Wow, where did the time go at AIX in Hamburg last week? The three days at the Hamburg Messe showcased a lot of technology in the inflight entertainment and connectivity world. Presently, almost 8000 visitors attended and the final tally will not be made for a week or so. This puts the show on par with visitor numbers last year and for challenging airline times like these, the show sponsors should breathe a sigh of relief. We do think the overall airline participation was reduced (airline employees per airline visiting AIX) but if that is true, it would be because of the economics. We did not see as many airline badges as last year.

Approximately 500 exhibitors focused on existing product lines with an emphasis on new technology. This was especially true in the seat and interior halls but to a great extent this was true in the IFE and Connectivity exhibits as well. Inflight connectivity, portable IFE, fiber optic IFE, and new concepts such as 3D entertainment and expanded bizjet offerings were shown as well. We plan to show-and-tell much more in the IFExpress Blogs so keep you eye on those parts of our new and improved website. Many of the new products and show images are available in our Flickr photo gallery so be sure to check that out too! Our goal there was to bring a little bit of the show flavor to the folks who make it possible in the labs and offices of the vendors who show there wares. Further, we covered a lot about the trip and the greater Hamburg visit there as well. We have a few surprises planned too, but you will have to explore our website in the next few days to find out what they are.

Overall, there was a reasonable amount of new technology, but many vendors told us that they will unveil even more at the WAEA Conference this fall. One large IFE manufacturer told IFExpress that they are looking at totally new concepts to come up with the technological baseline for their next generation of hardware – expect some real eye-openers! Next year, we believe the AIX show to be the biggest ever and it is planned for May 18 – 20, 2010. Don’t miss it. www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com

Visitor figures for Aircraft Interiors Expo have remained steady this year in spite of the uncertain economic outlook for the aviation industry. Nearly 8,000 visitors attended to see the usual raft of new product development across all areas of the interiors sector, displayed by more than 500 exhibitors. Innovations in terms of seating development and inflight connectivity were particularly strong this year. The total attendance figure will be available after the event has been ABC audited in the next couple of weeks.

The last day of the show is traditionally a race for exhibitors to rebook their preferred stand position for the ensuing show; this year was no exception with exhibitors queuing to reserve their preferred space for Aircraft Interiors Expo 2010.

Aircraft Interiors Expo’s Event Director, Katie Murphy said: “In spite of our pre-registration visitor figures remaining strong we weren’t really sure what to expect when the doors to the show opened this year. It’s a testament to the whole Aircraft Interiors Expo team and our exhibitors that we have been able to maintain the same levels of interest in the show that we achieved last year even though there is currently much hesitancy in the aviation sector.

“On top of all the essential supply chain networking that happens at this show, a significant amount of business has been done again this year and we’ve received good feedback on our move to the B halls. Being able to host the World Airline Awards this year has only added to our profile among the top eschelons of the airlines.”

Next year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo takes place from 18 to 20 May 2010 at the Hamburg Messe. www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com

2nd April 2009 – Cathay Pacific picked up the award for Airline of the Year award last night at the first live World Airline Awards ceremony, held during Aircraft Interiors Expo.

Organised by Skytrax, the World Airline Awards was celebrating its 10th anniversary at the same time as Aircraft Interiors Expo was commemorating its own 10th edition milestone with an exhibitor and airline networking event. Around 500 exhibitors and visitors attended the awards ceremony to see 24 airlines go up to receive their awards.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, handed out awards in 34 categories. The winners are selected by the airline industry’s most important audience – its customers. More than 16 million passengers, representing 95 different nationalities, took part in completing the Skytrax World Airline Survey this year. The awards are recognised around the world, and renowned for being the only truly global, independent passenger survey of airline standards. The survey does not receive any outside or third-party sponsorship; it is entirely funded by Skytrax Research.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, said: “Cathay Pacific’s achievement can be attributed to its strong showing across most of the survey categories reflecting a great consistency of service and product, which is clearly satisfying customers – be they in first, business or economy class. It was also apparent that Cathay Pacific’s airport services in its home airport of Hong Kong performed very well for the airline in terms of pleasing the passengers.”

Aircraft Interiors Expo’s Event Director, Katie Murphy said: “Hosting the World Airline Awards presentation during our 10th edition party has really topped off what has been a great show for us. We are really pleased with the level of airline and general visitor attendance – as well as the rebookings we have already taken for the 2010 show.”

Full listing of the winners:

Airline of the Year Cathay Pacific
Best Cabin Staff Malaysia Airlines
Best Inflight Entertainment Emirates
Best First Class Singapore Airlines
Best Business Class Etihad Airways
Best Premium Economy Class Virgin Atlantic
Best Economy Class Qatar Airways
Best Low Cost Airline Air Asia
Best Low-Cost Airline – Asia Air Asia
Best Low-Cost Airline – Australasia JetStar
Best Low-Cost Airline – Europe Air Berlin
Best Airline – Africa South African Airways
Best Airline – Asia Cathay Pacific
Best Airline – Australasia Qantas
Best Airline – China China Southern Airlines
Best Airline – Europe Swiss
Best Airline – Middle East Qatar Airways
Best Airline – North America Continental Airlines
Best Airline – South America LAN Airlines
Best Airline – Central Europe CSA Czech Airlines
Best Airline – Southern Europe Turkish Airlines
Best Airline – India / Central Asia Kingfisher Airlines
Best Transatlantic Airline British Airways
Best Transpacific Airlines Asiana Airlines
Best First Class Onboard Catering Singapore Airlines
Best Business Class Onboard Catering Etihad Airways
Best Economy Class Onboard Catering Asiana Airlines
Best First Class Airline Lounge Thai Airways
Best Business Class Airline Lounge Virgin Atlantic
Best Regional Airline – Asia Bangkok Airways
Best Airline Alliance Star Alliance
Best Low-Cost Airline – North America JetBlue Airways
Best Low-Cost Airline – Middle East Air Arabia
Best Regional Airline – Europe Aegean Airlines

The next Aircraft Interiors Expo takes place from 18 to 20 May 2010 at the Hamburg Messe. www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com

About the organiser
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 470 events in 37 countries. In 2008 Reed brought together over seven million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 38 fully staffed offices.

Reed organises a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings. Its portfolio of over 470 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering, manufacturing, environment, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, medical education, printing & graphics, property & real estate, security & safety, sports & recreation, travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2007, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £998 million on turnover of £4,584 million.

Our stalwart party of trade show journalists have been busily snapping photos while they seek out the “hot scoop” in Hamburg.

In between long days slogging across the show floor and their early evenings turning in to regenerate energy for the next day (Editor’s note: Yeah right, hello… bar photos?) they managed to find time to upload a few of their photos for your viewing pleasure.

If you’d like to see just a tiny slice of all there is to see at AIX, head on over to our photo gallery hosted on Flickr.

I bet you expected us to write about the Airline Interiors Expo in Hamburg didn’t you? Ok, you’d be partially correct — we are going to touch on that subject. That’s not our big news though.

The big news — for us anyway — is that we’re launching a redesigned website and e-mail newsletter as part of our coverage of AIX 2009. This redesign is intended to be much more user friendly for you the reader, while at the same time providing us with the flexibility to post news and other information much more frequently.

The new software underlying our site will also allow us to add new features when we want to and enhance our ability to cover special events. You’ll find an example of that in our AIX Blog that is now available. In this section we’ll be posting occasional updates directly from Hamburg to give you a “behind-the-scenes” look at our team’s adventures in Germany.

Keep an eye on the new website and your e-mail inbox if you’re an IFExpress subscriber, we may have a few suprises in store for you as the week progresses. We’ll give you one little hint… think bluetooth.

We heard from a few companies about what they will be showing at the Aircraft Interiors Conference in Hamburg Germany, March 31 thru April 2. See the details. From an IFE perspective, you should go to this show! Not only is it the “other” IFE showcase, it is the biggest airplane interiors show in the world. There are lots of cheap fares, cheap hotel rooms and the show is free to visit and walk thru the displays. With respect to the show itself, we will be covering it in a new way so keep checking our new web presence… ’nuff said.  

While there, here are a few tips we gleaned: 1. Don’t miss VT Miltope, not only will they be rolling out a new broadband service, they have a BIG DEAL partner. 2. Both IMS and digEcor promise new portable entertainment options that sound very interesting, 3. No doubt, Lumexis will showcase a smaller in-seat HD module. 4. We hope and pray Panasonic brings back the massage chairs! 5. Thales has a 3D product that appeared in demo form at the WAEA last fall but we want to see a new product based on that technology. We are expecting advances in seat weight technology; new, smaller IFE devices that marry portable technology with imbedded mounting and power; a new wireless connectivity entrant; and a new IFE supplier. We are also wondering if digital projection will ever make a comeback because the projection hardware has become much more reliable, lower in weight and size as well as costs. It will also be interesting to see next phase in fiber optic IFE development from Sicma/Zodiac. 

Almost finally, a wireless caller asked if we were going to run some news this week or more of that “portable IFE legal wrangling stuff” again? “Yes and No” was our answer. Here is a link to a response from digEcor about the recent court ruling between them and e.Digital. And finally, here is a link to the Temporary Operating Ticket from Row44 to put that one to bed too.

See you at AIX!

Our crack staff of IFE sleuths are about to jet their way halfway around the world in order to bring you the latest developments in the IFE industry. That’s right, we’re going to Hamburg!

While we’re there we’ll be posting regular updates to our AIX Blog so be sure to check back regularly to get the inside scoop on what we find at the Aircraft Interiors Exp 2009.