We won the pitch at Airside to redesign and rethink the in-flight entertainment (IFE) system for Virgin Atlantic.

Our solution had to last at least a decade and would ultimately have to operate on very dated technology due to the stringent security in place on aircraft.

As with all projects, we took a user-centred approach, thinking through and designing a system that would make exploring entertainment a pleasure and reducing navigation friction as much as possible.

What resulted is an IFE system like no other; the user is never more than a touch or two away from any content at any point in the experience. The IFE also features user rating (an IFE first) and infographics to give passengers clear feedback on the flight’s progress and the time at origin and destination.

Rolled out onto three A330 aircraft in May 2011, the IFE is set to go on a fleet of ten over the course of the next two years.