July 17, 2007 – LONDON-based turnkey handheld IFE provider Mezzo has added UK charter carrier XL Airways to its customer list, which also includes low-costs Flyglobespan and Jet2.com and transatlantic premium operator Silverjet.

Mezzo says XL has completed launching its service, based on eVU players for e.Digital of California, on all its long-haul routes, operated with Boeing 767s and 747s from Manchester and Gatwick. It is being offered free of charge in the carrier’s premium cabins and for a rental fee in economy.

The rollout follows a trial to evaluate passenger response to handhelds in aircraft with existing embedded IFE. The trial began in March and, says Mezzo, showed that passengers were willing to pay for entertainment superior to that offered through the embedded system. The company says it also demonstrated that rental revenues from economy would offset the cost of the complimentary service in the premium cabins, resulting in “cost-neutral” IFE for the airline.

“We wanted a portable IFE service that would be cost-neutral and have minimum impact on internal resources,” says XL inflight director Alyna Trotman. “Previous experience of offering portables in business class showed us we needed more from our portable IFE provider than simply kit and content - handing the reins over to Mezzo has been the right decision.”

Mezzo announced last week that Flyglobespan was tripling the number of handheld players to be offered on most of its routes to mainland Europe, Canada and the USA, and that passengers with both Flyglobespan and Jet2.com would be able to book players online in advance.