Air Canada Wants to Make Money from On-Board Entertainment

MONTREAL - Air Canada wants to offer seat-bound travellers the diversion of cutting edge in-flight entertainment and services, such as video games and the Internet, as part of a strategy to broaden its revenue base as it becomes a separate publicly traded company again.

The onboard entertainment would complement Air Canada's current strategy of allowing passengers to select and pay for the services they want, which allows Canada's biggest air carrier to compete with both no-frills and full-service carriers.

"Management believes it can generate additional revenue by offering buy-on-board, in-flight entertainment content, Maple Leaf Lounge access as well as a host of other products and services at the initial point of purchase," Air Canada said in an initial prospectus filed with regulators on its recently announced public offering of shares to investors.

"While the concept is new to the airline industry, it has been successful in other industries such as the computer and automotive industries," the prospectus said. [Get full story ¦ Canadian Press]