May 15, 2007 – US AIRWAYS has selected handheld IFE from Californian-based IMS for use in its Boeing 757 fleet.

The news follows the introduction earlier this month of IMS handhelds by American Airlines on its Boeing 767-200 transcontinental flights (Inflight Online, May 2). American is also flying IMS players for a four-month trial on some of the MD-80 narrowbodies that it operates between Los Angeles and Chicago.

US Airways, which operates 43 Boeing 757s within the contiguous 48 states and to Hawaii, the Caribbean and Europe, has chosen IMS’ new PAV-704 portable player. Based on consumer technology from Archos of France, it features a 7in touchscreen and a choice of 80Gb or 160Gb hard drives.

On the US Airways aircraft users will be able either to dock the unit in the seat arm, where it will receive in-seat power, or position it elsewhere to run on battery power. “This ‘integrated portable’ approach is becoming popular,” says IMS chief executive Joe Renton. “An increasing number of airlines are interested in designing the portable IFE units into the look and feel of the cabin and seat environment. To accommodate this demand, IMS has created several options that allow the players to reside in the seatback or arm.”