This issue of IFExpress always always raises a few feathers so let’s get started with some IFExpress predictions, then we will present the inputs from folks who were willing to provide their names, and finally, those who wish to remain anonymous will contribute as well. We should probably note that not all predictions landed in the IFEC category and thus it looks to be an interesting year – and things just might change anywhere!

IFExpress 2017 Predictions

1. Narrower aircraft seats are coming in 2017, especially in newer low class offerings where only certain sized carry-on baggage will be permitted – smaller and surely less comfortable as well. We already know United Airlines has a new low cost Basic Economy package that will be copied by others. The rub will be what limitations will be placed on passengers who do not have the airline reward travel card! Hey, many folks can travel short flights and put up with almost anything. It is all a function of what they have to take with them. And yes, it will be in the back of the plane.
2. More colored cabin environments will be here in 2017, but also as a result of new LED lighting in the plane – probably more blue! [We note: A recent Boeing study concluded that passengers will perceive that the airplane is cleaner, more comfortable, newer, and with better air and more room, all with the correct lighting. Even one German university test proved while flying with light that contains increased red, (not blue) light components, is more calming and cause less passenger stress.]
3. We cannot say this enough but Data will be the big deal in 2017, whether it is an airline examining their routes with a goal for less fuel, to using social media to communicate directly with passengers or even potential travelers, to connection with the aircraft for more inflight system information for operation or security. OK, this is not much of a surprise!
4. Some folks predict that light will be used to deliver connectivity. However, with all the issues involved with outside solar, safety lighting, and other sources of interference (Hasn’t this been tried earlier?), we think otherwise. Anyway, Bluetooth as a connectivity radio frequency has slipped under the radar and since most connectivity devices have the capability and the corporate jet world has adopted it, we expect an inflight commercial airline installation this year. With Bluetooth 5.0 alive there may be even more interest in a Bt connectivity solution. Hey, 4X range, 2X speed, and 8X capacity, and no power increase, what’s not to like?”
5. Watch for an airline to test ground-based, high bandwidth 2.4 GHz, directed connectivity service like those proposed for SmartSky and Gogo. This is more of a 2017 sure thing than a prediction.
6. We fear aviation manufacturing layoffs, let’s see what happens there but don’t look for that job just yet. The layoff scenario has already started at Boeing, who is downsizing to the tune of some 8,000 employees, and could reach 10% there. Airbus is next after production continues for a bit.
7. Maintenance of aircraft will see more outsourcing, new technology products like AI and voice technology used in maintenance products, and more consolidation in the MRO world (Maintenance Repair Overhaul).
8. While we hope it does not happen, but be very concerned that a hacker doesn’t get aboard a plane this year, transmit a fake Wi-Fi service and install a lot of ransomware (like doxware) on folks trying to get Wi-Fi service. In 2017 it is a possibility and be sure you know how to get online when onboard!
9. What’s next for future SATCOM? How about Q/V bands: 33 – 75 GHz?  If the FCC auctions get it together, perhaps even 14 GHz has a chance?
10. We shy away from talking about aircraft control hacking, but have you thought about hackers using a DDoS attach or ransomware on an airline reservation system – might happen?
11. The Boeing 787 will finally get the proper acclaim that it is the only commercial jet airplane where cabin/crew air is taken directly from the atmosphere with electrically powered compressors and not from engine ‘bleed air’! The health guru’s will help.
12. Cybercrime damages will continue to grow (costing the world $6 trillion annually by 2021), up from $3 trillion last year; ransomware will be the fastest growing threat in terms of new attacks and costs. Global spending on cybersecurity products and services will exceed $1 trillion cumulatively over the next 5 years from 2017 to 2021. Easy procurement of cheap IoT devices or Wi-Fi enabled products introduces a serious level of risk — of which many people are unaware. As one expert noted: “Transportation systems may be immobilized.” Or, as another one said: “My second prediction for 2017 is that cyber personnel will become a rare commodity like we have never seen before. Organizations have received the message, and are staffing and investing, but that demand generates a supply that is not available.” Don’t you think there will be plenty of openings in aviation security in 2017? We do!
13. Lastly, as strange as it seems, “a self-driving” aircraft concept for passenger planes will be talked about this year – perhaps just for parcel delivery but projects like ALIAS are just the beginning.

Named 2017 Reader Predictions

Here are our reader IFEC predictions and we start of with those from APEX CEO, Joe Leader:

1. Connectivity announcements and deployment will hit a new high for the industry.
2. In-flight entertainment continues its expansion with more global IFE system installations and upgrades.
3. Airline passenger experience will become less siloed inside of airlines as carriers look for greater market differentiation.
4. On flights without built-in IFE or connectivity, “Near-FI” solutions offering, entertainment will become much more common. This will escalate in particular on low-cost carriers looking to differentiate their products.
5. In-flight advertising will see the beginning of a new age of renaissance.
6. The Internet of Things (IoT) will broaden from case-studies on aircraft to first tangible implementations.
7. With the Bluetooth 5.0 specification released, we will see first announcements about Bluetooth connectivity to IFE in future products.
8. Long-haul business class will enter a new era just as British Airways introduced the first lie-flat for business class in 1999.  We could call it the suite era or the privacy era.  This period will begin this year marked by increasing level of suite-like privacy on long-haul business class products.  It will be initiated by visionary airlines in different manners and progress to a new bar for long-haul business class passenger experience over the next two decades.

Next, from Henry Chen Weinstein at Cockpit Innovations we have:

“I think 2017 in Tech will be about the upcoming implications of new technology on our current way of work. The [changing] place of startups in our space as more players understand the value of innovation on a global scale. Establishing new ways to take our aviation business forward.”

Here is the prediction note from John Courtright at SIE:

“I predict that the Modular Cabin Concept will generate a lot more attention from airline operators.  The ability to transform a commercial aircraft from a “domestic” (2-Class) configuration to an “international” configuration (3-Class) on an overnight or less using palletized modules to swap out interiors will generate great interest from operators.  Aside from the aircraft utilization flexibility, the Modular Cabin Concept will generate increased operational revenue (ROI) from a given aircraft asset by allowing the operator to customize their service level to different markets at a relatively low cost.”

Rich Salter, now with FTS chimed in with:

“All the talk about the death (or not) of seatback IFE is not the relevant question: the real interesting question is where will displays be located next – on the wrist, on entire seatbacks, baggage bins, sidewall of fuselage, VR or immersive glasses, etc., not to mention non-cabin locations like cockpit, baggage, lounges, etc.  They could be thin as paper, and could be foldable/rollable (as are OLEDs).  They will consume extremely low power and be fed data via wireless (WiFi). Smartwatches are only the beginning. In summary, advances in wireless streaming and display tech will lead to some fascinating implementations of IFE displays in unconventional places!”

Todd Hamblin at Global (GADC) told IFExpress in 2017:

1. The Wireless IFE market will continue to grow, with Portable Wireless IFE being a subset for those ultra-low cost carriers.
2. Companies based in China will become a larger part of the IFE and Connectivity landscape.
3. An airline will attempt to install a Portable Wireless IFE system on their aircraft without permission from the FAA or EASA even though the server contains Lithium Ion batteries and might interfere with existing aircraft systems.
4. The FAA will be impacted and safety compromised by the changing political climate.

“I predict that the first elastic virtual servers will creep into the cabin on airliners and it just might be Bluetooth that drives it. Elastic devices are the latest generation of server that expands and contracts based on demand. It’s a floating platform that can replicate itself in virtual space.”

Kelvin Boyette CEO of Latitude Aero observes:

1.  Mergers will dominate 2017, allowing the larger multi-national companies to offer a menu of turnkey services to both airlines and aircraft OEMs.
2. 2017 will be the year that seat refurbishment emerges from its “niche” status. New products, such as IFE and ISPS, are emerging faster than new seat OEMs can get them into the seat, so the refurbishment centers are where the airlines will turn to offer the most up to date, modern, passenger experience to their clientele.
3. Both BYOD and embedded IFE will flourish. I do not believe only one will succeed. Both will explode this year.

Michael Reilly, VP Entertainment Services, Arconics – A ViaSat Company notes:

1. My key prediction for the year is that those airlines who don’t take the step into connectivity in 2017 will certainly take steps on the ‘path to connectivity’ – and there’s a couple of different ways to define that… I think a lot of airlines apart from the obvious cost barrier to entry to connectivity are waiting for other developments – competitive and even marketplace ie: changes to the vendor side of the industry – be that product, pricing etc.
2. Naturally as we get more airlines closer to connectivity, security is becoming a hot topic, as is bigger and better use of data.
3. Another prediction is that effective use of data will help break down the traditional siloing that has always gone on in the airline business and that’s exciting.
4. I’d sum up my prediction by saying that 2017 is ‘finally’ the year where. Connectivity, Wireless and Mobile finally made the strides forward that moved the needle on the bottom line for airlines.

Craig Foster of Valour Consultancy said:

1. We will see one of the in-flight connectivity service providers acquired by a much larger company. Additionally, we’ll also see at least one wireless in-flight entertainment vendor snapped up by someone with much more clout.
2. The number of aircraft with in-flight connectivity systems installed and activated will surpass 7,000 by the end of the year. Regions aside from North America will continue to witness strong growth and we will likely see another carrier based in Latin America announce connectivity plans before long (in addition to Avianca Brasil and GOL).
3. More and more airlines will announce plans to deploy IFE systems that allow passengers to pay their personal electronic devices to the main screen in an effort to match expectations around second screening and to better personalise the experience.

Unnamed 2017 Reader Predictions

We start off with predictions from a “Cabin Solution Provider”:

1. The exponential growth of cabin Wi-Fi usage within the confines of the same aircraft will lead to more congestion in the cabin. One prediction says that passenger data to and from aircraft will more than quadruple in 2017. We knew that something like this was coming. However, what’s new is the speed at which this is happening.
2. In 2017 the speed of the PED-pull in terms of passenger experience, apps etc. will increase even further. It certainly will be very much faster than the gentle ambling in which many of the aircraft hardware-push industry players are used to operate.

Another few from another Unnamed Predictor:

1. Low cost carrier mergers and acquisitions will accelerate globally.
2. With airline capacity surpassing global market demand, this will be a year including news of airline deferments and reductions.  The exception to this rule will be in next-generation aircraft connecting previously unconnected city pairs.  For the industry, this will be a relatively landing.
3. Airlines in a more challenging global environment that raise their passenger experience will outperform carriers that focus on reducing passenger experience to reduce costs.

And lastly, still another Unnamed Predictor told IFExpress:

1. Hacking the Baggage Systems at major hubs will occur to misdirect luggage?
2. Hacking will occur to shut down refueling facilities at major airports.
3. Hackers will find a way to infect the IFE system to download passenger data and airline sales information direct from the aircraft, putting at liability Airlines and IFE suppliers.  Class Action suit to follow.  Revenue streams will be jeopardized for both airlines, IFE suppliers and product/service providers accordingly.
4. All economy seats on American / Domestic airlines will follow the pay as you go scheme:  everything short of the toilets will be ‘pay to play’:  boarding sequence; stowable baggage; check-in bags; food; drink; entertainment; EVERYTHING.
5. Donald Trump’s administration will make significant progress to privatize government agencies and systems – a la Russian Model – Air Traffic Control will be privatized and sold off; FAA will be privatized; and the Space Programs under NASA will also be spun off.  If not in this coming year, the effort may take at least part of his first term. (Editor’s Note: IFExpress apologizes to this predictor as we just did not have the space (nerve?) to post all the input – Sorry!).

Thank you to everybody who contributed and we close with the words of Arthur C. Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Meet Joe Leader, new Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), Chief Executive Officer. IFExpress asked the very busy Joe Leader to answer a couple questions about the future of technology and APEX, and he was kind enough to scribe his response while on a recent flight. Here is what he had to say:

IFExpress: Please give our readers your feelings about the importance of technology for future cabin upgrades in entertainment and communications. Any examples?

Leader: Future cabin upgrades in entertainment and communications will center upon automation and individualized personalization. Airlines have an incredible wealth of data about their customers to provide more individualized service. In-flight entertainment and connectivity solutions provide an amazing opportunity to further enhance passenger experience while boosting airline ancillary revenue. Google recently publicly presented an IFE mock-up. Their philosophy is one of answer, anticipate, and enable. That aligns perfectly with my philosophy of enhancing passenger experience via individual passenger preferences. Delta also unveiled their hand-held solution for flight attendants that shows all key information about every passenger. Advances will allow passengers to be remembered so that any charges for Wi-Fi, their favorite drinks, and food.

IFExpress: At this time, how do you see APEX as a ‘positive force’ in affecting the improvements you noted above?

Leader: APEX has been a steadfast airline passenger experienced focused association for nearly 40-years, but we need to shift gears to a thought-leadership organization that quickens the industry. I have listened to airlines, suppliers, service companies, and studios starved for common standards in our areas of responsibility. We will provide them as APEX bears the highest responsibility to advance these causes. Standards hasten industry adoption of new products. Taking proactive interaction now will make certain that in-flight entertainment does not become the Android Auto versus Apple CarPlay type competitive environment. I should not have to check device compatibility when I purchase my car or airline seat. Airline passengers should be able to leverage any smart phone and smart device with their airline of choice in the future. APEX holds an educational responsibility to enlighten our airlines on how to maximize ancillary revenue in a connected world that places the highest value on insights and returns. Finally, APEX should serve as an educational force for its supplier members so that their steps are more surefooted as they advance.

IFExpress: Portland, Oregon APEX is near, is there a message you have for the attendees?

Leader: We are entering an incredible age renaissance in passenger experience. My fellow CEO at A4A recently highlighted that airlines are spending half of their profits on enhancing passenger experience. APEX will provide the education and technological bridge to more quickly advance our $10 billion a year upgrade industry alongside the billions more in new aircraft passenger experience purchases. With more than 3500 attendees for APEX EXPO, there is no better venue in the world for advancement. We only allow members into EXPO that have been fully vetted. It stands as an appointment-driven show focused upon results. As our industry flies forward, APEX will serve as a beacon to maximize return on investment for all of our members and airlines.

Lastly, we strongly encourage our readers to introduce themselves to Joe at the APEX Conference in Portland – we think you are going to like him. We also note that the world of inflight entertainment is changing, as he eloquently notes in his short interview. Undoubtedly, we think it is going to be a real interesting challenge to develop entertainment and connectivity solutions when today’s passenger brings a big part of the technical connectivity solution onto the plane. APEX may have just gotten it right – the industry will need a new ‘Leader” to adapt to the new environment.

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PORTLAND PREVIEW
1. Carlisle – On the heels of the Paris Air Show in June, the launch of the FlightGear Ka/Ku Universal Installation has generated a flood of interest from OEMs, connectivity providers and airlines alike. Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (CarlisleIT) has partnered with Saint Gobain Performance Plastics to design and engineer an industry first and is proud to present the only end-to-end ARINC 791 solution for Ka-, Ku-, and Tri-band SATCOM installations. Its installation made simple; by providing a platform-independent and system-agnostic ARINC 791 solution, CarlisleIT and Saint Gobain are helping airlines and system providers improve their speed-to-market and deliver enhanced next generation SATCOM connectivity to today’s airline passengers. This robust and versatile package contains all of the components required for either retrofit or forward-fit installations on large or regional jet aircraft. Installation fittings are adjustable to cover the complete range of aircraft frame spacings while optimizing the interface loads to the fuselage.

A variety of available radomes tuned to Ka-, Ku-, or Tri-band frequencies fit interchangeably on the same adapter plate. Adapter plates customized to use existing radomes fit interchangeably on the same fuselage structural fittings. Aerodynamic fairings follow the fuselage curvature for each aircraft model without requiring large installation doublers, sealants, or excessive modifications to the aircraft skin. The design creates easier maintenance inspections, longer inspection intervals and lower long-term cost of ownership. Conformance to the ARINC 791 standard also helps future-proof the installation and makes upgrading to next generation multi-axis or low profile antennas easier and faster with commonality of key components across entire fleets.

CarlisleIT’s booth at the APEX Expo at the Oregon Convention Center (September 29-October 1) will feature a flight ready display of the Ka/Ku Universal Installation. Visitors to the booth will have the unique opportunity to discuss system options and sketch customizations on an adapter plate with a team of technical experts. Let’s un-complicate things. Visit Booth 1405 at APEX Expo and let CarlisleIT help you do just that.

2. APEX – APEX sent us a list of Opening day speakers (Sept. 28) and they include new APEX leader – Joe Leader, Sandy Stelling – Managing Director Customer R & D, Alaska Airlines, Werner Lieberherr – CEO, B/E Aerospace, Rainer von Borstel – CEO, Diehl Aerosystems, Devin Liddel – Principal Brand Strategist, TEAGUE, Rajan Datar – Presenter, BBC World News.

3. IFPL – In Portland, you might also want to see the following at IFPL’s booth 1408: “Cost and reliability have been a main focus in our new Breakaway jacks series which delivers a revolutionary cost neutral solution for both the jack and the headset, whilst providing high availability as it leverages our proven and popular Long Life audio jacks plus our new MagSignal technology which prevents broken headsets and jacks with our MagSignal connector. The module is fully compatible with existing headset connector types and our Long Life jack is tested to over 100,000 insertions.” We didn’t know: “Research shows that up to 10% of headsets coming off long-haul flights are not re-usable due to damage, which often results with broken pins left in the sockets rendering the IFE experience useless.” Check it out.

4. Pre-show, and while you are online, check out the New York Times bit about Portland sent to us by a fan. We note the video in the link and it should give our readers a rough idea what Portland is all about. As one speaker noted: “Portland is real serious about being casual.” Check it out!

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Lufthansa Systems presents new Lido/eRouteManual product release – A mobile updater will allow wireless data updates to mobile devices, enabling pilots to update their Lido/eRouteManual digital navigation charts anytime, anywhere. This feature is part of the new product release which Lufthansa Systems unveiled at the annual Lido/Navigation User Conference in Zurich. Various Lido navigation solutions are in service worldwide with approximately 100 airlines, around 50 of whom have sent one or more delegates to this year’s conference. The new mobile updater represents a further, significant simplification for using the digital chart solution on mobile devices.

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STG Aerospace has secured a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its liTeMood Light-Emitting Diode (LED) cabin lighting system on the B737NG.

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If you are wondering how Airbus will assemble A320’s in Alabama, watch this movie.

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Worried about Internet security on the go? Check out Invisibox.  Stay secure online on the go. The device is a “sponsored Kickstarter campaign” and will be available starting Feb. 2016 for backers. It features masked Tor traffic, GeoIP, exploit vulnerabilities cancellation, unique device passwords, add blocking, and a free VPN. It also will charge your phone – get in line, it’s about the size of your phone.

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“The Martian’ is one of the year’s best movies. Told you so!

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A special IFExpress Adios to Ken Lew (UAL, SONY, Rockwell, Boeing, Thales) who retired recently and who will probably be on his way to a European vacation when you read this. Ken wanted to say goodbye to his friends in the IFEC business at APEX but will not return till after the event has finished. Or, wish him the best yourself via email – ken_lew@ieee.org, and you might like read this ‘Olympic Tale’ from his IFE history.