• First aircraft delivered to Southwest Airlines with Global Eagle Entertainment’s KU Band connectivity installed at Boeing factory

Long Beach, CA | September 25, 2017– Kontron, a leading global provider of embedded computing inflight entertainment and connectivity equipment, today announced the launch of Boeing 737 MAX line-fit deliveries in association with a one of its key customers, Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: ENT).  Securing line-fit offerability from Boeing and Airbus is a strategic priority for Kontron, given the resulting efficiencies that can be offered to airlines in terms of cost savings and eliminating the need to take an aircraft out of service. Global Eagle recently announced that its Airconnect 3.0 inflight equipment is the first catalog-offerable line-fit connectivity system available for installation during assembly of the new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Kontron began working with Global Eagle in 2015 to obtain Boeing line-fit approval for Kontron’s Server Management Unit, Modem Data Unit and Cab-N-Connect™ wireless access point. These Kontron designed and manufactured Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) are enabling components of the Global Eagle Airconnect 3.0 inflight Wi-Fi system. Airconnect 3.0 provides KU Band connectivity, IPTV and wireless IFE services to passengers and crew, and is already proven on 865 aircraft around the world.

To obtain Boeing line-fit approval for the three LRUs, Kontron worked with Global Eagle to develop an extensive qualification test program to the Boeing specifications for 737 MAX cabin equipment. The test procedures were successfully executed on the three LRUs by the combined Global Eagle and Kontron teams, with Boeing representatives witnessing. The final qualification test report was generated by Kontron and approved by Global Eagle and Boeing.

“Kontron’s aviation product development strategy includes the concept of line-fit readiness,” said Andy Mason, vice president technology at Kontron America. “This means Boeing and Airbus OEM requirements are considered during the product design and preliminary qualification phase. Our due diligence in creating a qualification test program matched to strict aircraft cabin specifications is proving useful for the future. Kontron is actively pursuing Boeing and Airbus line-fit qualification for our new ACE Flight™ 4608 Server and other avionics products.”

 

“Our collaboration with Kontron adds best-in-class inflight connectivity and helps to remove the worry of aircraft downtime and revenue loss for retrofit installations,” said Per Norén, Global Eagle Senior Vice President, Aviation.

 

Kontron will showcase its extensive line of certified IFE&C open platform solutions at the 2017 APEX Expo in Long Beach, California, September 25-28in Kontron Booth #533. For more information on its avionics product portfolio, please visit: https://www.kontron.com/industries/avionics

Montreal, Canada | November 5, 2015– Ahead of this year’s NBAA, Canada-based precision engineering company MSB Design has announced that its Hi-Lo conference tables are being made available as a line-fit option on the Gulfstream G500 and Gulfstream G600 family of aircraft. The tables will be offered as an initial specification option. Inclusion follows positive feedback from the market about existing installations of the product.

The latest manual Hi-Lo tables were specifically designed for the G500/600 models and will be showcased on the MSB Design booth C10721, and on the Gulfstream G600 mock up on booth C9406, during this year’s NBAA. The new table has been modified from existing models to incorporate a number of innovations that have not been seen in MSB’s product range previously. A much slimmer pedestal creates more foot room, whilst a carpet pinch beauty ring ensures the table fits stylishly to the cabin floor.

In addition to the manual model, MSB will be demonstrating an electric pedestal that can be operated by Bluetooth, in two stages, changing its use from dining to coffee table mode. Clients can also opt for an oval shroud converting the existing round, or square shape, into an elegant oval finish.

The new table has been designed to withstand 600lbs of load in the deployed position and to survive 1400lbs of weight while being stable enough to remain safely stowed. “We’ve designed our tables to be incredibly strong and reliable. They are extremely solid with an intelligent infinite locking feature. This removes concerns about the product breaking if someone is leaning, sitting or sleeping, no matter which height it is set at,” says Shannon Gill, Business Development Director MSB Design.

She adds: “Our clients tell us that a combination of finish, reliability, appearance and operation, in addition to size, noise and weight reduction are all key considerations in table selection. We have listened to them and hopefully created a product they value.” Gill anticipates that the new design will be welcomed by OEMs, completion centres, and design-houses internationally. “The level of customization we offer is extensive and we are proud to be capable of taking on any requirement to meet the needs of our customers,” concludes Gill.

APEX EXPO, Portland, Oregon | September 29, 2015– Zodiac Aerospace’s Zodiac Inflight Innovations’ RAVE™ Centric IFEC is now a linefit option on the Airbus A350 XWB. “This represents a key milestone in our company growth strategy enabling Zodiac Inflight Innovations, to serve our airline customers with complete IFEC offerings, said, Matt Smith Zodiac Inflight Innovations, CEO.”

Smith adds “Now our Inflight Entertainment solutions are approved as line fit on A350 XWB and A330 Long Range, coupled with the fact that Zodiac Zodiac Rave Broadband connectivity product was also granted offerability on A350 XWB, clearly shows we are on the right path.”

“This is great news for Zodiac Inflight Innovations, our innovative IFEC is now line fit offerable on the A350 XWB,” said Larry Girard, Executive Vice President at Zodiac Inflight Innovations. “But what’s more important, it is now readily available for airlines. For too long, there has been very limited choice when it comes to IFEC. We have taken a fresh look at the design of IFEC and are offering airlines a lower cost choice without compromising reliability or features; we already know airlines – and their passengers – like it.”

Twenty five airlines around the world with over 200 aircraft in service are already using Zii Inflight Entertainment which includes our award winning RAVE Centric AVOD system and our latest RAVE Wireless streaming entertainment system.

RAVE™ Centric is an embedded modular inflight entertainment system. It provides airlines with a wide range of choices for different cabins including screen size, passenger control units. In addition, each seat is independent, so a failure in one seat will not impact another. More importantly, the patented dockable seat display means the crew can quickly replace the seat display during the flight.

“This is the complete IFEC product,” continued Girard. “RAVE™ Centric and RAVE Wireless provides passengers with app-based browsing for on-demand movies, TV shows, music, radio and a moving map. Capacitive touch, high resolution screens are embedded in the seats and the intuitive Graphical User Interface mirrors the usability everyone is used to with smartphones and tablets. The integrated USB charger can be used to power personal electronic devices, which can be used as a second screen and even a passenger control device.”

“Now that RAVE™ Centric is a catalogue option on the A350 XWB, we fully anticipate more and more airlines will take advantage of our highly innovative technology,” concluded Girard.

RAVE™ Centric’s lightweight design and low power requirements greatly reduce airlines’ fuel costs, allowing Zodiac Inflight Innovations to maintain a price tag that all airlines can celebrate.

• Line-fit requirements met, new seat-centric IFE offering for the MAX

APEX EXPO, Portland, Oregon | September 28, 2015– Rockwell Collins’ PAVES™ On-demand in-flight entertainment (IFE) system is now offered for the 737 MAX. The seat-centric IFE solution has been added to the 737 MAX catalog.

“PAVES On-demand quickly engages passengers with compelling applications on their own large-screen HD display in front of them,” said Greg Irmen, vice president and general manager, Information Systems for Rockwell Collins. “The PAVES On-demand system is a big draw for airlines because of the attractive options it provides passengers, as well as the potential for ancillary revenue from advertising, paid services and more. Airlines also like the system because it eliminates any single points of failure.”

With the PAVES On-demand seat-centric design, each in-seat system is independent, so if one unit has an issue, no other in-seat systems are affected. Additionally, PAVES On-demand is equipped with a quick-release mechanism to quickly remove and replace in-seat displays.

PAVES On-demand seamlessly integrates with Rockwell Collins’ PAVES™ Broadcast overhead IFE system. This allows airlines to configure cabins for their unique requirements, such as in-seat IFE in first class and overhead IFE in economy. PAVES also offers airlines a high degree of flexibility to manage their digital content.

At AIX we had an interesting discussion about NFC and while at the IFPL booth, the IFExpress team got an education. Geoff Underwood, the CEO, spent time on the subject and if you are lacking a bit of understanding in the “world of cashless retail,” you are not alone. IFPL has a huge background in the world of cashless inflight purchasing and has developed a massive block of related technology and “…are really the experts on it in the IFE industry,” he noted. To try to clear up a bit of the “cashless” quagmire, we asked Geoff to paint a better picture of the technology:

“Modern credit cards support three technologies: Magnetic Swipe, Chip & Pin, and Contactless (NFC). Many cards in the US still have just the Magnetic Swipe but that technology is being phased out starting in Oct 2015.  In every country that uses Chip and Pin or Contactless technology, they saw a 95% reduction in credit card fraud immediately when they changed to Chip and Pin. It is already in use in almost every country outside the US. The user slides the card into a very secure reader, and enters a security (PIN) code to validate the payment. But, due to the high levels of security required, the hardware cost of Chip and Pin is considered to be prohibitively high for most IFE applications.

The Contactless solution (note the radiation lines logo) or “Tap and Pay” solution is the one that will most probably be adopted in future IFE systems, because the hardware costs are much lower. To buy a product, all the customer has to do is touch the reader with their credit card, and the payment transaction takes place wirelessly, with no PIN or signature. At the moment contactless payments are limited to low value purchases (about $20 per transaction plus a daily cap), so it is inherently secure. The $20 limit meets the needs of most purchases on board, such as movies, drinks etc., and you will need a payment server, a suitable App on the IFE system, and the IFPL contactless reader connected via USB, noted Geoff. With the IFPL reader customers will have the opportunity to use a ‘Mobile Wallet’ to make their payment. Many phones are NFC enabled (such as the Apple Pay system), so they can just tap the reader with their phone and make the payment that way.” 

In the future, the $20 limit will be eliminated by the use of mobile wallets and live connectivity to the ground. However, these higher value purchases will require PIN entry to authorize the payment. A mobile wallet makes this easy because the mobile phone user can enter the PIN during the transaction. We also should note that all of these technologies are available to the flight crew today for inflight purchasing with handheld devices, but we are talking about inseat installations here.

IFPL has developed a fully wireless contactless payment system for airlines that do not have an IFE system, and has recently developed a USB-powered contactless reader for Thales that communicates transaction data to the payment server over a wired network.  Noted Geoff: “Both Apple Pay and Google Wallet are compatible with the IFPL solution as well, which makes NFC the future cashless solution of choice!”

A few other neat solutions we saw at the IFPL booth should also be mentioned. Our cover shot shows a standard, but illuminated, USB 2.0 receptacle. Not only does the light help find the socket itself, it accepts plugs reversibly (either side up works) which solves the problem of trying to get the plug the right way up. And if there is a plug/socket interface problem or short, the light changes from white to red. “We’ve seen a few copies already. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but we’re confident they’ve all missed out on the ‘secret sauce’,” noted Mr. Underwood, with a smile…

Lastly, we also saw the first miniature USB 3 “C” jack which is a big future trend and it would not surprise us if this jack eventually provides a replacement for installed USB 2.0 systems, as the USB 3 “C” jacks can easily cope with iPad charging amperage.

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 Telefonix

As an introduction, Telefonix is a design, manufacturing and management company with a history of more than 25 years of innovation in this industry. We’ve heard a lot of buzz over the last year about their partnership with PDT, a product design and development firm, and most recently about their launch of the Summit IFEC product platform. We talked to them during the show noting that some of the team was headed to China after AIX – more on that later. The company was founded on the strength of its retractable cabling technology. You remember the inflight telephone handset retract mechanisms? But with over 60 patents issued to date, they have become a leader in technology development and execution for complex mechanical and electrical assemblies. And yes, they are in the systems business as well, but more on that later too.

Telefonix has manufacturing facilities located in Illinois and manufacturing partners in Asia, allowing the company to translate almost any design into a reliable product deliverable. With the company’s partnership with PDT, the complexity of the products offered has been evolving as together the two companies now offer IFEC manufacturers who are creating new or next-gen solutions a total product development solution: from user research to design, mechanical and electrical engineering, software development, documentation and certification, prototyping through to manufacturing.

And speaking of the Far East, They were a sponsor and host of the very recent 3rd In-Flight Connectivity Technology Conference in Shanghai, China, and we heard from Mike Kuehn, President. He told IFExpress that the Telefonix team (Telefonix+PDT) is very active in helping to change and improve China’s inflight connectivity market. Their recent conference there, attended by all of China’s airlines, “…is just the beginning,” noted Mr. Kuehn. Here are a couple questions we asked Mike:

Q) Who is the target product market and are you focusing your sales efforts on the IFEC suppliers (resellers) or the airlines – Is China a big future market in your view?

A) Telefonix is focusing its sales efforts on the IFEC suppliers and OEMs interested in retrofit and line fit equipment installation and remains a B2B hardware supplier and not marketing solutions directly to the airlines.

We view China as a large growth market for IFEC in general, with passenger traffic increasing and the services offered onboard maturing. As your readers may know, I chaired both days of the ICT conference in Shanghai where discussion of the 2016 market took place, and which is something we look forward to participating in. We recognize the timing and regulatory issues in China and are focused on building the right network and relationships as the IFEC market continues to grow in China.

Q) What are the benefits to the IFE supplier/airline in selecting the Summit Line? Is it time to market, lower cost, etc.?

A) The Summit product line is a natural evolution of our traditional custom design service offerings. The product line was developed as a set of system building blocks that can be leveraged as designed or be customized as a part of any customer program. The Telefonix advantage with the Summit product line (See attached 5 data sheets) is that we are providing innovative product packaging of new terrestrial technology, which allows overall cost savings and performance improvements as it relates to services offered by streaming IFE and connectivity providers. For example, the integration of the Cabin ACe antennas in the access point chassis allows a reduction in overall kit costs and reduces the complexity in the maintenance. Our Cabin Pinnacle product, which is a server that can support streaming media and connectivity simultaneously, is built on the latest roadmap of Intel processors and is designed to support the next generation of processors in the Intel suite without a total redesign of the unit, thereby providing future proofing for customers since obsolescence will be less of an issue.

At the end of the day, cost is always a factor, but it is far from the key differentiator in this market. Overall, the Summit product line is one built upon leading edge technology and designed to allow customers to upgrade more easily and with less certification implications than legacy hardware. Beyond the hardware itself, Telefonix is committed to continuing technology evolution and providing ongoing product support for our customers. We have a long and proven record of customer support and this customer focus has not changed with this new line of products.”

Q) What are the advantages the Summit Line has over other servers, WAPS, Pico Cells and is there any specific new technology in the WAP our readers should know about?

A) The technology used in the Cabin ACe WAP has the advantages of supporting 802.11ac protocol used in the newest client devices. We have in our roadmap to update the platform to Wave 2 later this year, thus supporting client devices that are not even available in the consumer market today. In addition, the radio engine utilizes Virtual Controller technology that allows adaptive, self-organizing wireless grouping across multiple units installed within an aircraft. What this means to the service provider is the virtual controller can coordinate, store and distribute the settings required to regulate and manage the Wi-Fi network. This is of particular importance when the client devices are not uniformly placed within the cabin – we can groom the traffic and spread the clients across multiple access points, thus improving performance since no one access point will get overloaded with traffic. We have also considered various installation needs in our design, for example including an internal antenna in our standard unit, but offering an external antenna if needed, and designing both 28VDC and 115V versions of this product.

In the Cabin Peak (Pico Cell) product, the software technology implemented in the base station transceivers is patented by our partner. The software forces a user’s device to select the onboard radio versus selecting a mobile operator’s base station outside of the aircraft. If the user is not registered for the connectivity service, the radio will ‘hold’ the client device in place and not let them roam onto another base station. Telefonix believes this will negate the requirement for the Cabin RF Management Unit being deployed today, thus reducing per aircraft equipment and installation costs. Given that pico-cell usage is geographically limited due to regulations, the voice service is not the real key for this unit, but rather the key is the ability for a user to log on using their smart phone in its native technology and have seamless billing back through the user’s mobile operator. This unit contains patented technology and has the potential to bring additional users to the IFC market.

The Telefonix Cabin Pinnacle Server features the latest hard drive technology with a firm roadmap for the future that will allow the unit to grow with both technology evolution and market demands. The product features the latest in thermal design concepts to ensure operation in numerous installation scenarios. These are just some highlights of the features we are providing to our customers with the new Summit product line.

Q) Where are these new products made?

A) At the present time, these products will be manufactured in the US at our facility in Waukegan, IL. Should the need for a 2nd manufacturing location arise, we will evaluate that need in conjunction with the location of demand to determine where else we might want to manufacture. These products have all been designed in the US by Telefonix and PDT engineers. While we have utilized some existing components in our hardware and have collaborated with various manufacturers and partners in the integration of their hardware into our solutions, the overall product architecture and design oversight was our own.”

Q) Is each component of the Summit Line black label today?

A) The base designs of each of the products are complete and the Cabin ACe WAP unit is currently in test. The remaining products are being customized with customer input and will have unique test and launch cycles depending on the level of customization required by each of the customers.

Our Cabin Peak pico cell, which was developed with our partner, is being used in multiple ground applications and we are currently packaging the technology and will customize it based upon customer requirements.

Q) These products were recently launched but what is their present design/manufacturing/airline status?

A) Our launch at AIX was focused on the products reaching a level of design maturity and test that made them viable platforms or solutions for customer consideration. While we are currently in talks with a number of different parties regarding this hardware, we cannot disclose the launch customers at this time.

Q) Are any of the Summit Line components flying today, either in test applications or with passengers?

A) This hardware is not yet flying, however we are in discussions with several parties regarding test and production level applications. We will, of course, let you know as soon as we have the ability to share any news on this point!

IFExpress readers, the Telefonix story is just unfolding so we plan to follow both the Summit Line and the story in China – Stay Tuned.

Here are some additional product and conference attachments:

IFC pdf from the ITC in China

Cabin Vista pdf

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Lumexis Corporation today announced that their Lumexis Fiber-To-The-Screen® (FTTS®) In-Flight Entertainment system has been made offerable for line-fit on both the 737 NG and 737 MAX families of aircraft. “The Lumexis team is delighted with the significant achievement of having gained Boeing’s confidence in our company’s leading edge FTTS system and team,” said Doug Cline, Lumexis Corporation Chief Executive Officer. “We are most appreciative of their supportive and collaborative offerability team, and we look forward to seeing the first FTTS system installed on the 737 production line in the very near future.” Noted Jon Norris, VP Sales: ”Lumexis has worked closely with Boeing through their Technical Services Agreement (TSA) process to develop and apply the FTTS technology on Boeing 737 platforms.” Lou Sharkey, Lumexis President and CEO, noted: “This is an offering which can be selected immediately by Boeing’s worldwide airline customers. After 5 years of numerous retrofit installations on both wide-body and narrow-body airframes, the Lumexis team is so proud to have achieved line-fit offerable status on Boeing’s highest production 737 models.” Congratulations Lumexis, this is really an event for the company and portends great things!

Los Angeles, CA | January 20, 2015– Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq: ENT), a worldwide leading provider of content, connectivity and digital media solutions to airlines, and global aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing (NYSE:BA), today announced that Global Eagle’s (GEE) Ku-band satellite connectivity system provisions will be offerable on new Boeing 737 airplanes.

GEE continues to actively work with Boeing on line-fit installation feasibility for catalogue offering consideration. Airlines ordering new Boeing 737 airplanes will then have the option of including pre-installed satellite connectivity by GEE in their aircraft prior to delivery.

“With the 737 being the most popular aircraft in the world in terms of new orders, this achievement marks a major milestone for GEE to expand its connectivity system offering,” commented Dave Davis, CEO at GEE. “The ability to deliver Ku-band and future Ku-HTS connectivity on new Boeing airplane orders enables us to answer the strong demand for a superior inflight connectivity offering and provides airlines access to the most technically- advanced connectivity solution in the market as a pre-installed option.”