SITAONAIR White Paper Reveals Evolving Drivers for In-Flight Connectivity
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APEX Insight: Passenger connectivity remains the key driver for airlines looking to adopt Internet technology. But solutions for crew empowerment and efficient operations are growing in popularity among connected airlines, and could have the potential to sway holdouts into bringing connectivity on board.
Released in October, SITAONAIR’s white paper, “Open Platforms: The Next Inflight Connectivity Revolution,” reveals an industry shift in use cases for in-flight connectivity. While passenger connectivity is still the key motivator for adopting Internet infrastructure, airlines are increasingly looking at operational improvements enabled by connected aircraft as well.
“There’s a lot more talk now about how to use connectivity on board the aircraft,” says Katrina Korzenowski, regional vice-president, Asia Pacific, SITAONAIR. Formed as a business unit in 2015, the company brings together OnAir’s in-flight connectivity experience with SITA’s expertise in data and communications with the goal of providing comprehensive solutions for a connected aircraft. “We’re starting to see airlines look more holistically at connectivity in their business cases from the start, whereas more mature airlines are now looking at what else they can do with connectivity.”
SITAONAIR’s white paper finds that passenger connectivity is still the key motivator for adopting connectivity, with 46 percent of airlines surveyed indicating that they view passenger experience as the main benefit of the connected aircraft. “I think the passenger is the entry criteria,” says Don Buchman, vice-president of Commercial Mobility with ViaSat, California-based satellite communications company whose customers include JetBlue, Qantas and American Airlines.”Every airline, when they’re in the boardroom, looks at how they can use data for passengers, for the cockpit, for the crew and for operations, and they can really only come up with a solid business case around the passenger to start with.”
Korzenowski concurs, “If you’re looking at the investment of a pipe on board the aircraft, obviously the drive is the passenger.” But interest in other applications continues to grow. Nineteen percent view connectivity services to support pilots and cabin crew as a principal driver, and 15 percent prioritize connectivity to support aircraft maintenance and operations monitoring. “Ironically, all of these other applications really tap into passenger experience as well,” says Korzenowski.
“Ironically, all of these other applications really tap into passenger experience as well.” -Katrina Korzenowski, SITAONAIR
Flight crew equipped with connected tablets can process digital transactions in real-time, update passengers with pertinent information about transfers or delays, personalize service and more. “I think crew morale is also important,” says Buchman.”Flight crews have downtime in their jobs, especially on long-haul flights, and spend a lot of time away from home, so it’s great for them to connect with family and friends.”
A connected cockpit offers an airline several advantages, including aircraft tracking, flight data streaming and fuel usage monitoring. With more than 20 years of experience connecting cockpits, Inmarsat has been making ground on converting its safety and operational broadband proposition into a passenger service. At APEX EXPO in Singapore, the London-based satellite communications company announced Lufthansa as the first customer of its GX Aviation network and followed with an announcement of IAG as a customer for its European Aviation Network.
Chicago-based Internet service provider Gogo recently collaborated with Delta Air Lines to launch a Flight Weather Viewer app for the airline’s pilots. Created in partnership with Basic Commerce and Industries, the app displays weather information collected from avionics sensors, combined with vertical accelerometer and atmospheric state data, so that pilots can forecast turbulence along their flight path in real time. In 2015, Honeywell Aerospace also launched a real-time weather app.
Borrowing data from NASA’s Weather Accident Prevention Project, Delta projects that savings collected through smart turbulence avoidance could accumulate to upward of $100 million annually. “It’s too soon for us to talk about the measurables,” says Gogo’s chief executive officer, Michael Small, “but the benefits over time will be the avoidance of air turbulence resulting in a safer flight for passengers and less wear and tear on the aircraft.” According to Small, initiatives like these are only the beginning of what’s to come. “I am extremely excited about the movement of connectivity products beyond the passenger and how this will ultimately benefit the airlines.”