a single device called Mobile Streaming Unit (MSU). An MSU is about the size of a conventional tablet, weight less than 1.5 kg and can be brought on board easily during regular flight operations.

Since they do not require elaborate cabling, MSUs qualify as non-permanently installed equipment and can be mounted or removed, for example in the galley or in overhead compartments, without affecting other components in the aircraft. This eliminates high costs for hardware, fitting and certification and enables the system to be transferred immediately for further use in leased aircraft as well. An integrated LTE modem allows rapid wireless updates of content while the aircraft is on the ground.

“BoardConnect Portable was unveiled in the fall of 2015, and right from the start there was great interest particularly from niche airlines with smaller fleets,” reported Olivier Krüger, CEO of Lufthansa Systems. “But the flexible use and reliability of the application won over other, larger airlines as well. We are proud that we were able to gain a customer like Eurowings in such a short period of time and install Portable so quickly on the entire fleet.”

• Napster is the first streaming service in Germany to offer in-flight music
• The complete offerings include music and audio books for adults and children in Lufthansa’s in-flight entertainment system
• The partnership is set to begin in Summer 2016

Frankfurt, Germany | July 18, 2016– Napster has taken over the skies as the first music streaming service in Germany! Streaming services are enjoying increasingly more popularity, whether at home, on the way to work, at the gym or on vacation at the beach. To enjoy the diverse range of music in the air, Napster and Lufthansa Systems have formed a strategic partnership. Lufthansa Systems is one of the world’s leading suppliers in the Airline Industry and already equips a variety of airlines across the globe with its innovative BoardConnect platform, as well as the corresponding entertainment content. Through Lufthansa System’s BoardConnect, Napster will offer passengers selected playlists and audiobooks for adults and children, making traveling more enjoyable and entertaining. By this summer, Napster and Lufthansa Systems together want to equip the first airline with the service, Eurowings.

Aside from having access to the extensive selection of music and audio books from Napster, the greatest feature is that passengers will no longer have to use the built-in aircraft screens to access the media content, but will also be able to connect their own smartphones or tablets with BoardConnect via onboard WLAN. With this connection, users can enjoy a selection from the music-streaming pioneer. The Napster playlists, as well as audio books will be updated monthly and provide plenty of popular and up-to-date content for all ages.

Patric Niederländer, Vice President of Business Development Europe at Napster, said of the cooperation with Lufthansa Systems, “Napster has always stood for innovation. We are pleased to have developed, together with our partner Lufthansa Systems, an attractive proposition with which we move into another business segment. Our aim is to offer all music lovers the best and most multifaceted listening experience – whether on the ground or in the air.”

“Diverse onboard entertainment programs are increasingly becoming a competitive advantage for airlines,” says Olivier Krüger, CEO of Lufthansa Systems. “We are pleased to have found in Napster an important partner, who brings with it its music expertise and will in the future provide our BoardConnect platform with an exciting program.”

In addition to the selected music program on board, Napster will initially offer all Euro Wings passengers discounts after their flight. That means that all passengers who register during the flight can then enjoy three months of Napster for just one euro and discover new music through playlists, recommendations and advice. Favorite artists, albums or single tracks, as well as individually created playlists, can be stored and easily managed in the user archive. Favorite songs and albums can also be accessed by up to three devices, i.e. smartphones, tablets or computers with iOS, Android or Windows operating systems. The premium service also allows users to download individual songs, albums, or playlists to access offline, which requires no mobile data or Wi-Fi – the perfect solution for enjoying music on the move. The completely ad-free catalog of more than 40 million music tracks, as well as the more than 15,000 audio books of all genres for users in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, leaves nothing to be desired.

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