The in-flight entertainment market is gathering pace once more with three main suppliers keen to capture a share
Airline spending on in-flight entertainment (IFE) appears to have grown in 2003, representing the first rise since the downturn hit. And more investment is expected in the year ahead.
The World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) estimates that spending on IFE equipment rose 8% to $1.5 billion over the last year. That is still well below the record $2.1 billion posted at the height of the boom in 2000, but if current airline interest in technologies such as audio/video on demand (AVOD), satellite television and Internet access continues, IFE spending could rebound smartly in 2004.
Many international carriers have already committed to installing new personal IFE systems on long-haul widebody aircraft, often in connection with upgrades of their premium-class products. Increasingly, carriers are offering passengers dozens of movies and television features, audio channels, games, and e-mail and Internet connectivity. "Anything to prevent boredom," says one airline executive. The new systems are often accompanied by better headsets, including the latest noise-cancelling technology, and in-seat power supplies for laptops are becoming standard.
As part of its new business class, Lufthansa's advanced Media World personal IFE will enable passengers to programme their favourite songs from a wide range of audio selections for replay during a long flight using a "remote master control", which also controls adjustments to the bed-seat and access to its coming FlyNet Internet portal.
Personal seat-back IFE systems are increasingly on the agenda in economy class as well. The differences in systems at the back of the cabin generally centre on screen size and the number of entertainment offerings. But the days of watching a film selected by the airline on a drop-down screen or listening to pre-set audio programmes are fast fading.
Virgin Atlantic Airways was the first to equip its economy seats with individual seat-back monitors, but that is increasingly becoming the norm on long-haul services. For instance, Cathay Pacific's Studio CX IFE system offers 25 channels of programming to economy passengers on their seat-back monitors.
Preventing boredom
The launch of the new ultra-long-range Airbus A340-500 has also prompted IFE enhancements for some of the carriers using the type, responding to the heightened challenge of "preventing boredom" on flights of over 17h.
Singapore Airlines, for instance, will equip all seat classes with its KrisWorld system, offering more than 200 entertainment options, including movies, television features, music stations, CD selections and games on an on-demand platform. Meanwhile, the advanced IFE system which Emirates will place on its A340-500s will provide all passengers with more than 500 channels.
The beneficiaries of this renewed activity in IFE are the world's three leading manufacturers: Matsushita Avionics Systems, Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems and Thales Avionics.
Market leader Matsushita is promoting three primary IFE systems: the new eFX new narrowbody IFE system that provides satellite television and AVOD capabilities; the widebody S3K series, formerly called System 3000, which is in wide use today; and the latest eX2 widebody IFE system with more advanced functionalities. The company's fourth-generation AVOD system, eX2 has more than double the number of video channels as its predecessor, integrated noise cancelling technology and considerably more connectivity options.
Rockwell Collins, which acquired Sony Trans Com in 2000, offers its Total Entertainment System (TES), first installed six years ago; the Enhanced Total Entertainment System (eTES) with high-speed network connectivity capability; and Passport, a fully digital system that is technically a client/server intranet. Recently, Qatar Airways agreed to become the launch airline for a new satellite television system, which is based on the Tailwind 550 system, currently operating on corporate aircraft.
The newer player in the IFE industry is Thales, which is promoting its TopSeries family of IFE systems. Each of its systems has increasing functionality and is upgradeable to the next level, with the top-of-the-line i4000 boasting individual AVOD and touch screen monitors with connectivity and interactive menus. The company delivered the first TopSeries system a year ago to UK leisure carrier MyTravel Airways, while systems have since gone to Middle East Airlines, Royal Brunei and Japan Airlines.
Narrowbody offerings
Individual IFE systems have also been migrating to narrowbody aircraft operating domestic flights. JetBlue Airways in 2000 became the first airline in the world to offer all passengers live satellite television free of charge at every seat. Officials felt the system, offering 24 channels of DirecTV programming on seatback monitors, was so instrumental in its success that it acquired LiveTV, the provider of the system and other wireless technologies, in 2002. It has since sold LiveTV packages - which are being enhanced to include video offerings - to Frontier and WestJet Airlines.
Delta's entrant in the low-fares market - Song - pledged "the most advanced in-flight entertainment technology available" but fell behind on its promised October 2003 roll-out. Using Matsushita's eFX system and DISH Network satellite TV service, Song has eight aircraft operating with live TV, audio programming and interactive games as 2004 starts. All 36 aircraft should be equipped by April, with pay-per-view programming and digitally streamed MP3 audio channels available in the second quarter.
Live television provider AIRIA late last year delivered a BBC World News programme directly to an aircraft during flight. The company used a Boeing Business Jet for the demo but is marketing the system, which can now deliver two channels simultaneously, to commercial airlines. AIRIA says its product is a cost-effective way to provide live in-flight entertainment globally since most long-haul aircraft already have the infrastructure needed and require only the installation of a small decoder unit. Watch this space.
Surfing the skies
Availability of in-flight Internet connectivity aboard commercial passenger aircraft is set for a dramatic increase in the coming year.
Lufthansa is due to begin offering passengers in-flight high-speed Internet-based communications services in April when the first aircraft equipped with the Connexion by Boeing system take to the skies. The German flag carrier, which is Connexion's launch carrier, conducted a trial of the system for three months early in 2003. Having received widely favourable passenger feedback, Lufthansa will now equip 78 long-haul aircraft, including Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft, with the system.
Luthansa's introductory service will be followed shortly by that of SAS Scandinavian Airlines. The carrier will initially equip two aircraft with the Connexion broadband connectivity package. Not too long thereafter, another Star Alliance carrier will join in the action, as Singapore Airlines has said it expects to install the system on 40 long-haul aircraft by the third quarter, with service activation to be launched shortly thereafter.
Japan Airlines (JAL) also expects to have the first of 68 aircraft equipped with Connexion this year, with passenger service expected to begin on routes originating from Tokyo and Osaka to London Heathrow. A fifth Connexion customer, JAL's competitor All Nippon Airways (ANA), plans to roll out the service in the fourth quarter on routes with the greatest demand for business travel.
Although British Airways conducted a three-month Connexion trial early last year on flights between New York and London, it has yet to make a decision. Carrier officials pronounced the trial a success in demonstrating the power of broadband and meeting its objectives for passenger usage, but the airline continues to assess the "commercial case" for equipping its 100 long-haul aircraft with Connexion.
Competitor Tenzing Communications, in which Airbus is a partner, has had its laptop e-mail system operating on Cathay Pacific for several years now. The carrier was the first to commit to fleet-wide in-flight e-mail with an on-board high-speed data network.
Tenzing also has an active presence aboard Virgin Atlantic aircraft. The UK carrier has installed a seat-back short-messaging system, which is integrated through its Matsushita 3000 in-flight entertainment system.
New Tenzing customers include Northwest Airlines and Iberia. Northwest has installed the Tenzing short-messaging seat-back system, through its Matsushita 3000 system, and it will be working on three aircraft during the first quarter. Iberia installed the Tenzing send-only service in three aircraft in last year but expects to roll out the full send-and-reply service on 15 aircraft by the second quarter.
Tenzing is also the power behind the messaging systems provided by Verizon Airfone JetConnect, installed on aircraft in the domestic fleets of Continental and United Airlines. Both systems use on-board telephone handsets.
Qantas too has begun installing a two-way short messaging service on its international Boeing 747-400s. Developed by Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems, MORS Technologies and SITA, the system also uses an in-seat telephone handset.
REPORT BY CAROLE SHIFRIN IN WASHINGTON
Source: Airline Business
