News:

Lufthansa Systems

Brussels Airlines introduced a new passenger service system in 2016. To make its departure control and adjacent applications accessible from the respective CUTE systems at each of the airports in its network, the Belgian airline is using cFront/LAGUNA from Lufthansa Systems. CUTE stands for Common Use Terminal Equipment. This software enables airlines to make shared use of airport IT infrastructures. This means that different airlines can use the same hardware to access their own servers for passenger and flight handling. The cFront/LAGUNA adapter software helps standardize the different versions of the CUTE systems.

“We have more than 100 destination airports in our route network. As an airline, it isn’t possible for us to develop interfaces for every version of CUTE and acquire the necessary certifications. This is why we are relying on the expertise of Lufthansa Systems,” said Paul Rogiers, Delivery Manager Outstations/IT at Brussels Airlines.

For many years, Lufthansa Systems has offered airlines comprehensive CUTE services – from setting up the applications to carrying out updates and maintenance. cFront/LAGUNA was modified by the experts to meet the specific needs of the Lufthansa Group. The software is based on the CUTE solution known as cGroup. It accesses an airline’s IT systems in a smooth, standardized way and supports all leading CUTE platforms as well as the new standards for Common Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS). In addition to Brussels Airlines, other airlines in the Lufthansa Group are also using cFront/LAGUNA. This means different airlines in the Group can benefit from a shared check-in system if necessary. Users can access the system from anywhere with a web app. cFront/LAGUNA also offers monitoring functions that provide an overview of the status at all CUTE and CUPPS airports and enables the responsible management team to intervene quickly in the event of a disruption.

“Thanks to the shared certification and provision of cFront/LAGUNA, the Group solution was already available at many of the airports in Brussels Airlines’ network. During the implementation, we simply had to add the information specific to Brussels Airlines. This saved money and ensured a fast launch,” said Bjoern Steinbrecher, Head of cGroup Solutions at Lufthansa Systems.

Established in 2002, Brussels Airlines from Belgium is part of the Lufthansa Group and a member of the Star Alliance. With a fleet of 49 aircraft, Brussels Airlines connects the European capital of Brussels with more than 100 destinations in Europe, Africa, India and North America.”

VISION-BOX

On a similar subject, Vision-Box also has automated airport passenger electronic control devices. We realize this is not IFEC, but  you are going to see a lot of this ground-based technology in the future. Since this technology free’s up a lot of people, border and airport automated technologies will increase for identifying passengers and visitors and a recent release about a Caribbean airport at St. Maarten caught our eye. “Juliana International Airport just upgraded to the new Vision-Box™ which is a self-service biometric Automated Border Control eGates intended to modernize the process, improve the security of the identification procedure, and expedite passenger flow at one more stage of the passenger journey across the airport!”  The news release went on: “vb i-match ™ ABC eGates have now recently announced a seamless passenger journey designed by Vision-Box ™, joining the existing vb i-match ™ security checkpoint gates installed in the first phase of the project. Together, these solutions are streamlining identification processes for departing passengers, when entering airside and clearing immigration.” We also understand that the arrival of biometric ABC technology at SMX (Juliana) Airport means that after successfully entering airport side by using vb i-match ™ security checkpoint eGates, passengers crossing the border will be able to complete the entire immigration process in a few seconds using customer-centric, self service touchpoint vb i-match ™ ABC”. Here is how it works: “Once at the eGate, the passenger will first scan their ePassport, where facial biometric information from the echip is scanned and matched with a live facial image capture of the passenger. Once all identification and safety checks have been successfully conducted, the passenger is allowed to clear immigration. At the forefront of modernizing the immigration clearance procedure is cutting-edge fraud detection and self-clearing biometric identification capabilities, using an advanced eGate security algorithm authenticating the passengers ePassport and identifying identity through multiple fraud and security operations, which just takes a few seconds.” We note that “Newly appointed airport ambassadors are there to greet and guide travelers in the use of the eGates, additionally to the support of a passenger-centered, expertly designed user Interface, oriented towards the success of the operation! Additionally, every passenger transaction is closely monitored by an immigration officer using vb inspector ™, a monitoring system giving the officers immediate information on each passenger’s identity and transaction status, detecting identity fraud, leveraging biometric and biographic information during real-time checks of intelligence and criminal databases, and instantly alerting border officers in case of an emergency.”

Editor’s Note: If you think there is not enough electronics in the airport departure and entry areas, you need to keep your eye on companies like Lufthansa Systems and Vision-Box.  www.vision-box.com. Here is another link about the coming technology.

APPS

We recently came across an interesting website about the use of Android apps for passenger devices.

While a bit old (2014 – 2015) we note their comments: “The average customer rating across Apple App Store and Google Play for the 12 major European airlines included in this study grew from 3.2 to 3.6 (on 1 to 5 scale) between January 2014 and October 2015. And you guessed it – this app stuff is getting a lot more important to travelers.

Airlines aiming at increasing personalization are aware of the importance of mobile apps. However, a prerequisite to unleashing new streams of ancillary revenues through tailored offers is offering an outstanding digital user experience.” The app importance is noted in the link above, but tnooz said: “The average customer rating across Apple App Store and Google Play for the 12 major European airlines included in this study grew from 3.2 to 3.6 (on 1 to 5 scale) between January 2014 and October 2015. While the airline average was around 3.1 to 3.6 (or lower) a reader sent us LATAM’s score (a few months old) – 4.0 Google/4.0 Apple – Guess who designed it?  If you said Zii, you win!

ZODIAC

And speaking of Zodiac Aerospace, Safran will buy them and merge the two companies with lots of financial machinations if all the business offers are accepted. In the end, Safran landing gear, nacelle, power systems, actuators and avionics would be combined with the Zodiac seats, cabin interiors, power distribution, lighting, safety, and oxygen/fluid/safety equipment.

Here are the involved Zodiac companies: Heath Tecna, Contour Aerospace, IMS (Zii), NAT, TriaGnoSys, PPP, and Greenpoint Technologies.

One expert said that the message here is clear, Safran see’s the future of electrical and avionic involvement in in aircraft. We believe, because of their native product differences, that management selection will be very critical as the two companies are so different and almost opposite talents. It is worth noting that the combined company would have about 92,000 employees and we understand Safran purchase is estimated to be approximately  $9.5 Billion. Interestingly, Safran attempted this acquisition in 2010. FYI, if the deal goes through, Safran will be number three Tier 1 supplier behind GE and United Technologies. However, the purchase is still subject to shareholder approval and if so it will close at the end of 2017/ 1st Qtr. 2018. Stay Tuned.

GOGO

Gogo announced that it has promoted Jon Cobin to Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Gogo. Cobin has served in a leadership position at Gogo for six years, most recently as head of strategy and global sales for Gogo’s commercial aviation division.  In his new role, he will continue to manage strategy and sales, but will take on the added responsibilities of managing Gogo’s product and marketing teams. Under Jon’s leadership the company has experienced numerous successes, including adding more than 1,000 2Ku aircraft to the backlog in 2016. “Gogo is at the forefront of technology development and innovation and combining our strategy group with product, sales and marketing enables us to better align the organization around meeting the needs of our global airline partners,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO. “Jon’s proven leadership makes him the right person for this role.” Congratulations Jon!

 THALES

JetBlue announced the completion of its fleet-wide Fly-Fi installations and they said: “Fly-Fi is the revolutionary Wi-Fi service offered to JetBlue passengers for free across the carrier’s 227 aircraft, including Airbus A320s, A321s and Embraer 190s. This Wi-Fi offering was developed by Thales InFlyt Experience to meet JetBlue’s expectation to offer connectivity services for every seat, on every aircraft. This service allows passengers to connect and remain connected from gate-to-gate. With the completion of these installations, Thales has again enhanced the passenger experience for JetBlue by providing high-bandwidth connectivity services that complement existing stored and live in-flight entertainment products.” For additional details on this service, please refer to this JetBlue press release.

GLOBAL EAGLE

Global Eagle Entertainment, CA secured a $500m senior-secured term-loan facility and a new $85m senior-secured revolving credit facility.

LATE PREDICTION

This came into us after publishing last Tuesday. It is a prediction submission from FlightPath3D: “We predict 2017 as the year the industry finally recognizes the PAX audience as the most highly coveted demographic for advertisers and begins real & sustained efforts to bridge the gap between them.”

A RUMOR

An unnamed IFExpress reporter told us: “Yesterday, I spoke with a friend of mine at (US) FCC and he confirmed that there will be organizational structure changes within. The alleged purpose is to “streamline” the licensing process. We’ll see. I have my doubts with any Federal bureaucracy. However, it could make for an interesting scenario with the 14 GHz air-to-ground license auctions. I suspect the license costs will go higher. Notwithstanding the purported organization changes, with every presidential transition period, he told me, from Republican – to – Democrat, or vice versa, or has about a 3-4 month period when almost nothing happens.” We concur.

LASTLY

You gotta see this – it might work! The Worst Seat on a Plane Gets Better: New Middle Seats

 

 

Los Angeles, CA | November 7, 2014– Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. ENT, -0.90% a worldwide leading provider of content, connectivity and digital media solutions to airlines, has selected the FlightPath3D Moving Map & City Destination Guide service from Betria Interactive to deliver a next generation moving map and geotainment service on its wireless inflight solutions.

Available with GEE’s connectivity portal and WISE™ wireless inflight entertainment solution, the new service offering will support both an HTML5 browser-based moving map as well as a fully interactive 3D application solution.

“The moving map is an essential content feature of our digital media wireless solutions and we’re delighted to have a strategic partnership with Betria to utilize what we believe is the most innovative inflight map solution on the market today,” commented Alexis Steinman, SVP Software and Development at GEE. “Beyond the map’s infotainment features and attractive look & feel, the rich media features of Betria’s map enable us to extend our sponsorship and advertising strategy by using the map’s built-in, customizable points-of-interest.”

“We are excited about our partnership with GEE. We share a vision of the IFE future driven by engaging passenger experiences and are committed to delivering game changing solutions together,” commented Boris Veksler, President of Betria Interactive. “We believe that FlightPath3D on GEE’s wireless platforms creates a strong, value-added offering available to the largest possible segment of the IFE and connectivity market.”

The FlightPath3D integrated inflight moving map service includes a flight broadcast/preview “auto-play” mode and an in-seat interactive 3D map application both with detailed satellite imagery and integrated street maps. The service boasts an impressive 25,000 named locations in over 20 languages. The City Destination Guide catalog is expanding to include hundreds of the top destination cities around the globe all with detailed street-level city maps and rich, multi-media point-of-interest data. The new Themed Map service also allows airlines to create a wide variety of engaging, travel-related content experiences as an alternative to the traditional inflight entertainment (IFE) media options available today.

• Betria Interactive, makers of the FlightPath3D Moving Map service, announces the new Discovery & Kids Themed 3D Map service’s commercial release

Irvine, CA | September 4, 2014/PRWEB/– Betria Interactive announces a significant expansion to its leading edge FlightPath3D Moving Map product suite with the new Discovery & Kids Themed 3D Map service. This new service is a substantial evolution over last year’s widely praised release of the flagship FlightPath3D Moving Map product suite with its engaging 3D Moving Map experience and innovative Destination City Guide & Concierge service.

The Themed Map service leverages the FlightPath3D extendable platform technology allowing any airline to deploy and update new Themed Map content packs without new software releases. This new release includes a total of 24, information rich Themed Maps in 5 initial categories: For Kids, Sports, History & Geography, Technology and the 10 Best. Each theme is designed to both inform and entertain passenger of every age. From Animals Around the World crafted to captivate and delight toddlers to Theme Parks of the World that will have teen flyers already planning their next trip to the adventurer in us all by following the Greatest World Explorers, there is truly something for everyone. In addition, airlines seeking something more tailored can commission custom Themed Maps developed to meet their unique needs and deliver a branded message to an engaged and interactive passenger audience.

“We are very proud to release our new Themed Map service. It not only brings the world to the passenger, it underscores the real innovation behind FlightPath3D. Beyond being the industry’s best 3D Moving Map service, it is a powerful platform to deliver geo-relevant content.” stated Betria Interactive President, Boris Veksler. “Each of the new Discovery & Kids Themed Map packs are deployed onto the FlightPath3D platform as a 100% configurable content package. Airlines with FlightPath3D can deliver both standard and customized Themed Map services using a similar content update process to that used to deliver movies, albums or news updates today. With FlightPath3D, the airline can serve engaging entertainment to both today’s and tomorrow’s in-flight audience.”

The FlightPath3D Moving Map service includes a flight preview “auto-play” script that can broadcast during aircraft boarding plus an in-seat interactive 3D map application packed with detailed satellite imagery and informative street maps. The service boasts the largest global place/name coverage in the industry with an incredible 25,000 named locations across the globe in over 20 languages. The Destination City Guide currently supports hundreds of cities across the globe with plans for expansion to add many more over the coming years; all with detailed street-level city maps and rich, multi-media Point-of-Interest data.

The FlightPath3D Discovery & Kids Themed Map service is commercially available to airport operators and commercial airline carriers and supports many of the popular in-flight entertainment platforms offered today.

• Air France launches Betria Interactive’s FlightPath3D Moving Map & Destination City Guide this summer on the first of their 777 fleet

Irvine, California | August 12, 2014– The Air France/KLM product innovation team selected FlightPath3D from Betria Interactive to deliver their next generation Moving Map & ‘geotainment’ service. This new service recently launched on the first of its updated fleet of Air France 777s serving dozens of international routes.

“We were very impressed with the quality, performance and experience of the product and felt that FlightPath3D delivered far above all other options,” noted Peter Verheijde, Director Product Innovation at AF KLM speaking of the recent Air France 777 service launch. “FlightPath3D is a centerpiece in our new service offering and really demonstrates the capabilities of the new Panasonic in-seat experience and new premium video handsets. It was a pleasure to work with Betria and to see this program come together so quickly. They have truly exceeded our expectations.”

The FlightPath3D service for Air France supports Panasonic’s new Android Video Handset Remote Control. Air France’s service includes 25,000 named locations across the world in up to 12 languages. The City Destination Guide initially covers 36 destination cities and will expand over time to cover many more Air France destination cities with detailed, street level city maps and rich, multi-media Point-of-Interest information.

“The FlightPath3D product suite delivers both an engaging experience and a next generation service that can ensure content remains current and relevant to the passenger’s interests,” offered Boris Veksler, President of Betria Interactive. “We are excited to have such a great partner as Air France to launch our new Video Handset Application and look forward to amazing and entertaining their audience for many years to come.”

Air France is currently engaged in a major upgrading project and now offers the FlightPath3D service on brand new, high-definition touchscreen displays in all its newly unveiled passenger cabins (Economy, Premium Business and La Première). A fleet of 44 Boeing 777 long-haul aircraft is progressively being fitted out with the new cabins to ensure optimum comfort for all passengers. KLM will also be offering the FlightPath3D service on board its upgraded aircraft from November 2014.

＊ Android is a registered trademark of Google Inc.
＊ Panasonic is a registered trademark of Panasonic Corporation

• Leading in-flight entertainment content provider has signed a partnership agreement with Betria Interactive to bring its new FlightPath3D Moving Map and Destination ‘geotainment’ service to the global airline industry.

Knutsford, Cheshire, UK | September 3, 2013– Leading in-flight entertainment provider, IFE Services, has signed a partnership agreement with Betria Interactive to bring its new FlightPath3D Moving Map and Destination ‘geotainment’ service to the global airline industry.

The FlightPath3D solution is a fully integrated in-flight moving mapping service for airline passengers to enjoy in-flight. The service includes a flight preview ‘auto-play’ script broadcast during aircraft boarding, an in-seat interactive 3D map application with detailed satellite imagery and integrated street maps. This next generation product suite is enhanced by a new destination guide information service that updates relevant point-of-interest information periodically for an airline’s destination cities.

In August this year, Betria Interactive announced Norwegian as their launch FlightPath3D customer. Head of Business Development at Norwegian, Boris Bubresko, stated at the time that after evaluating all available in-flight map products on the market, “FlightPath3D delivered by far the most engaging passenger experience.”

“We’re delighted to add FlightPath3D to our innovative and growing product portfolio,” said Andy McEwan, CEO of IFE Services. “This very impressive product fits perfectly with our aim of providing world-class IFE solutions to our clients.”

“We’re very excited about our partnership with IFE Services.” stated Boris Veksler, President of Betria Interactive. “With the launch of our flagship product, FlightPath3D, we needed a strategic partner to help us accelerate our market reach. As a platform agnostic service provider, IFE Services’ top priority is delivering the best solutions available on the market and what is ultimately in the best interests of their clients.”