Today, users of mobile devices expect to be connected – always and everywhere – to work with, to communicate with, or just to be entertained. More and more, passengers bring and use their own devices onboard… and the aircraft industry is recognizing this need. To serve and provide power for personal electronic devices is becoming essential for every airline, but technology today is getting more complex, while the demand for portable device power increases constantly. So, in-seat power suppliers are faced with the challenge of scope and diversity, of multiple vendors, who often support different systems. In effect, this means not every outlet unit can serve sufficient power for charging – so there is a greater need for compatibility!

With its intelligent SKYpower USB power product, KID-Systeme is offering one of the first compatible solutions which is already flying and proven on a many aircraft. The system supplies all standard marketable and USB-chargeable devices with constant maximum power. Primarily, passengers will benefit from fast charging time which translates to maximum use of their PEDs. Furthermore, due to innovative and advanced technology, USB power is provided directly from the outlet unit. Thus, there is a minimal supply line between outlet unit and power supply… so the passenger can use their own cable without any restrictions! One power system that serves all – the KID solution is the easiest way to provide maximum power and pave the way to satisfied passengers.

FACTS & FIGURES

• MaximumPower Output 2.1 Amps
• Maximum Compatibility
• Highest Safety Standards
• Easy Installation
• Small & Lightweight USB Outlet Units
• Customizable & Deliverable With Front Plates in Any Color
• Different Packages Available
  • *Single and Double Outlet Units
  • *Combined AC USB Outlet Units

More Than Standard

As already mentioned “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) is becoming more and more essential for every airline in the world. Nowadays, passengers expect to be entirely entertained during flight. Aviation’s IFE industry is faced with an increasing demand for fast and compatible solutions for both in-seat media-tainment, and especially, for wireless portable IFE. Further, passengers prefer using their own personal devices like tablets, smartphones, and laptops to stream wireless media content onboard, so reports “Looking On IFE Trends”. We note that they also point out the emergence, and need for, wireless entertainment solutions.

As a result of this increasing demand, KID developed a hardware solution based on the latest on-ground standards to provide high-speed WiFi for all personal electronic devices. With this latest wireless inflight solution, KID enables airlines to deploy an enhanced and optimized wireless distribution – much better than the one which is widely used on ground today. Airlines will also benefit from low cost of ownership and easy installation… all with the greatest product capability available today.

With the latest WiFi-standard and compatible USB power solutions, KID-Systeme offers an innovative and future-focussing package of technology to serve both passenger and airline’s needs. “To find out more about KID and our all-around cabin system solution, we would like to welcome you at our website and our at our booth at AIX16 in Hamburg. See you there!”

SINGAPORE — Online shopping, real-time social-media updates, email access, dozens of ‘live’ TV channels in your preferred language and even tele-medicine — all these at 36,000 feet in the air, powered by high-speed Internet. Welcome to the world of next-generation in-flight entertainment — the new game changer in the commercial aviation market. hello

Airlines around the globe are beefing up their in-flight entertainment offerings as the competition to lure passengers reach a fever pitch amid a capacity glut that has triggered fare wars across short-, medium- and long- haul flights across continents. In its annual Global State of In-flight Wi-Fi report, airline comparison site Routehappy highlighted that more airlines than ever now offer airborne Internet.

“We don’t want to change your behaviour because you are on an airplane. Instead, you do things the way you otherwise do anywhere. Part of our goal is to make it so inexpensive that it becomes basic … (For this to happen) we are working on the design and deployment of much more sophisticated satellite systems. What that means in lay terms is more and more bandwidth at a lower cost without much impact on the aircraft,” Mr David Brunner, vice-president of Global Communication Services at Japan’s Panasonic Avionics Corp, told TODAY.

Around 60 carriers, according to Routehappy, currently offer Wi-Fi in most regions with several airlines upgrading their aircraft to offer the third-generation of in-flight Wi-Fi. For the airlines, industry experts say, it also offers a tremendous opportunity for data collection and analysis to better understand customers, and develop strategies to retain them in today’s fiercely competitive environment.

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“After all, the passenger is in front of the display system for 10 to 15 hours. If someone is able to make him or her feel good at 36,000 feet above sea level, it will create memories, boosting the customer’s loyalty towards the airline. We intend to create value through personalisation — real-time adaptation to passenger mood and culture,” Mr Dominique Giannoni, chief executive of Thales InFlyt Experience, told TODAY on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

The French avionics major said on Wednesday that it bagged a deal with Singapore Airlines (SIA) to equip the flag carrier’s future fleet of Airbus A350 XWB aircraft with Thales’ latest in-flight entertainment. These offerings include lightweight monitors featuring full high-definition video and integrating Avii, the newest evolution of the Thales Touch Passenger Media Unit, in the premium cabins.

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French lose cocoon of calm as Wi-Fi invades the aircraft cabin
SIA told TODAY it has also tied up with Honeywell for the US tech giant’s JetWave satellite communications hardware to be installed in a majority of the carrier’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft starting late this year. This will be followed by its Airbus A380-800s and A350-900s, beginning in the third quarter of 2017.

Honeywell’s hardware, which carries the Inmarsat Global Xpress Aviation system, is a high-speed in-flight connectivity service that will provide aircraft with data rates of up to 50Mbps (Megabits per second). At 50Mbps, the technology is less than 10 per cent of the land-based speed of around 600Mbps to 1Gbps, but analysts said it is still a significant improvement.

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“The speed is still relatively high, considering previously Internet on air was either with no connectivity or around 5 to 10Mbps,” said Mr Clement Teo, senior analyst at Forrester Research. “It is very hard to say if the airlines would increase prices on their current plans. It depends on the demand and the carrier’s objective — for it to be a revenue contributor, or an add-on service. To business travellers, Internet connection would be very necessary, but to holiday travellers, it may not make sense to pay more for such services.”

SIA told TODAY it was unable to share details on the costs of the new systems to be put in its aircraft and whether these will be passed on directly to passengers. “SIA is already offering WiFi packages to our customers on selected 777-300ERs and the A380s. The upgrade to broadband, with higher speed and greater bandwidth, will provide customers with a better experience when using the in-flight WiFi Internet,” it said.

Currently, SIA provides volume-based or time-based price plans for aircraft equipped with the services. For example, an OnAir volume-based 15MB deal for mobile gadgets is priced at US$6.99 (S$9.80), while a 30MB deal is at US$12.99. Meanwhile, a Panasonic GCS mobile or laptop time-based deal will cost US$11.95 for an hour’s usage.

According to Research & Markets, the in-flight entertainment and connectivity market is expected to reach US$5.8 billion by 2020 from an estimated US$2.9 billion last year, or a compounded annual growth rate of 15.2 per cent over the five years.

The Asia-Pacific market is expected to register the highest growth, mainly because of the wireless and seat-centric solutions being adopted by an increasing number of airlines, the research store noted.
Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/business/next-wave-inflight-entertainment-online-shopping-live-tv-and-more

CarlisleIT:

Feeling the demands for increased connectivity onboard your aircraft? Are you deterred by the costly equipment and lengthy installation times necessary to upgrade your fleet? Or perhaps you have already endured the restoration costs and logistics of retrofitting your leased aircraft? Thankfully, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies has the answer – a universal SATCOM solution that can be seamlessly installed on any aircraft and reaps significant time and cost savings in these and other technologies, and just for this also using companies like  Barrier Technologies, LLC that offer solution and communication and many other subjects.

CarliseIT, in partnership with Saint Gobain Performance Plastics, now offers multiple ARINC 791 solutions for Ka-band, Ku-band and Tri-band SATCOM installations. The complete package contains the CarlisleIT ARINC 791 compliant adapter plate, provisions for Outside Airframe Equipment (OAE), and intercostal kits required for both retrofit and line fit installations on transport jet aircraft. Installation fittings on the adapter plate are adjustable to cover the complete range of aircraft frame spacing, while providing discrete interface loads to the fuselage. The aerodynamic skirt follows the fuselage curvature without requiring a large installation doubler, sealants, or additional fasteners through the aircraft skin.

The CarlisleIT ARINC 791 adapter plate solution fulfills the requirement for a standardized installation, easier maintenance inspections, and overall lower cost of ownership. Conformance to the ARINC 791 standard also helps futureproof the SATCOM installation, and makes upgrades to next generation antennas and SATCOM system equipment easier and faster with commonality across entire fleets.

Designed to support a wide range of SATCOM systems, ARINC 791 is preferred by aircraft manufacturers for line fit installations. CarlisleIT is striving to help airlines and system providers improve theirs speed-to-market and deliver enhanced next generation SATCOM connectivity to today’s airline passengers.

Key Features:

• Custom Ka-band, Ku-band, or Tri-band radome based upon the customer’s antenna selection
• Durable and light-weight aluminum universal adapter plate
• Supports the complete range of aircraft frame spacing per ARINC 791 standards
• Supports the wide range of available antennas on the market today
• The adapter plate design includes provisions for additional equipment (OAE) under the radome
• Aerodynamic skirt conforms to aircraft fuselage without additional fasteners or sealants
• Supports swept antenna volume up to 37.50” diameter x 9.60” tall
• Provides easy upgrade path for future proofing
• Easy recurring maintenance and inspection access
• End-of-lease restoration becomes an easy de-mod process as compared with current installations

Additional Image:

Adaptor Plate with Antenna Foundation

YOURSpace: Bear with Holiday Travel This Year – A Better Experience is Nearly Here

By Chris Smith, Founder and CEO, Area360

Today’s typical airport experience is at the very best, hit or miss. Travelers may be prepared and get to the airport on time, have a great meal while enjoying a book in a hushed terminal, and board a flight with no delays. But that’s a rare day, and the typical airport journey involves at least one complication that throws everything off.

This year, Airlines for America projects that 38 million Americans will take to the skies over the 2015 holiday season, equaling 2.2 million travelers every day between December 18th and January 3rd. That many people flowing through the nation’s airports truly puts their efficiency and customer experience to the test, and showcases their biggest problem spots – curbside congestion, snakingly-long lines to check in and get through security, and many more.

I am a geek and a frequent flier, so as I traverse through herds of people resembling The Walking Dead, I can’t help but get excited about the way passengers will experience and flow through airports in the very near future. Here’s a glimpse.

It’s 5:30 AM in the morning when your alarm sounds. You roll over and in a gurgle manage to muster a somewhat coherent sentence: “Alexa, what are my flight details this morning?”. My Amazon Echo replies, “Your Alaska Airlines flight to LA is currently scheduled to board at 11:25 AM, 15 minutes delayed. Traffic will be moderate to heavy. Would you like me to set you a reminder when it’s time to leave or order you an Uber to get you there 1hr prior to departure?” You respond, “Thanks Alexa, please order me an Uber Lux, I like to roll in style”.

As your Uber drops you at the departure door, your phone lights up with a message: “Welcome to Sea-Tac. I see you have checked in and do not have luggage, would you like to head to security?” (A few airlines already do this.) You select yes and the next screen says, “Currently, the fastest security line is 1500 feet away, would you like directions?”. Why yes, yes you would. As you walk to the security line, your phone is navigating you with turn by turn directions as accurate as Google Maps, and also happens to show you the time delta between where you’re currently waiting, and how long it will take to get to your gate on time.

Approaching the security line, an overhead screen shows your name with a green arrow under it pointing you into the TSA Pre line, as it knows you’re already approved. Upon approaching the agent stand, your boarding pass pops onto your mobile screen without your having to dig for it, and you simply tap your phone on a waist high pedestal and it reads the information. To double check, you’re required to hold your phone up to your face so that a quick facial recognition scan can be beamed via Bluetooth to the pedestal to confirm your identity.

The gate opens and allows you through to a conveyor belt that scans your bag without your having to take a single thing out, and you walk across a scale-like platform that does a quick scan to make sure nothing’s out of the ordinary, and in less than two seconds you’re done.

Next, your phone buzzes and up pops another welcome message: “Congratulations, you are through security. You have 55 minutes before your flight starts boarding – would you like to go to to the coffee shop (2 min walk), get a sandwich (6 min walk), buy something at the newsstand (1 min walk) or go to your gate (10 min walk)?”. Naturally, you select the coffee shop and lo and behold, a free drink is waiting as it’s your 10th time, this month.

After you enjoy your coffee, your phone buzzes and tells you: “Your flight is boarding in 15 minutes and you are currently 10 minutes away from your gate, would you like directions?”. You take your phone up on the offer and get there in exactly 10 minutes – no more, no less.

As you stroll up to the gate, your boarding pass pops up again and as you near the agent, you see that she’s already rolled up your favorite newspaper along with headphones for the trip.

You say “thank you” and you’re on our way.

Chris Smith is the founder and CEO of Area360, a location technology company, building products that enhance the way people engage with physical locations through the use of mobile applications and location-aware technology.

By Chris Smith, Founder and CEO, Area360

Today’s typical airport experience is at the very best, hit or miss. Travelers may be prepared and get to the airport on time, have a great meal while enjoying a book in a hushed terminal, and board a flight with no delays. But that’s a rare day, and the typical airport journey involves at least one complication that throws everything off.

This year, Airlines for America projects that 38 million Americans will take to the skies over the 2015 holiday season, equaling 2.2 million travelers every day between December 18th and January 3rd. That many people flowing through the nation’s airports truly puts their efficiency and customer experience to the test, and showcases their biggest problem spots – curbside congestion, snakingly-long lines to check in and get through security, and many more.

I am a geek and a frequent flier, so as I traverse through herds of people resembling The Walking Dead, I can’t help but get excited about the way passengers will experience and flow through airports in the very near future. Here’s a glimpse.

It’s 5:30 AM in the morning when your alarm sounds. You roll over and in a gurgle manage to muster a somewhat coherent sentence: “Alexa, what are my flight details this morning?”. My Amazon Echo replies, “Your Alaska Airlines flight to LA is currently scheduled to board at 11:25 AM, 15 minutes delayed. Traffic will be moderate to heavy. Would you like me to set you a reminder when it’s time to leave or order you an Uber to get you there 1hr prior to departure?” You respond, “Thanks Alexa, please order me an Uber Lux, I like to roll in style”.

As your Uber drops you at the departure door, your phone lights up with a message: “Welcome to Sea-Tac. I see you have checked in and do not have luggage, would you like to head to security?” (A few airlines already do this.) You select yes and the next screen says, “Currently, the fastest security line is 1500 feet away, would you like directions?”. Why yes, yes you would. As you walk to the security line, your phone is navigating you with turn by turn directions as accurate as Google Maps, and also happens to show you the time delta between where you’re currently waiting, and how long it will take to get to your gate on time.

Approaching the security line, an overhead screen shows your name with a green arrow under it pointing you into the TSA Pre line, as it knows you’re already approved. Upon approaching the agent stand, your boarding pass pops onto your mobile screen without your having to dig for it, and you simply tap your phone on a waist high pedestal and it reads the information. To double check, you’re required to hold your phone up to your face so that a quick facial recognition scan can be beamed via Bluetooth to the pedestal to confirm your identity.

The gate opens and allows you through to a conveyor belt that scans your bag without your having to take a single thing out, and you walk across a scale-like platform that does a quick scan to make sure nothing’s out of the ordinary, and in less than two seconds you’re done.

Next, your phone buzzes and up pops another welcome message: “Congratulations, you are through security. You have 55 minutes before your flight starts boarding – would you like to go to to the coffee shop (2 min walk), get a sandwich (6 min walk), buy something at the newsstand (1 min walk) or go to your gate (10 min walk)?”. Naturally, you select the coffee shop and lo and behold, a free drink is waiting as it’s your 10th time, this month.

After you enjoy your coffee, your phone buzzes and tells you: “Your flight is boarding in 15 minutes and you are currently 10 minutes away from your gate, would you like directions?”. You take your phone up on the offer and get there in exactly 10 minutes – no more, no less.

As you stroll up to the gate, your boarding pass pops up again and as you near the agent, you see that she’s already rolled up your favorite newspaper along with headphones for the trip.

You say “thank you” and you’re on our way.

Chris Smith is the founder and CEO of Area360, a location technology company, building products that enhance the way people engage with physical locations through the use of mobile applications and location-aware technology.