SIA to invest S$300m in e-mail systems

April 24, 2001

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) plans to invest S$300mil over the next two years to equip its aircraft with e-mail and new entertainment system.

The carrier said both systems would progressively be installed on its entire Boeing 747 and 777 fleet. Currently, both systems are installed only on one Boeing 747-400 aircraft flying between Singapore and Los Angeles which was launched on Sunday.

SIA said it was the world's first global inflight e-mail system using a satellite-based communications network. It said a dedicated server on board the Boeing 747-400 would download and store web pages for browsing.

The inflight e-mail system, supplied by US-based Tenzing Communications, and the web access system are connected to Matsushita Avionics System's new MAS3000 inflight entertainment system.--Reuters