Gogo Business Aviation, in its continuing efforts to be the leading provider of in-flight entertainment, has made an admirable step towards accessibility with an agreement with the US National Association of the Deaf (NAD) to add closed captioning to their on-demand streaming service, Gogo Vision. Despite the Department of Transportation’s directive on the presence of closed captioning on video monitors in airport terminals, this agreement is the first of its kind with an in-flight entertainment company.

“This is a monumental step in making in-flight entertainment accessible to the 48 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States alone. Personalized in-flight entertainment has made air travel exciting again. The ability to access and watch an extensive library of movies or television shows helps pass the time on long flights. The NAD is thus thrilled by Gogo’s decision to make the in-flight entertainment experience equally accessible to deaf and hard of hearing passengers.”

NAD CEO Howard Rosenblum

The first step of the deal between the two parties includes Gogo developing the technology that supports closed captioning on their media players accessed by passengers on their WiFi-enabled devices. Once that is effectively implemented, they will begin sourcing content from their library with captions with the entire venture finalized by June 30, 2017. This modest 18-month cushion should provide ample time for a successful roll-out.

Gogo Vision is currently on board (pun intended) with 2200 aircraft domestically. Although the agreement is focused only on US domestic flights initially, an international implementation should not be far behind. This is an exciting step in the right direction to ensure an equally accessible, and enjoyable, flying experience for all passengers.

All captions offered in the Gogo Vision library will be compliant with current FCC captioning standards.

The release from the NAD can be found here: NAD and Gogo LLC Agree to Make Closed Captions Available on In-Flight Entertainment Systems.