Readers of In-Flight Entertainment are probably tired of hearing what we have to say about the industry so we decided to turn the tables on you and asked what you thought about the latest WAEA TC Meeting in California last week and here is what you said (names withheld to protect the innocent).

Responder One: “The WAEA SFW on Connectivity was well attended, although there seemed to be fewer airlines attending than for the first SFW in Everett, WA in June 2009. Airlines are clearly embracing airborne connectivity for passengers and airplanes. IFE & C suppliers are mapping a future enabling those of us with mobile devices to stay connected in the air as we are on the ground. Without a doubt, most passengers under thirty years old have grown up with computers and cell phones, and have come to expect to be socially connected through texting, Facebook and Twitter. These are the business and leisure passengers of today and tomorrow; these passengers expect to be connected 24/7. Soon connected teenagers will be paying passengers and working adults. The WAEA SFW on Connectivity did an excellent job of highlighting this trend, this opportunity, this inevitable future.

Next, our second responder told us: “At the TC there was consensus for moving forward with a list of additions to the MPEG-4 Settings that include: a) Specifying Progressive video input as a Best Practice, b) Designating MPEG-4 Part 10 Main Profile, Level 3.1 as a Best Practices default, c) Limiting the number of reference frames to 2. We were not able to reach consensus on data rate however. There were expressions of preference for codifying either 1.5Mbps or 2.0 Mbps, and some favored a range between the two. But in the absence of consensus we will deliberate in committee in an effort to reconcile. We will continue investigating an HD and 3D spec.”

Thirdly, our next responder (Three) told us, and we quote; “Some presentations in the workshop were informative; others had way too many details about antenna and frequency allocation technology. Airline attendance was low even though most of the presentations were targeted towards airlines. No question connectivity is a hot topic and everyone is on board from airlines to vendors to OEM’s. Reminds me a lot of the air-to-ground telephony industry back in the 90’s where it was deemed as a must have on every seat on every flight. None of those companies are in business today and the usage was far less than advertised. While I agree that future generations expect to be connected 24/7, I question the ultimate success of any company selling any product in flight that requires a passenger to pull out their wallet. If the service becomes free as it is in many airports and lounges today, that is an entirely different story.”

Our fourth responder asks the rhetorical question: “Is there an HD standard in IFE’s future? The WAEA’s Technology Committee meeting in Los Angeles last week was very well attended, with over 150 IFE professionals sharing their opinions on MPEG4, High Definition video content, and the future of 3-D video in IFE. While the discussion about standardizing MPEG4 settings and the future formats of 3-D video displays were “interesting,” the discussion about HD video for IFE was downright scintillating, with diverse opinions from all segments of the IFE business. Here’s just a sampling of comments, opinions, and factoids heard at the meeting:

Hardware provider: 720p makes most sense for HD IFE – 1080p does not make sense, since it means having to store more data that does not noticeably improve picture quality on mostly small screens. 32” displays are the threshold for perceiving increased quality offered by 1080p.

Hardware provider: Resolutions of 1280 x 720 and 1920 x 1080 are used by US broadcasters, while 1920 x1080 is that of BluRay. Further, BluRay uses variable bit rates of 25-30 Mbps. If we continue to use constant bit rate (CBR) for IFE encodes, we will have to encode everything at the highest bit rate or lose quality on the fast changing scenes.

A hardware provider’s point: 1080p will be the resolution of choice for display systems in the next 5 years.

A content provider’s counter-point: 720p is the standard for the content already – broadcasters may transmit it in 1080p but the content is 720p.
Another content provider’s counter-point: Resolution is not going to stop at 1080 lines – we are already seeing 2000 and 4000 lines, and 8000 lines has been demonstrated in Japan.

As you can see from all these divergent viewpoints, we are a ways away from agreement on what the standard HD content format should be for IFE – or even if there should be a standard at all (a view espoused privately by a few attendees). What do you think: should the TC have its working group spend the time over the next few months to hammer out a standard for some aspects of HD video for IFE (could save airlines on costs for content?), or should they let the marketplace duke it out for a while and see what settles out?”

And lastly, responder five told us: “The WAEA TC Single Focus Workshop had its usual sales pitches given under the guise of imparting technical information and approaches. However, two presentations in particular stood out for their clarity and the amount of usable information presented. OnAir’s Henri Broussalian made a very good case for mobile voice onboard aircraft based on experience on over 100,000 commercial flights. Broussalian cited that there have been “zero” complaints about passenger cell phone use and that the U.S. restriction called the “Hang Up Bill” is ill-advised based on this experience. He indicated that the U.S. should immediately reconsider this policy of denying passengers this kind of connectivity. Despite raising the bar on the number of acronyms used, DDEi’s Peter Lemme gave an excellent overview of the structure of current aircraft “operational” communications environment and a cogent approach to deploying these applications over the newer broadband solutions being installed. Mr. Lemme noted there are certain regulatory issues to be resolved both not only in the aeronautical industry but also in the world telecommunications arena so the progress will be slow but steadily moving to broadband. This author’s view, based on my work with operational communications, is that airlines will cautiously use the broadband pipe that is becoming available for passengers through the deployment of category 2 and 3 EFBs to support operational efficiencies. The growth in the use of broadband for operational communications will lag slightly, by 6-12 months, the deployment of the broadband systems on a fleet-by-fleet basis. As operational experience with broadband grows, the airline industry will naturally seek to fill this much larger “pipe” with more aircraft management applications in an effort to reduce costs and operate more effectively.”
That’s All Folks!

Editor’s Note: Breaking news has Emirates and Ryanair dropping OnAir service. It looks like one of our responders was pretty much on the money!

Hamburg/Buxtehude, 31 March 2009 – KID-Systeme, the leader in aircraft cabin electronics, today announced at the Aircraft Interiors Expo that its GSM on Board inflight passenger communications system, used by OnAir, has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) supplement type certification for Boeing 737 aircraft. The Boeing 737, is operated by more than 500 airlines including Ryanair, the first airline to commit to a full fleet deployment of Mobile OnAir. EASA supplement type certification for the B737, in service for Ryanair, follows certification for the OnAir mobile telephony system on the whole Airbus A320 family of single-aisle aircraft.

Ryanair currently has over twenty aircraft flying with the KID-Systeme’s GSM on Board equipment and OnAir’s inflight passenger GSM voice and data services. Ryanair is in the process of retrofitting the equipment to the rest of its B737 fleet.

The Boeing retrofit installation design and Supplemental Type Certification (STC) process was managed by KID-Systeme with its partner ECS. A key feature of the STC retrofit design is the use of
an innovative distributed Line Replacement Unit installation concept, allowing the GSM on Board equipment to be installed during an aircraft’s regular maintenance check. The design of this system
enables activation during an over-night stop, meaning the aircraft does not have to be taken out of passenger service.

The GSM on Board equipment has been designed to minimise weight and space usage, particularly in areas designated for passenger use. The GSM server is located in the electronics bay under the cockpit; the leaky-line cable runs along the inside ceiling of the cabin; and the satellite communications equipment, picocell and onboard control equipment are located above the ceiling panels in the aft fuselage.

Patrick Schrot, Managing Director of KID-Systeme, said, “This EASA certification demonstrates the excellence of the programme run by KID-Systeme and ECS. It has also paved the way for Ryanair’s inflight passenger connectivity services and we have no doubt it will prove to be the tipping-point for the technology’s wide-spread adoption.”

KID Systeme’s GSM on Board airborne equipment has already been in commercial use on Air France, bmi, Royal Jordanian, TAP Portugal and Wataniya Airways, with further airlines signed up to start the
service in 2009 and 2010. It is unique in that it uses Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband technology, providing passengers with the widest range of inflight communications services currently available.

About KID-Systeme
KID-Systeme is the world leader in providing in-seat power solutions and is at the forefront of providing passenger connectivity solutions.

SKYpower was the world’s first 110V AC In-Seat Power Supply System. It has now been installed in over 200,000 seats by over 80 airlines, making SKYpower the single biggest In-Seat Power Supply System in the world.

GSM on Board is the technology behind the first inflight GSM/GPRS passenger mobile service on international flights. GSM on Board started flying in 2007 and will soon be available on a range of airlines across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

As well as being headquartered in Buxtehude near Hamburg in Germany, where all design and manufacturing takes place, KID-Systeme also has Service Centres in Beijing, Buxtehude, Dallas, Dubai, Sao Paulo and Seattle. These Service Centres provide full servicing, combined with a 24/7 Aircraft on Ground support and spares service.

KID-Systeme supplies the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus, Boeing and Embraer. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus but operates as an independent company.

For further information: www.kid-systeme.de

About ECS
ECS is a manufacturer and global supplier of proven electrical and structural products for the installation of avionics systems on-board aircraft. ECS offers advanced engineering services and certification support with in-house FAA designated personnel to provide approved design data packages, STCs with PMA approvals, and product conformity inspections.

Acknowledged as an industry leader for providing efficient and economical solutions for both retrofit and forward fit programs, ECS has worked closely with KID-Systeme to develop the critical components and certification engineering that makes the installation of GSM technology on-board Ryanair’s fleet possible. In addition, ECS has been selected by Airbus to provide certification engineering and installation provisions for incorporating their GSM technology on-board Boeing aircraft; as well as to develop integrated racks to install GSM systems on the A318, A319, A320, and A321.

ECS is also well known in the aviation industry for their leadership in developing the necessary provisions for the installation of GPS, EGPWS, TCAS, MODE S, Iridium, SATCOM, IFE, Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), and many other avionics systems for air transport, general aviation, and military programs.

Headquartered in Franklin Wisconsin-USA, ECS has satellite offices in Minnesota, Washington State, California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, London-UK, and Toulouse-France to help better serve aircraft operators and manufacturers worldwide.

For further information: www.ecsdirect.com

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (19th Feb.) launched its inflight mobile phone service initially onboard 20 of its (mainly) Dublin based aircraft. This is the first step in fitting Ryanair’s entire fleet of over 170 aircraft to allow all passengers to make and receive mobile calls and texts on all Ryanair flights.

Passengers on Ryanair’s 20 OnAir enabled aircraft can now make and receive voice calls at (non–EU) international roaming rates (£1.50-£3 pm) text messages (40p+) and email (£1-£2) using their mobile phones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones. These price tariffs are set by each mobile service provider and are subject to each customer’s individual price plan.

The service will initially be available to “O2” customers and to customers of over 50 other mobile phone operators across Europe. At the launch OnAir confirmed that it is working with other UK mobile operators (“Vodafone”, “Orange” and “3”) to ensure that their customers can also keep in touch with the office, family and friends when travelling.

Michael O’Leary said:

“Today’s launch by Ryanair and OnAir is the first step to offering in-flight mobile phone services onboard our entire fleet of over 170 aircraft over the next 18 months. This service will allow passengers to keep in touch with the office, family or friends. We expect customer demand for this service to grow rapidly and hope that customers of all UK mobile operators will soon be able to call or text home from 30,000 feet to tell loved ones of yet another on time Ryanair flight.”

Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir, said,

“Mobile OnAir is the most advanced inflight communications service in the world and this European fleet-wide rollout marks a real milestone in aviation. We are proud to work with Ryanair, the world’s largest international scheduled airline, and to provide their 67 million passengers with access to this new technology which will enable them to send and receive emails, text messages, download attachments and make and receive calls just as they would on the ground.’

About OnAir

OnAir is the leading provider of inflight communications, enabling passengers to stay connected during their flight, and airlines to offer new services and generate additional revenues. Present on four of five continents, OnAir provides the only air-travel industry sponsored solution, now available to regular and low-cost airlines, to private and corporate jets, on Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and on long and short-haul flights. OnAir is the only provider of services based on SwiftBroadband, the latest high-bandwidth satellite technology from Inmarsat, which offers GSM and GPRS for voice, data and Internet.

OnAir was incorporated in February 2005 and is owned by SITA, the leading IT solutions provider to the air transport world and Airbus, the leading aircraft manufacturer. OnAir is a member of the GSM Association and an Inmarsat Distribution Partner for SwiftBroadband services.

More information about OnAir is available at www.onair.aero.