MANAMA, Bahrain, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Starting next month, Gulf Air, Bahrain's premiere airline, will offer Sky Hub in-flight technology, making broadband connectivity possible even at altitudes of 37,000 feet.

"This is another important milestone in our customer service journey and we are bringing, for the first time in the world, fully-integrated broadband connectivity offering high speed Internet, voice over Internet, streaming videos and the world's first in-flight live TV satellite stream across continents," Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali said.

Sky Hub, a Gulf Air, Panasonic, Deutsche Telekom and Aeromobile venture, will enable access to email, text messaging, phone calls, web surfing and live TV streaming, in addition to Gulf Air's regular in-flight entertainment.

Although the project costs several million, Majali says the system will pay for itself.

"It puts us in the forefront of competition and we will recoup the investment through funds of passengers using it during flights," he said.

So far, one aircraft is equipped with functioning Sky Hub service and a new plane will be fitted with the equipment every two weeks. Gulf Air expects to have the entire fleet outfitted within five months.

SOURCE Kingdom of Bahrain