Runway Girl: Virgin Atlantic debuts moving map on steroids with Boeing 787-9

Virgin Atlantic’s new Boeing 787-9 boasts a number of passenger pleasing features, including a new iteration of the carrier’s Upper Class suites, Panasonic Avionics-provided Ku-band satellite-supported airborne connectivity plus Panasonic’s latest generation, Android-based eX3 inflight entertainment system. But the 787 also features a three-dimensional moving map on steroids.

The moving map represents the latest content release of Betria Interactive’s FlightPath3D software, which boasts a highly responsive, fully interactive touch display interface; a detailed and realistic aircraft model and livery with the carrier’s branding scheme and color palate; a selectable 3D perspective interface including passenger windows, cockpit, plane tracking and free roaming modes; and global satellite map coverage, including a global night-time view that shows city lights.

Other notable attributes include an auto-play flight preview script that runs during boarding and shows departure airport takeoff, full flight path and destination airport landing; and, in Upper Class, remote application control using Panasonic’s new video handset. The product’s City Destination Guide – which features detailed street level map and building details for 36 of the airline’s destination cities, plus hundreds of interactive point-of-interest icons with links to summary information overlays – can be regularly updated to ensure the map and information displays remain current and relevant.