What started out as a trickle has developed into a fast-running
stream as airlines around the world adopt the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy
Tab and other consumer devices for in-flight entertainment (IFE).
The appeal is obvious. The devices are capable of supporting hours of
video and audio programming, games and more, with a high-resolution
screen and superb sound quality; and passengers are increasingly
familiar with the technology. But the real appeal for airlines lies in
the cost savings.
Consumer devices such as the iPad and Galaxy are "the logical next
step in the IFE&C evolution" thanks to their reduced weight and thus
fuel burn, less invasive infrastructure, lower costs and reduced
maintenance burden compared with traditional seatback-installed IFE,
says Michael Planey of specialist IFE and interiors consultancy H&M
Planey Consultants. iPads could save an airline 800-1,000lb alone in
weight per aircraft compared with older IFE systems, which equates to "a
fairly substantial saving in fuel costs alone", he says.
Maintenance costs are also reduced. "When a unit doesn't work, you just swap it out," says Planey.
These benefits have led
AirAsia X, Air Baltic, Air Nigeria, American Airlines,
British Airways, EasyJet,
Iceland Express,
JetAsia Airways, Jetstar, Qantas, Scoot, Thai Airways International,
TransAsia, Virgin Australia and WestJet, among others, to join the
iPad/Galaxy IFE club.
Many more are set to follow. "I do believe that there will be more
airlines using some form of consumer-level portable device," says
Planey. "They will be used in all aspects of IFE and onboard service,
including expanding IFE into smaller aircraft which traditionally did
not offer personal IFE before, as well as replacing some of the systems
in larger aircraft."
GROWING SHARE
Content providers agree. "Almost every customer we are engaged with
is paying close attention to the use of tablets for IFE and several are
involved in trials and tests," says content provider IFP, which recently
launched an iPad programme with
TransAsia Airways, initially offering them to business-class passengers on selected international routes, with plans to expand to all routes.
Fellow IFE content and solutions provider IFE Services is working
with three of its airline clients on iPad projects, most recently
launching with Air Nigeria in business class. Adrian Lambert, head of
marketing, says the company is in advanced negotiations with several
more airlines.
But the consumer devices are not every airline's IFE dream, and the
technology has its drawbacks - namely logistics, in terms of battery
charging, aircraft distribution and storage, says Michael Reilly, chief
operating officer of Sydney-based IFE content and services provider
Stellar Inflight. And Stellar should know a thing or two about
iPad/Galaxy use for IFE, from its work with Jetstar,
AirAsia X and Scoot, with "several more in the pipeline and another launching with iPads very soon".
Reilly says: "It's not a wart-free solution and we've never claimed
it to be, but it's significantly less expensive in terms of purchase and
maintenance cost, as well as operating costs - weight and fuel burn -
than traditional IFE systems. The airlines generally view that although
the fleas come with the dog, the pros outweigh the cons."
As more airlines introduce the technology, more of the barriers are
being overcome. Security issues, for example, have led to the
introduction of various RFID tagging/scanning processes, as well as
security on the devices that renders the content useless after a certain
period of non-syncing, says Reilly. "We're glad to say the theft rate
is very low," he adds.
EARLY ADOPTER
One of the iPad pioneers, Jetstar, took two years to get its
programme off the ground. The Australian low-cost carrier first trialled
the technology on two aircraft in June 2010, in a project involving
Stellar and Bluebox Avionics. Following the trial, the intention was to
roll out the devices across the fleet, but that did not happen until
November 2011, following the resolution of a raft of issues including
security over early window Hollywood content and agreement with Apple.
Jetstar became the first carrier in the world to offer tailored
technology for the device. Today the devices are available on all
Jetstar flights of over 90min duration, at a cost of $10-15 per flight.
The devices are loaded with Hollywood movies, TV series, music
videos, games, magazines, albums and e-books, with content updated
monthly. On Jetstar, the iPads are in a special case designed by
Bluebox, with an RFID tag and an external battery. The devices are
stored on board in galley carts and exchanged for passenger ID.
Batteries are charged in the ports, with external batteries changed over
on board.
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Devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab are already familiar to many passengers
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"The iPads have been warmly received by our customers," says the airline.
Rather than sounding the death knell for traditional seatback IFE,
however, consumer devices have so far extended the reach of IFE, opening
up a new sector, providing airlines with more choice and low-cost
carriers with a new potential revenue stream. The airlines that have
adopted the consumer devices are largely LCCs, which previously used
portable DVD devices if anything, or full-service carriers looking to
supplement the installed IFE in premium cabins - just as carriers did in
the 1990s with consumer DVD devices. For example, American Airlines was
an early user of consumer DVD players in the aircraft cabin and has now
done the same with the Galaxy Samsung Tab 10.1, offering the devices in
the premium class cabins of selected
767 and
757 flights.
"The competition in the air is becoming more intense as all airlines
seek to find a differentiation in passenger services," says Planey. "The
LCCs start from a mindset of budget-conscious innovation and that means
they are more willing to take a risk on new technology in the cabin."
Seatback-installed IFE systems for widebody aircraft produced by
manufacturers Panasonic and Thales still have a future while the
airframers maintain their high entry level - and if recent orders are
anything to go by. Etihad, for example, recently signed a 10-year
exclusive $1 billion agreement with Panasonic to use its eX2 and eX3
IFEC systems and the Global Communications Suite for 100 new aircraft,
while Thales says it has "big orders" to announce at the APEX expo,
which will take place in Long Beach, California, from 17 to 20
September.
Nor is seatback IFE for the retrofit market by any means dead, based
on the orderbooks of the manufacturers of the new breed of seat-centric,
smaller, lighter IFEC systems. IMS's RAVE (Reliable Audio Video
Entertainment) system, for example, has won orders from 11 airlines,
including most recently a commitment from
Lufthansa to equip 80-plus widebodies. Clearly, no one size fits all, even in the retrofit market.
The next evolutionary step - wireless streaming of content - is
already starting. "Tablets are definitely a growing form of IFE -
particularly for LCCs, premium classes or aircraft with no traditional
IFE. However, I think the biggest thing will be wireless streaming to
passengers' own devices, which we are launching imminently on three
different airlines," says Reilly. "I firmly believe that although the
portable stuff is evolutionary, wireless will be revolutionary - and
it's imminent."
UNPLUGGED INNOVATION
Keen not to miss out, Panasonic and Thales have maintained their
development of wireless technology ever since the early days of wireless
IFE systems for the
787.
Thales has its new AVA wireless streaming media solution, while Panasonic's eXW has recently been selected by Qantas for its
767s. Despite a successful wireless streaming trial - dubbed QStreaming by Qantas - with
Lufthansa Systems' BoardConnect since February on a single
767, Qantas has opted for eXW for the fleet, believing it offers more opportunities for further development.
From October, Qantas will provide each passenger on the 767s with an
iPad in the seat pocket with over 200 hours of IFE content to be
streamed via eXW, free of charge. The 767s were previously fitted with
overhead monitors only.
QStreaming is unlikely to stop there. Qantas says it is "working
through options to utilise the QStreaming concept on other aircraft
types".
Meanwhile, Virgin Australia has started rolling out Galaxy tablets
pre-loaded with content across its domestic and short-haul international
flights, and the airline says it will start adding
Lufthansa
Systems' BoardConnect wi-fi streaming before the end of this year,
allowing content to be streamed to the Galaxy tablets and to passengers'
personal electronic devices.
Virgin Australia's IFE on the 737s previously comprised DigEplayer
portable DVD players and the Live2Air LiveTV product, but its IFE future
on the 737s is focused on the Samsung Galaxy and BoardConnect. The
carrier says it tailors its IFE options according to the duration of the
flight, and as such there is still a role for installed IFE systems on
its long-haul services.
"The potential market for all forms of wireless IFE - to embedded
screens, airline-portable screens and passenger personal devices - could
reach 30-50% of the retrofit market in five years," says Planey.
"Beyond five years it is difficult to say where IFE will be."
