April 25, 2005 - AIR INDIA has introduced inflight news bulletins from BBC World as part of the programming available on its routes from India to Europe, the United States and East Asia.

Bulletins are transmitted by satellite from London to Mumbai four or five times a day, depending on flight departure times. They are then recorded on video, loaded on to aircraft IFE systems on the ground and screened shortly after take-off. No bulletin is more than three hours old when it is seen by passengers.

In the coming months Air India plans to download news at Frankfurt and London also so that flights going from those stations to the USA and India can also feature the service.

The carrier has no plans at present for satellite-delivered live news aboard its aircraft. “While we do appreciate that it is technically possible to screen more up-to-date bulletins on the aircraft, we need to bear in mind the costs involved,” comments PR director Jitender Bhargava.

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