We recently attended APEX Tech in Los Angeles, one of the increasingly popular conferences dedicated to In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) and passenger experience. Our team spent time chatting with airlines and connectivity providers, gleaning insights from keynotes and panelist discussions, and learning from each other over round tables and lunch breaks. Below, we've consolidated five key takeaways that stood out to us at APEX Tech that best reflect the dynamic discussions and emerging trends in the IFEC space.
IFEC is a proven engine for loyalty
Xia Cai shed light on how Qatar Airways is addressing the increasing demand for personalized and seamless inflight experiences. As passenger expectations rise, Qatar Airways has enabled their hospitality strategy by serving up customer and flight updates to the crew during the flight. Their in house app helps their crew offer seamless, high touch travel experiences without sacrificing the human side of customer experience. They’ve also leveraged broader passenger insights tailored to their market: as privacy is valued by their passengers, they’ve ensured passenger names are not shared on seatback screens when they board, but are instead greeted by crew individually.
Ekrem Dimbiloglu's keynote on Delta's SYNC experience set the tone for the entire summit. It illustrated how seamless access to in-flight Wi-Fi via the Delta SkyMiles membership has significantly enhanced their passengers' experience. With this change alone, Delta has seen their membership increase by two million, much of which has begun to skew to a younger demographic– demonstrating that integrating entertainment with loyalty programs is an effective tool for growing loyalty programs. Ekrem also noted that while 90% of passengers interact with their seatback experience, they are often using multiple screens at the same time. This underscores that passengers are treating their flights the same way they would their living room, and that every device is another chance for passengers to enjoy the inflight experience and what Delta has to offer.
IFEC technology is rapidly evolving
There were panels, work sessions, and networking conversations around the relevance and readiness of cutting-edge developments like Electronic Steerable Arrays (ESAs) and software-defined modems. The conversation also flowed around Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites, and how LEO & GEO complement each other to provide more consistent coverage for aircraft. There are unique advantages and hurdles with both, using a synergistic approach can optimize the overall performance of satellite systems for airline passengers.
The importance of timely & seamless deployment
Every industry is grappling with the opportunities and challenges of finding value-driven implementations of AI, and during the panelist discussion on ““AI-Assisted” Smart Metadata in the Content Delivery Supply Chain”, a few promising use cases emerged. Film/content adapting to fit different devices and different markets could be valuable for international carriers seeking to streamline the content packages per flight. Personalization and advertising to unlock ancillary revenue could also be an interesting avenue for Airlines building their partnership programs. After chatting with folks at Reaktor, our inclinations for AI skew heavily towards finding use.
Airlines are exploring opportunities for over the air deployment to better adjust content for evolving passenger and brand needs. One panel in particular, The Integration of IFE & C: Edge Caching in the Content Delivery Supply Chain, representatives from Anuvu, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netskrt, Siden, and Broadpeak discussed the opportunities for leveraging edge caching to keep up with timely content releases. When paired with network-optimized delivery, it bolsters a better overall experience for passengers with less buffering and fewer service interruptions. Edge caching does have some hurdles ahead; the realities of regional content licensing, as well as cost and logistics for this type of workflow, could be barriers to the effectiveness of edge caching.
Reflecting on our experience at APEX Tech, we're excited by what we learned and the conversations we had with so many industry experts. This conference underscored the importance of collaboration and innovation in enhancing passenger experience, driving loyalty, and meeting the evolving demands of today's travellers. We’re looking forward to next year!
