As anticipated, the Passenger Experience Conference (PEC) on April 9, and the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) on April 10 thru 12 were the IFEC big deals last week. Each year we attempt to give readers a bit of an oversight about this week dedicated to the aircraft cabin and all things IFEC. This year was not different and for this week and next week, IFExpress will cover the show summary put out by the folks who organize this incredible extravaganza in Hamburg Germany each year. In today’s issue, we cover PEC (April 9) and Day 1 of AIX (April 10)  – next week we will send out the summary of Day 2 and 3 of the Expo. Here we go! 

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PASSENGER EXPERIENCE CONFERENCE

Monday April 9,  2018 – Passenger Experience Conference (PEC), the industry-leading global conference and networking forum, returned to the Hamburg Messe, marking the start of the world-renowned Passenger Experience Week (PEW). Exhibition Director, Polly Magraw kicked-off the day with a welcome to delegates attending the Conference, which defines the passenger experience. Following this, Richard Chung, Vice President Innovation & Design at Adient  took to the stage to discuss the exponential changes that are emerging and converging to create new opportunities for the aviation industry (see image above).

One such change, is the future introduction of commercial space flight at Virgin Galactic’s facility in New Mexico. Adam Wells, Head of Design, talked delegates through every stage of the process of the journey of a spacecraft, including a video of a recent test flight where the spaceship reached 82,000 feet.

Closing the plenary sessions, Paul Priestman, Director and Chairman of Priestman Goode, discussed how convergence of existing technologies, including magnetic levitation, can facilitate new forms of transport such as the Hyperloop.

For the rest of the Conference, PEC delegates could choose sessions from three streams: Convergence and Mobility, Personalizing the Journey and Flexible and Sustainable Thinking.

Convergence and Mobility:

• From seamless urban mobility to the on-demand economy, this stream explored how cross-pollination between transport modes can enrich the passenger experience and create business opportunities.
  • Arguing that millennials prioritize access over ownership, Jönna Pöllanen of MaaS Global introduced their new multi-modal transport planning and booking platform, ‘Whim’.
  • Sustainable materials were the focus of conversation between José Rui Marcelino of Almadesign, Joel Fragata of TAP Air Portugal and Luciana Ribeiro Monteiro of Embraer, while the Head of Partnerships & Advertising and Head of Product & Customer Experience at Joon told attendees about their new products and services being tested by Air France-KLM.

Personalizing the Journey:

• This stream explored how connectivity and data-driven technologies can improve the passenger experience and enable deeper relationships between an airline and its service partners.
  • Nathaniel Giraitis of design company SmartDesign told attendees about Kite, a newly-conceived digital travel companion that could provide nervous flyers with personalized coping techniques.
  • Representatives from gategroup and Black Swan Data shared their insights on how artificial intelligence and data collection can revolutionize inflight food, while seamlessness and the harmonization of software and content were the focal points of discussions between speakers from Panasonic Avionics, Cathay Pacific, Gogo, Valour Consultancy and Spafax.

Flexible and Sustainable Thinking:

• Examining how flexibility can be designed into products to afford more options for airlines and rail operators, this stream asks the question about the role sustainability plays in this equation.
  • Christina Fagin, Industrial Designer and Circular Economy Expert at Grüner Hering, emphasized the importance of ensuring that products have a full life-cycle and that environmental disposal is considered in the design phase in her key-note speech.
  • Later speakers from Boeing, Recaro, Zodiac Aerospace were among those who discussed the ways in which modularity and open platforms can support a more flexible approach to cabin design and services.

Polly Magraw, Event Director of Passenger Experience Conference, comments: “This year’s agenda offered delegates an insight into the future of transport and the technologies that are driving change for passengers. Our fantastic plenary speakers transported the audience through space, supersonic and electric air travel – a range of possibilities that now feel closer than ever before.”

“The breakout format of the conference let delegates explore the issues that are driving change in their industry and revolutionizing the passenger experience. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who continues to make the Passenger Experience Conference the huge success it is today.”

The PEC is the launch event for Passenger Experience Week – which comprises four leading events in one destination: the Passenger Experience Conference, the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), the World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) and, new for 2018, Passenger Technology Solutions.

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AIX DAY ONE – NEWS ROUND-UP

Tuesday, April 10 2018 – Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), the world’s largest event dedicated to innovation in the in-flight passenger experience, kicked-off as world leaders in cabin interiors, in-flight entertainment and passenger comfort gathered in Hamburg to showcase their latest products and developments.

Every year, exhibitors choose AIX to announce new products and deals, and 2018 got off to an impressive start with news from organizations including:

• Airbus announced the development of a new option for A380 aircraft, ‘A380 Cabin-Flex’. The enhancement, which consists of a new cabin door area arrangement on the upper-deck, is available for line-fit and retrofit, and will be installed on Qantas’ current A380 fleet from mid 2019.
• Thales announced the expansion of its inflight entertainment portfolio with CORE and PRESTIGE, offering a full spectrum of solutions and services to maximize passenger satisfaction, loyalty and airline revenue.
• Immfly announced a new partnership with Pegasus Air, to bring a dynamic in-flight digital services platform to the Turkish Market.
• Panasonic Avionics announced the debut of their new airline on-board loyalty platform, called NEXT Loyalty, with Singapore Airlines as launch customer, as well as a partnership with gategroup on their new retail platform NEXT Marketplace, and an IFEC commitment from Turkish Airlines for 50 wide-bodied aircraft.
• Gogo announced that Air Canada has extended its agreement to install the provider’s 2Ku in-flight connectivity service on its Bombardier CSeries CS300 fleet, with the system to be line-fit during assembly.
• Global Eagle Entertainment has launched the Airconnect Go video-on-demand system portable IFE system for regional aircraft, which streams content to passengers’ own devices through Global Eagle’s Airtime portal.
• Geven’s Essenza economy-class seat has been ordered by Wizz Air for the Airbus A321neos it will begin receiving in January 2019.
• Acro is to supply its Series 3 ST seat to Viva Air for the airline’s 50 Airbus A320 aircraft on order.

Delegates to AIX were also able to enjoy the first day of a series of educational sessions in the Flight Global Cabin Space Live Seminar Theater.

Consolidation and the interiors supply chain: Panelists discussed how consolidation among the cabin supply chain could provide an opportunity for agile new suppliers to enter the market, as well as the demand on suppliers to boost production while reorganizing supply chains.

The future of IFE: The panel of airlines and technology providers discussed the need for airlines to have the flexibility to provide choice to the passenger, with platforms that adapt to meet the fast pace of technology development. The need for robust and stable connections for streaming in the air to meet passenger demand is critical, with embedded IFE, wireless IFE and connectivity all being part of the future mix.

Flight Ascend Market Outlook Briefing: This briefing assessed where the industry is in the demand cycle. It examined whether Airbus and Boeing are on track to hit their ambitious production-rate targets and what the prospects are for new market entrants such as the C-Series, C919 and MC-21, and new product studies such as the Boeing NMA.

AIX’s Exhibition Director, Polly Magraw, comments: “AIX 2018 has launched with a busy and exciting day. It has been inspiring to see all the amazing innovations our exhibitors are showcasing and how they are bringing to life some of the key themes around the passenger experience we heard about in Monday’s Passenger Experience Conference.

Aircraft Interiors Expo is co-located with World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) and, new for 2018, Passenger Technology Solutions (PTS). Along with the Passenger Experience Conference the three expos make up Passenger Experience Week.

For further information please follow this link to Aircraft Interiors Expo