Lumexis Corporation reports that US Airways trial of its Fiber-To-The-Screen™ (FTTS™), now in its tenth week is proving both extremely popular with users and exceptionally reliable during its highly anticipated airline operational evaluation. The system was installed on an Airbus A320 aircraft in January and approved for Part 121 operation under FAA STC. It has been flying since early March and has now accumulated some 275 flights and over 1,000 hours of operation during regular revenue service.
Lumexis ™ CEO Doug Cline reports that the aircraft has been flying between Orange County, Phoenix, Atlanta and back daily with no system failures. “I have been manufacturing major avionics systems for over thirty years and this is without a doubt the most impressive record for a sophisticated new system entering service. We have never delayed a single flight and have never even required a system reboot” he marvels. “That is truly unprecedented for any high performance, multi-user AVOD system. As a result of this achievement, a number of airlines have had key managers on the aircraft and we are currently in negotiations with several of them for future installations.”
Cline continued that “The Lumexis ™ system is built around an advanced Fiber Optic Technology which is far simpler than legacy AVOD systems offered by other IFE manufacturers. This extensive flight demonstration evidences that the architecture’s fewer boxes and much lower parts count yield an inherently more reliable system.”
Lumexis ™ is a manufacturer and marketer of Inflight Entertainment and eCommerce Systems located in Costa Mesa, California, adjacent to Orange County Airport. The company can be contacted through its website, www.lumexis.com , by email at sales@lumexis.com or by telephone at +1.714.641.4900.
FAA Long Beach Flight Standards District Office issues AA certificate to the Lumexis repair station
Costa Mesa CA, March 19, 2009 The FAA FSDO has issued Air Agency certificate X7OR085B to the Lumexis Corporation Repair Station located at 3184-D Airway Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA. The company has been working to ensure readiness for the AA certification pending issuance of the first Supplemental Type Certificate (STC). The initial STC was issued on March 4, 2009 for the Lumexis Corporation FTTS™ system’s installation on Airbus A320-232 aircraft.
Lumexis Corporation is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of advanced in-flight entertainment and communication systems built on a core competency in fiber optics technology. With headquarters adjacent to Orange County, California’s John Wayne Airport, the company can reached at +1.714.641.4900 or on the Web at www.lumexis.com
TEMPE, Ariz. and COSTA MESA, Calif., March 9, 2009– US Airways (NYSE: LCC) and Lumexis Corporation have partnered to test an innovative, next generation in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. On certain flights, US Airways customers will have access to hundreds of on-demand IFE options including movies, music, games and shopping.
What makes Lumexis Fiber-To-The-Screen™(FTTS™) the next generation system when compared to current IFE solutions is its advanced fiber optic technology, which requires less hardware and reduces the system’s weight by as much 50 percent. The Lumexis technology replaces traditional copper wire-based systems that were heavy, offered limited bandwidth and required under-seat boxes that reduced passenger leg room. The FTTS™ system substantially reduces the overall cost of ownership by lowering acquisition cost, minimizing spares provisioning, reducing fuel burn (from lower weight) and decreasing repair/maintenance costs (from simpler architecture). It also has the ability to provide HD quality content.
Customers can find themselves in the middle of a rock concert at 35,000 feet when they tune into Bon Jovi: Live from London (US Airways asks that passengers refrain from body surfing while the seat belt sign is illuminated) or young travelers (and those that are young at heart) can immerse themselves in an aquatic adventure with Finding Nemo.
Recently installed on a US Airways Airbus A320 and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for operation during regular revenue flights, the system will be available for passenger use on a flight trial that begins today. The installation was designed and overseen by Inflight Canada, and FAA certification was accomplished through Aero Certification & Engineering.
Lumexis’ robust IFE system will offer US Airways’ customers more than 250 hours of content with 227 entertainment options including: 30 movies ranging from family fun to action-packed, 86 entertaining and educational television programs, four audio books, 100 music CDs with musical programming available for even the most discerning fan and seven games. Customers can choose their on-demand entertainment through an intuitive seat-back touch screen and pay using a debit or credit card in the seat-back unit.
The aircraft will primarily fly between Santa Ana, Calif., Phoenix and Atlanta. Tray table liners with instructions on how to use the system, specially trained flight attendant product experts and a Lumexis representative will be available on all flights to assist customers and US Airways flight attendants working the flight. A survey is included in the system to allow customers to provide input on the types of entertainment they prefer and how the system can be enhanced.
US Airways’ Senior Vice President, Marketing and Planning, Andrew Nocella said, “US Airways is proud to have contributed to the development of the Lumexis system. During the flight trial we plan to learn more about the types of programming our customers want and how they want to pay for them. We’ll be testing bundled pay-per-use and a la carte pay-per-view options at different price points. Testing this system provides yet another option as we continue to expand our “pay for what you choose to use” business model. The data we’ll gather will also help us determine our long-term domestic in-flight entertainment plans.”
Douglas Cline, CEO of Lumexis added, “The IFE Industry was introduced to superior performance and ease of using FTTS™ at the World Airline Entertainment Association Convention in Long Beach, Calif. last year. As a result, airlines and aircraft manufacturers around the world will be closely following this first-ever deployment of a fully fiber optic-based network. The Lumexis team is delighted to be getting airborne with US Airways and to working with its cabin crews and passengers during the trial.”
About Lumexis
Lumexis Corporation is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of advanced In-Flight Entertainment and Communication Systems built on a core competency in fiber optic technology. With headquarters adjacent to Orange County, California’s John Wayne Airport, the company may be reached at +1.714.641.4900 or on the Web at www.lumexis.com.
About US Airways
US Airways was America’s number one on-time airline in 2008 among the “Big Six” hub-and-spoke airlines according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,100 flights per day and serves 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. The airline employs nearly 34,000 aviation professionals worldwide and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers our customers more than 16,500 daily flights to 912 destinations in 159 countries worldwide. And for the tenth consecutive year, the airline received a Diamond Award for maintenance training excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its Charlotte, North Carolina hub line maintenance facility. For more company information, visit usairways.com. (LCCG)
Wow, the Internet has been buzzing about the Lumexis install on US Airways A320 demo plane. We have been getting unsolicited input from our spy network and we thought our readers would like to get up to speed.
Firstly, the Lumexis fiber optic system has been installed on airplane T/N 680 in Rome, New York. With work beginning on Jan. 5, 2009 it took some 23 days to complete it. All seats have been equipped for a total of 150 stations. A FAA flight test was performed last week. Insiders state that installation supplier, Inflight Canada, exclaimed that Lumexis is the easiest retrofit of this level of system they have ever performed! One source noted that one of the installers said that with a bit of pre-installation effort on “A” checks, planes like A330’s and A340’s could be retrofitted in 7 days! Think about it, cable placement has been made a lot easier because of the complete disregard for EMI/RFI issues – cable placement and noise are a thing of the past because of the under floor seat boxes and dedicated cable “tubes”.
We also understand that Inflight Canada designed the iCache system, which uses a patented beam (stringer) grabber that greatly did away with the drilling, rivets and sealing used in normal mechanical installs, and yes, we asked our spies about the fiber optic cable installation in the seats. It seems Smallhorn went to the Canadian Military to get smart on these processes and we hear they got a real education. The military uses a lot of fiber and has developed a skill set with this technology. This probably contributed to the easy seat modification that ensued. The system needed no special ATE or test equipment… they plugged in cables and it worked! About the only note we feel should be made is with respect to weight. While the Lumexis system itself is probably the lightest installed, full capability in-flight entertainment system, the added boxes and tubes of the full installation package no doubt raised the final number.
The Inflight Canada and Lumexis folks aren’t talking but we think there is another North American customer in the works. As soon as the final DCN’s are submitted and approved, the system will be certified to fly un-placarded and powered up with passengers. We hear the plane is in service today, flying out of Phoenix. Additionally, we understand a full offering is planned for each seat when in service. Specially trained flight attendants will explain and promote the system to passengers. Pax usage data is to be downloaded to the airline’s operations center after landing. The EV-DO, cellular-based Secure Data Bridge facility (cell phone network) that supports the data gathering was tested during the FAA-mandated verification flight. We understand it worked extremely well and may be the new standard of data IFE download (Yes, we know it is not new).
Here is a great blog for more insider stuff:
http://www.usaviation.com/forums/index.php?s=05b9be18f7bb021586142309f44e477a&showtopic=44898
Due to the economic downturn, as well as the advances in technology, new IFE revenue opportunities are available to airlines at a reduced cost. Challenging times tend to lead the way to innovative solutions and will ultimately benefit airlines and passengers alike. The next year or two should be very exciting!”
