Abu Dhabi, June 12 (IANS/WAM): Passengers on board Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, will enjoy every FIFA World Cup football match live on all of the carrier’s long haul aircraft during the month-long tournament.
All 64 games will be transmitted live at 30,000 feet on the airline’s modern, wide-bodied fleet of planes by IMG Media using Etihad Airways’ state-of-the-art interactive in-flight entertainment system, E-box, powered by Panasonic technology.
The E-box screens are installed in seats for every class of cabin - first, business and economy - so for flying football fans, no one need miss a goal being scored.
The World Cup kicks off Thursday with host nation Brazil taking on Croatia in Sao Paulo. The final will be played July 13 in Rio de Janeiro when the global television audience for this single match alone estimated to reach more than one billion people.
"The FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most exciting sporting event in the world and I’m delighted that all of our guests will be able to watch every match while they fly with us on their long-haul business or holiday flights. I hope that they sit back, relax and enjoy the great football action," said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad's Chief Commercial Officer.
Etihad Airways’ non-stop daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Sao Paulo have been in operation since June and the airline says there has been great demand from British, Dutch and Belgian expatriates living in the UAE capital and connecting markets because their national teams play matches in the Brazilian city over the next two weeks.