Anaheim, CA, May 1, 2007—American Airlines will expand its use of portable inflight entertainment with the launch of IMS’ new PAV-704 7-inch touchscreen media players on the airline’s 767-200 transcontinental flights beginning May 1, according to IMS chairman and CEO Joseph Renton. In addition, the airline will begin the use of IMS’ 4.3-inch PAV-604 portable on some its MD-80 aircraft that fly between Los Angeles and Chicago.

The 767-200 offering will provide American’s premium cabin travelers with personal video-on-demand entertainment and information on transcontinental routes between New York’s Kennedy Airport and Los Angeles International and San Francisco International airports, said American’s Manager of In-Flight Entertainment and Onboard Services, Mark Smith.

Based on state-of-the-art consumer technology developed by Paris-based ARCHOS, the new 7-inch units provide screen resolution of 800x480 pixels and a 16x9 touchscreen display. The unit has an 80GB hard drive and weighs just 22.6 oz., says Renton.

The PAV-604 for the MD-80s provides a 480x272 pixel resolution 16:9 screen.

The order for the 767-200 fleet is expected to exceed 2,000 units, according to Renton, whose company is enjoying a strong start in 2007, making them the leading provider of portable entertainment solutions.

“The size, weight, form factor, and storage capacity of the 704 is ideal for our needs on transcontinental flights,” says Smith, “and we believe our passengers will be impressed by the screen quality and the touchscreen capability.” The smaller units for the MD-80 fleet utilize a 30GB hard drive and holds more than 20 hours of video content.

IMS will provide the full spectrum of content management services for the platform, says Renton, including licensing and acquisition, optimized encoding, content integration, content security, and administration. Smith notes that one of the key reasons American Airlines has expanded its relationship with IMS is that they have created a secure content delivery supply chain that has been applied across multiple fleets thus providing American with a secure and efficient enterprise wide content solution.

View More News Releases