SAS broadens onboard service with live TV channels

From January 23, passengers can watch the following TV programs live on their laptops: BBC World, CNBC, Euronews (Asia), MSNBC (US) and Eurosport news.

SAS will be able to offer customers these four live TV channels onboard via SAS Net Access. This marks a broadening of SAS’s much appreciated onboard wireless Internet service on intercontinental routes to Asia and the US.

SAS Net Access, which is supplied by the company Connexion by Boeing, is installed in SAS’s 11 Airbus A330/340s. All passengers equipped with a handheld computer or a laptop with a wireless network card can use the service.

SAS is the only airline that offers wireless Internet on all intercontinental flights. All passengers that fly on Scandinavian Airlines International’s intercontinental routes, irrespective of where they are seated in the aircraft, can keep fully abreast of what is happening in the world by browsing the Internet. The new passenger classes – Economy, Economy Extra and Business – all offer the same access to the service. A power outlet is installed in each of the seats of the Business and Economy Extra classes.

Customer surveys conducted by Connexion by Boeing have shown that more than 90 percent of customers are very satisfied with the service.

“The most encouraging result of the survey conducted by Connexion by Boeing is that half of those questioned said that access to the Internet has a large influence on their future choice of airline. In 2005, more than 30,000 customers used the service onboard SAS flights to and from Asia, and the US and the number is growing by the month,” says Lars Lindgren, CEO of Scandinavian Airlines International.

From January 31, the cost of the service will be reduced from USD 29.95 to USD 26.95 for an entire flight. Also effective January 31, users who choose to use the service for a shorter period will receive 30 extra minutes and will pay only USD 9.95 for an hour. Payment can be made with Eurobonus points, all usual credit cards and Associated Service Providers.

For further information, please contact:
Kerstin Edenby-Stross, Director Information & Communication,
Tel. +46 8 797 12 36; e-mail: kerstin.edenby-stross@sas.se

Brief facts about Scandinavian Airlines International, the long haul operator of SAS
No. of passengers per year about 1.6 million. Aircraft 11 Airbus 330/340s
Destinations New York, Chicago, Washington, Seattle,Bangkok, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo. Copenhagen and Stockholm