APEX FTE EXPO 2026: PXCom Launches Turnkey Connectivity and Brings AI Onboard
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PXCom will use APEX FTE EXPO in Singapore to launch a turnkey inflight connectivity (IFC) offering across LEO and air-to-ground networks while bringing AI onboard, including in standalone mode. The company will highlight how SkyVerse brings entertainment, shopping, destination services, menus, advertising, and other digital features together across seatback screens and passengers’ own devices. PXCom Onboard Digital Solutions CEO Cyril Jean said the developments bring the company closer to goals it set when it launched 13 years ago.
Expanding Into Connectivity and AI
PXCom sees 2026 as a major year as it expands further into connectivity and AI. The company plans to bring both developments to airlines through its growing onboard offering.
“2026 marks a great milestone for PXCom. Some of the goals envisioned 13 years ago when we created the company are now reality,” Jean said. “First and foremost, thanks to our network of trusted partners, PMV Engineering for LEO and SkyFive for ATG, we are pleased to launch our turnkey inflight connectivity.”
Newer hardware now allows PXCom to bring AI onboard even in standalone mode. “Our second dream was to bring AI onboard. This is now reality,” Jean explained.
PXCom works as an AI integrator, giving it the ability to bring newer AI capabilities into the passenger experience as the technology develops. Today, AI can help curate content and shopping opportunities based on passenger preferences.
In the future, airlines could combine AI with customer data and behavioral analysis to better understand what a traveler may want on a specific trip. That becomes important when the same passenger travels on business during one journey and for leisure on another.
“We see a lot of potential in AI onboard,” Jean noted. “Currently it is limited to curating content or shopping opportunities based on the passenger preferences, but in the near future, AI engines combined with customer data platforms will be able to anticipate such expectations, mainly based on behavioral analysis.”
Connectivity is creating a different set of questions. Carriers increasingly want to know whether an IFC investment made today can adapt to future satellite constellations, while the growth of bring-your-own-device experiences has made cybersecurity another important consideration.
PXCom plans to bring ready-to-fly solutions and proof-of-concept demonstrations to Singapore. The company is keeping any additional announcements a surprise until the event.
Connecting the Cabin With the Wider Journey
PXCom wants the inflight experience to connect more closely with the services passengers use before and after a flight. The goal, Jean explained, centers on making the cabin another digital touchpoint alongside an airline’s website and mobile app.
Ground transportation provides one example. About 30 minutes before landing, SkyVerse could ask passengers whether they have transportation arranged at their destination and give them the option to book a taxi.
The timing makes the service more useful. Instead of showing passengers the same promotions throughout the flight, an airline can present something when they may actually need it.
SkyVerse brings entertainment, shopping, destination services, digital menus, magazines, advertising, and other features into one system. Airlines can adjust the experience based on the route, aircraft, and other factors.
The platform works across seatback screens, wireless in-flight entertainment (IFE), and connected passenger devices. On a widebody aircraft, an airline could use seatback screens for video while passengers use their own devices for gaming.
The same carrier could deliver both video and games entirely through BYOD (bring your own device) on a single-aisle aircraft. Both setups can run through the same platform.
“The possibilities are endless,” Jean said. Airlines can use that flexibility to shape their onboard offering around different aircraft and routes.
PXCom takes a similar approach when helping carriers choose between seatback IFE, wireless IFE, and connectivity. The company increasingly works with airline executives to explain what each option can deliver and where its limits remain.
That process gives carriers a clearer view of what is possible and the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. It helps them choose the setup that makes the most sense across their fleet.
Using Data to Make the Experience More Relevant
Reliable connectivity gives airlines more ways to adjust the inflight experience during a flight. Many of the digital tools carriers already use on the ground can extend into the cabin, according to Jean.
An onboard system could send marketing signals to ground systems, which could process them and return a result to a passenger’s screen or device. That gives airlines another way to respond to passengers during the journey.
“Since we transform the cabin into an effective touchpoint, what is currently mastered on the ground with websites, mobile apps and TV boxes, is definitely applicable inflight,” Jean said. SkyVerse gives airlines a way to bring those capabilities onboard.
Customer data can make those interactions more personal. Through APIs, SkyVerse can receive information from an airline CRM, adjust what a passenger sees using passenger or personal data, and send information back while following GDPR requirements.
PXCom recommends building that process in stages and starting with quick wins. That approach lets carriers introduce new capabilities gradually rather than trying to do everything at once.
The same idea applies to ancillary revenue. Rather than fill the platform with advertising, PXCom focuses on presenting products or services when they become relevant.
“Give the passengers what they expect, when they expect it,” Jean said. That could mean offering ground transportation near arrival or using passenger preferences to guide entertainment and shopping options.
Jean explained that giving passengers more value can drive stronger engagement and create new opportunities around shopping, destination services, and other digital offers.
PXCom will showcase its new connectivity offering, AI capabilities, and SkyVerse platform at booth 115 during APEX FTE EXPO.