Guests traveling onboard Qatar Airways’ Airbus A350 fleet will soon enjoy access to the carrier’s award-winning Oryx One IFE system on their own personal devices, further minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
On Thursday (February 18, 2021), Qatar Airways announced that they will soon offer an industry-first 100 percent touchless inflight entertainment (IFE) experience. Guests traveling on the airline’s Airbus A350 fleet will be able to access the carrier’s award-winning Oryx One IFE system via their own personal electronic device, further minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Qatar Airways will also become the first carrier in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to allow guests to pair their personal Bluetooth headphones with the seatback IFE system in all cabins on the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet. The new Zero-Touch technology will be introduced in partnership with the Thales AVANT IFE system, allowing guests to pair their personal device to the IFE by connecting to ‘Oryxcomms’ Wi-Fi and simply scanning the QR code displayed on the screen.
In Thursday’s announcement, Qatar Airways Group’s Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said,
“As an industry leader in the fight against COVID-19 and the first global airline to recently achieve a 5-Star rating in the coveted Skytrax Airline Safety Rating, Qatar Airways is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety and hygiene on board its aircraft at all times. The introduction of the state-of-the-art Zero-Touch technology, and enabling passengers to use their personal Bluetooth headset on board is an important step in taking our already rigorous and stringent COVID-19 precautions to another level, limiting passenger surface contact and preventing any possible spread of infection on board. We hope it provides yet further assurance of the safety of air travel, as well as offering passengers on board increased confidence that they are enjoying the most consistently advanced customer experience available in the sky.”
Oryx One is Qatar Airways’ inflight entertainment system which offers guests up to 4,000 entertainment options including the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and more. Customers can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world with the airline’s onboard Wi-Fi and GSM service.
Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the state of Qatar and currently operates over 800 weekly flights to more than 120 destinations, providing more flexible travel options to more global destinations than any other airline. The airline plans on increasing their offer to 130 destinations by the end of March 2021. Qatar Airways was named the ‘World’s Best Airline’ in the 2019 World Airline Awards managed by Skytrax as well as the ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class.’ The carrier has also been awarded the title for ‘Best Business Class Seat’ in recognition of their ground-breaking Qsuite product which offers a spacious 1-2-1 seat layout. Additionally, Qatar Airways is the only carrier to have ever received the prestigious “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title five times. Qatar Airways normally serves over 170 global destinations with a fleet of more than 250 modern aircraft. The airline’s primary hub is located at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.
Source: Qatar Airways