Wireless IFE is Here to Stay
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The final session of APEX Middle East focused on developments in wireless IFE, and included a case study between Gogo and Alaska Airlines, presented by Mary Rogozinski. But first, Patrick Préfontaine, VP of Strategic Partnerships, Global Eagle Entertainment, outlined why he believes wireless IFE (wIFE) is here to stay:
- simpler to install
- less weight
- flexibility
- future-proof
Wireless IFE introduces a new kind of passenger experience into the cabin, has relative cost advantages, adds revenue potential, and is the first step to offering connectivity within the cabin. But what about the content itself? Préfontaine, echoing the sentiments of the previous panel, noted that wIFE is not in direct competition with embedded systems. He explained wireless can be integrated with existing installations – “we know it will work.” He then referenced the 27 airlines and 3,000+ aircraft that currently have wIFE installed.
Mary Rogozinski then took the stage to outline the successful partnership between Alaska Airlines and Gogo. 130+ aircraft will be equipped with streaming IFE from Gogo, including new seats and power, this April for the Alaska’s Beyond Entertainment program. Rogozinski noted that the installation process was quite easy, and in comparison to other retrofit projects, relatively painless.
The wireless panel, which included Mary Rogozinski along with Fergal Murray, CCO at Arconics and Peter Schetschine, VP Customer Affairs for KID-Systeme GmbH, then jumped in with a several more additions to the wireless discussion.
Murray noted that the hardware architecture of the wireless system is fairly straightforward – the hard part is integrating it with an airline to allow them to exploit it to its fullest potential. The goal for the future is to linefit as many airlines as possible.
On the cautionary side, though, special care will have to be in place to ensure proper device support, especially when considering the regional differences in the types of portables being introduced onboard. Also, older aircraft present some challenges, as the cost of investment is harder to justify, and content offerings need to be manually updated on the aircraft server.