APEX Experience 9.4 September/October

airline passenger

volume 9, edition 4 | september – october 2019

ANNIVERSARY

Celebrating Four Decades of PaxEx Innovation

official publication of the airline passenger experience association

ATTITUDE IS

EVERYTHING

w: westent.com

t: +1 (949) 577-9760

e: info@westent.com

COME JOIN

OUR TEAM @ BOOTH 1201

SINCE 1969.

#Airbus50

airbus.com/airbus50

FLY Our story is one of ambition and progress.

For 50 years our passion, talent, and pioneering spirit have helped us create a string of world firsts in aerospace, transform the industry and improve the lives of many. Today we are a global community, exploring new horizons by creating technologies and innovations that will sustainably shape the future of aerospace, to build a better-connected, safer, and more prosperous world.

We make it fly.

AD DIRECTORY

Advertisers’ Directory

volume 9, edition 4 september – october 2019

Ackila

Collins Aerospace

Images in Motion

Paramount Pictures

Advantech

Contentino Media

Inadvia

Penny Black Media

Inflight Canada

PictureWorks

Inflight Direct

Safran

Inflight Dublin

Skyline IFE

Inflight Peripherals

SmartSky Networks

InflightFlix

Sony Pictures Releasing

Inmarsat

Spafax

rockwellcollins.com See page 28

ackila.com See page 137

advantech.com See page 138

Airborne Interactive airborne.aero See page 173

airbus.com See pages 8 and 9

AirFi

Deutsche Welle dw.com See page 76

Display Interactive

airfi.aero See page 119

Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems astronics.com See pages14, 46 and 47

Astronics Connectivity Systems and Certification astronics-csc.com See pages 58, 152 and 153

Axinom

Axinom.com See pages 10 and 11

BBC Studios

bbcstudios.com See page 92

BBC Worldwide

bbc.com/worldnews See page 92

Black Swan Data blackswan.com See page 17

Bluebox Aviation Systems blueboxaviation.com See page 120

Burrana

burrana.aero See pages 2 and 3

Buzz Products

buzzproducts.com See page 52

Carlisle

ugo.aero See page 62

Encore Inflight

encoreinflight.com See page 171

Entertainment in Motion skyfilms.com See page 165

Emphasis Video Entertainment

emphasis-video.net See page 173

Eros International Media erosplc.com See page 169

FlightPath3D

flighpath3D.com See page 80

Global Eagle

globaleagle.com See IFE sponsorship on pages 154–174, and pages 21 and 146

HACO

haco.us.com See page 76

HAECO

haeco.aero See page 31

HBO

hboinflight.com See page 163

Ideanova Technologies

carlisleit.com See page 35

Cinesky Pictures cineskypics.com See page 125

experience

Deutsche Telekom

telekom.com See bellyband and page 25

Airbus

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contentino.in See page 179

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ideanovatech.com See page 75

iim.com.sg See page 175

inadvia.com See page 70

inflightcanada.com See page 57

inflightdirect.com See page 108

inflightdublin.com See page 145

ifpl.com See page 83

inflightflix.com See page 23

inmarsat.com See front cover reverse gatefold

Jaguar Distribution

paramount.com See gatefold after page 50

pennyblackmedia.com See page 167

pw-pictureworks.com See page 4 and 5

safran-group.com See page 37

skyline-ife.com See page 105

smartskynetworks.com See page 27

sonypicturesinflight.com See page 159

spafax.com See pages 88 and 89

Teague

jaguardc.com See page 176

teague.com See page 13

Kid-Systeme

Terry Steiner International

Long Prosper

The Angelus Corporation

LSG Group

TQ Group

Lufthansa Systems

W.L. Gore and Associates

Mid-Continent Instruments & Avionics

Warner Bros.

kid-systeme.com See page 65

longprosper.com See page 111

lsgskychefs.com See pages 132 and 133

lhsystems.com See page 114

mcico.com See page 102

NBC Universal

nbcuniversal.com See page 143

Panasonic Avionics

panasonic.aero See outside back cover

terrysteiner.com See page 157

theangeluscorp.com See page 43

tq-group.com See page 38

gore.com See page 97

warnerbros.com See page 161

Wessco International wessco.net See page 48

West Entertainment westent.com See pages 6 and 7

Journey as Destination.

This isn't just a trip that ends in French Polynesia. It's a journey that begins the moment the airplane pulls into the gate, adorned in the colors and patterns of a vibrant island culture. Relax and let the wash of an ocean-hued interior surround you. Step off the plane and immerse yourself in its inspiration.

teague.com

CONTENTS DIGITAL

Growing Together

volume 9, edition 4 september – october 2019

In honor of APEX EXPO’s 40th anniversary, we bring you a special edition that flashes back to the association’s humble beginnings, acknowledges the tireless work of its board members over the years and reveals some hilarious party stories.

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Celebrating Four Decades of PaxEx Innovation Stories of an industry in flux and a community in expansion.

FEATURES

C-SUITE

APEX ARCHIVES; SERGIO MEMBRILLAS ; LATÉCOÈRE; GETTY IMAGES

48 Shai Weiss Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Atlantic

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Light Show Having proven itself on the ground, Li-Fi begins to make inroads in the air.

59

Baby Boom or Bust Inside the minds of the mostly retired generation and how they spend on air travel.

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CONTENTS DIGITAL

volume 9, edition 4 september – october 2019

STANDBYS 34 New Frontiers

12 Advertisers’ Directory

Mapping out possibilities for geographic exploration in flight.

18 CEO’s Letter 19 Presidents’ Letters 41 Listen Up Food, like fashion, is trendy.

42 Identity Crisis Keeping tabs on the public perception of biometric technology in Asia.

30 APEX Asks What part of the airline passenger experience industry do you want to learn more about?

139 Headlines 144 APEX News

39 Down to the Route

151 IFSA News 154 IFE Listings

When going granular pays off.

177 #APEXPOTD

Throwback: Lasting Liveries

134

Travelogue: Paper Trail

Allison Ausband chronicles her path from journalism to airline services.

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26 Featured Contributors

Atlantic Airways juggles tourism and conservation.

178

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24 Editor’s Letter

British Airways turns 100 years old.

JORGE DE LA PAZ; AIM ALTITUDE; BONX; GABRIEL EBENSPERGER; VISITFAROEISLANDS; FELIPE VARGAS; GETTY IMAGES; THALES; DANIEL RICO

Japanese airlines equip cabin crew with a new communication tool.

Cabin interiors made with workaholics in mind.

22 APEX in Action

44 A Fine Balance 36 Within Earshot

32 Work in Progress

20 Board News

WE TURN RAW DATA INTO PROFITS

CEO’S LETTER

Dear Members, In 1979, a group of innovators created a trade conference centered around in-flight entertainment.

Each year forward, the event covered more of the aviation industry and the globe. Today, APEX celebrates 40 years of EXPO paving the way for transformative in-flight experiences and reshaping the way the world travels.

LEADING OUR INDUSTRY AS ONE

During EXPO this year, we will usher in a new era of combined awards with the APEX/IFSA Awards ceremony hosted by The Points Guy himself, Brian Kelly. In doing so, we embody the ideals of both and cover the end-to-end passenger experience.

Our Official Airline Ratings are now displayed at the entryway doors of nearly 2,500 aircraft with additional logos placed on South America-based aircraft this quarter. Working together, we are setting a new standard of integrity for rating airline quality with verified, validated and certified ratings from frequent travelers via TripIt.

JOINT FTE-APEX ASIA EXPO WITH IFSA

With Future Travel Experience (FTE) now part of the APEX family, we have entered a new era. Starting this year, we will have an expo event every November in Singapore under our banner. FTE-APEX Asia Expo combines the best of APEX and IFSA with end-to-end passenger experience thought-leadership. This year, FTE-APEX Asia Expo in Singapore will proudly feature

its first ever APEX Asia Content Market. As Asia is the fastest growing air travel region in the world, we are honored to be hosting this event in Singapore, and for the show to serve APEX and IFSA members from across Asia and beyond. FTE-APEX Asia Expo provides a perfect platform for attendees to engage with and learn from Asian airlines and their partners.

Please contact any member of our team for more information and make certain to join us, 12–13 November in Singapore.

FROM 1979 TO 2019 TO 2059

Our leadership has enabled an age in which airline passenger experience serves as the primary differentiator for airlines to be more profitable and provide genuinely different services. APEX, IFSA, FTE and others have helped advance our airline industry into a new golden age of air travel. Our future is bright.

What will the future bring for APEX in 2059 in a world of autonomous air taxis alongside commercial aircraft and hypersonic travel vehicles? One thing remains certain: companies will continue to compete on unique service offerings and customer experiences. This is only possible because of our great members. I thank you. Your loyalty over the past 40 years has shaped our organization and it is what will make the future passenger experience possible.

Best regards,

Dr. Joe Leader

APEX/IFSA Chief Executive Officer

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PRESIDENTS’ LETTERS

Dear APEX Members,

Dear IFSA Members,

As our membership will be celebrating the last four decades of APEX EXPO in Los Angeles this year, the Board of Directors is looking forward to defining the priorities that will take APEX through 2025 and beyond. To do this, the board has identified three key strategies:

In driving IFSA to be the global association it is today, many changes have taken place over the last few years: From growing our EXPO footprint and seeing recordbreaking attendance numbers, to awarding more than $1,000,000 in scholarship funds, to aligning with APEX, to supporting the robust Government Affairs and Education Committee – transformation has become a necessity.

EVENTS

APEX strives to make our events indispensable through strategic alignments, and by expanding our agenda to address all aspects of the passenger experience as well as offering expert insights from executives.

THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP

APEX strives to position its membership as an influential source for expert opinion and industry solutions, including key aspects of end-to-end airline technology, passenger trends and public policy issues.

COMMUNITY

APEX remains committed to bringing in a comprehensive and diverse membership of decision-makers from all parts of the industry, with the association now including airports and alliances. The values of community and friendship in our association have been second to none.

As we look ahead to the next four decades, our influential APEX community will help to elevate the end-to-end passenger experience to new heights!

Best regards,

As we continue to evolve, I urge us all to stay the course! In our industry we must leverage change as an opportunity for growth. IFSA’s success continues as a result of where we come from, and future success relies on constantly evaluating where we want to be.

IFSA’s achievements are in no small part due to the tireless work of members who have volunteered their time, energy and expertise to the board, committees, task forces, and the many initiatives driven by their selfless desire to propel IFSA and the in-flight services industry.

For this, I thank you.

It has been my great honor to serve as president of IFSA over the past two years and I hope my efforts result in the betterment of our industry in some small way. As Jim Ball assumes the role of IFSA president, I ask you all to support him. He is fully prepared for the challenge of heading IFSA, and will do great things for all of us.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the 2019 EXPO in Los Angeles.

Best regards,

Juha Järvinen

APEX President Executive Vice-President, Commercial Virgin Atlantic

Paul Platamone

IFSA President Harvey Alpert & Company

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BOARD NEWS

From Your APEX Board

Juha Järvinen President Virgin Atlantic

Anton Vidgen Vice-President

The APEX Board of Directors uses this space to inform members about ongoing board work and decisions.

In addition to sharing association information in the magazine, the board sends e-mails regularly to update the membership about its activities and to be as transparent as possible.

Joan Filippini Treasurer

Don’t forget to join your fellow board members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), at APEX EXPO in Los Angeles. The AGM is scheduled for 4:10–4:45 p.m. on Monday, 9 September.

This is your opportunity to receive updates from board members and the committees they chair, as well as ask questions and give feedback on the association.

Air Canada

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AT APEX EXPO

Maura Chacko Secretary Spafax

Paramount Pictures

2018–2019 ELECTIONS

Thank you to everyone who made a nomination for the APEX Board of Directors. The election takes place 25 July – 23 August, and new board members will assume their roles at the AGM in Los Angeles.

Brian Richardson Past President

Andrés Castañeda Aeroméxico

American Airlines

JOIN A COMMITTEE!

The board would like to thank every committee member for their hard work during the past year. As always, we welcome your participation and invite you to apply for one of our various committees at connect.apex.aero/committees.

BECOME A SPONSOR

Michael Childers

Akira Mitsumasu

Lufthansa Systems

Japan Airlines

Zina Neophytou

Babar Rahman

BBC Worldwide

Qatar Airways

Ingo Wuggetzer Airbus

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APEX events draw company decision-makers from every sector of the passenger experience industry, and are an excellent way to get the right eyes on your brand. Contact Desiray Young, dyoung@apex.aero, for information on available marketing opportunities throughout the year.

SOCIAL

APEX in Action There were lots of celebrations in past months among member companies, from a staff recognition ceremony to a facility opening. Members also met up in Los Angeles for APEX TECH.

See more social photos on Facebook > FACEBOOK.COM/ APEX.AERO

1. Astronics CSC celebrates its move to a new manufacturing facility in Waukegan, Illinois, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

2. HAECO technicians in Greensboro, North Carolina, achieve Safe Operations and Awards Recognition (SOAR) from Alaska Airlines.

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3. The Arsenal FC men’s team flies with Emirates for their pre-season tour in the US. 4. Viasat Commercial Aviation doing some team-building with China Satcom at its Customer Experience and Design Centre of Excellence in Dublin.

5. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

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6. Vy Duong, American Airlines; Susan Tran, Signal Lamp Entertainment; and Brian Nguyen, American Airlines 7. Kim Creaven, Global Eagle; and Cyril Jean, PXCom 8. Peter Sevcik and Rich Evans, NetForecast; and Stephan Schulte, Lufthansa 9. Daireen Galeano and Lina Lopez, Jaguar Distribution

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5

6

7

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E-mail your photos to > EDITOR@APEX.AERO

PHOTOS: ASTRONICS; HAECO; EMIRATES; VIASAT; QATAR AIRWAYS; GREG VERVILLE (APEX TECH)

APEX TECH

Showcase 100 Destination Visitor Experiences Enhance Passenger Experience Convert Content Cost To Revenue Guarantee Return on IFE

InflightFlix connects airlines, passengers and destination experiences via premium destination video guides onboard, online and on social.

Our destination video guides showcase 100 top experiences for each destination across the airlines’ network, featuring top things to do, places to go, stay, eat, drink and shop.

To date the InflightFlix team has produced over 1,000 videos and destination video guides for globally renowned hotels, tour operators, tourism agencies and Ireland’s only 4-star airline Aer Lingus.

Communicating destination experiences via compelling visitor experience videos, consistently and seamlessly at every touchpoint, allows airline partners to inspire, engage and convert pre-booking, in addition to building anticipation and enhancing the inflight experience post-booking.

Our unique, disruptive and globally scalable content creation programme is perfect for:

Wireless IFE Vendors

Guarantee Revenue on W-IFE Hardware Sales

Low Cost Carriers

Guaranteed ROI on W-IFE

Content Service Providers Premium Destination Content at Zero Cost

Leisure Carriers

Enhance Passenger Experience & Convert Content Cost to Revenue

InflightFlix | Destination Video Guides + 353 (0) 61 748 818 | hello@inflightflix.com | www.inflightflix.com InflightFlix International Limited, Shannon Airport House, Shannon, Co. Clare, Rep of Ireland V14 E370

EDITOR’S LETTER

Contributors Wanted

Contact APEX Media at EDITOR@APEX.AERO

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We also wouldn’t have gotten very far with our research if it weren’t for back issues of the WAEA newsletters and Avion magazine, which were edited by the late John N. White. He was the unofficial historian of in-flight entertainment, and thus the association, and was truly passionate about the industry and the people in it.

And like a true historian, before his death in 2013, he donated several IFE artifacts, including a V-star in-flight video projector, Airvision portable video screens, an 8mm self-loading cartridge with Pan Am film and more, which unfortunately, remain in the Museum of Flight’s storage in Seattle.

Finally, I hope this issue reinforces the need to preserve the amazing things this industry is accomplishing! In it, we also write about workspaces in the cabin, interactive moving maps and Li-Fi connectivity, but, we’d also like to hear from you, which is why we are making a call-out for editorial contributions from members. If you’re passionate about a topic or sharing a bit of knowledge or history that only an insider could tell about our industry, send us a story (not sales) pitch to editor@apex.aero.

I hope you’ll enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed making it. See you all at the 40th APEX EXPO in Los Angeles!

Sincerely,

Caroline Ku

Managing Editor, APEX Media

ILLUSTRATION: ROMUALDO FAURA

When our editorial team began brainstorming for this issue, we knew nothing more than the fact that we wanted to devote a large portion of the magazine to the association’s history for its 40th anniversary. I have to admit, I knew little about the origins of APEX; I have only been around since the EXPO of 2015, in Portland, Oregon, and until now our team has primarily focused on covering the association’s recent and prospective activities.

Over the past couple of months, our deputy editor, Valerie Silva, and I interviewed current and past members to ask about the earlier days of APEX… or WAEA or AEA as they would’ve known it. They told us stories from the past and in turn gave us more names to track down.

We cold e-mailed and looked for these individuals in the association’s directory and on LinkedIn. Some didn’t answer, some were too busy playing golf or boarding a cruise ship on the voyage of a lifetime and some simply had no interest in going down memory lane with us. So, you can imagine how thrilled Valerie and I were when we saw replies from Cindy Tarver and John McMahon in our inboxes. Both were instrumental to the foundation of the association and attended the very first conference in Palm Springs in 1979.

Thanks to them, and many others whom we interviewed, we were able to piece together a colorful history about the association. It is rich with quirky stories about chasing down airline reps at conferences, memories of drinking sessions called the Death Pact and accounts of spousal programs that promised partners of conferencegoers lunches of prawns and chablis.

MORE SIMPLICITY MORE EASE OF USE. MORE REVENUE. MORE THAN JUST WIFI. UPGRADE YOUR PASSENGERS TO IN-FLIGHT CONNECTIVITY BY DEUTSCHE TELEKOM. Offer your passengers the ‘priority lane’ of in-flight connectivity – so they can enjoy in-flight WiFi as easily as on the ground.

It takes as little as one click for passengers to log-on via our app or portal. With our smart Hotspot 2.0 feature, it’s even a seamless zero-click log-on. All of our connectivity options easily integrate with your existing on-board solutions and booking channels for effortless monetization. Increase WiFi take rates by allowing your passengers to buy before flying! We even have a ready-made voucher shop system you can plug straight into your own booking flow. Of course, there is also a state-of-the-art API if you want to carry out your own implementation.

Upgrade your passenger experience to an entirely new level: With Deutsche Telekom’s in-flight services.

To find out all the details, visit inflight.telekom.net

#morethanjustWiFi

MASTHEAD

Featured Contributors is chief consultant for Content and Media Strategy at Lufthansa Systems. He has over 40 years of experience in IFE, passenger experience technology and non-theatrical content distribution. He is an APEX board member and chair of the Technology Committee.

He was awarded the association's Outstanding Contribution Award in 2013.

volume 9, edition 4 september – october 2019

APEX Experience Magazine

MICHAEL CHILDERS

Michael imparts his knowlege about APEX's evolution in "A Flying Start" on page 68.

Sue recalls the 2001 WAEA conference in "Close to Home" on page 106.

SUE PINFOLD has over 30 years of experience in the airline industry and is executive vice-president of In-Flight Entertainment at Spafax, leading the company’s IFE teams at various service levels. She was previously a WAEA board member and was awarded the association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

575 Anton Blvd, Ste 1020 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 +1 714 363 4900 Publisher EVP, Spafax, USA

Al St. Germain al.stgermain@spafax.com COVER BY ROMUALDO FAURA

EDITORIAL

PRODUCTION

Director

Director of Project Delivery

Maryann Simson maryann.simson@apexmedia.aero

Managing Editor

Caroline Ku caroline.ku@apexmedia.aero

Deputy Editor

Valerie Silva valerie.silva@apexmedia.aero

Digital Editor

Kristina Velan kristina.velan@apexmedia.aero

News Editor

Mary discusses female association leadership in "Women on Board" on page 100.

MARY ROGOZINSKI is a consultant on customer experience within the airline IFE and connectivity industries. She has been an APEX board member and continues to collaborate with the association management team. She has worked for SmartSky Networks, Gogo and United Airlines in the past.

is an IFE consultant and a member of APEX’s Technology Committee. He co-founded Airshow, the first moving map in IFE, and Lumexis, the first fiber-optic network for IFE, and was FTS Technologies' CTO in the past.

He was awarded the association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.

RICH SALTER

Rich shares stories of conference networking in "Social Club" on page 90.

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Alain Briard

Production Manager

Felipe Batista Nunes felipe.batistanunes@apexmedia.aero

Copy Editor

Christopher Korchin

Fact Checker Tara Dupuis

Proofreaders

Katie Moore Robert Ronald

Ari Magnusson ari.magnusson@apexmedia.aero

ADVERTISING

Contributor and Special Projects Manager

Steve O’Connor steve.oconnor@apexmedia.aero +44 207 906 2077

Stephanie Taylor stephanie.taylor@apexmedia.aero

Research Assistant Ella Ponomarov

Portfolio Director

Ad Production Manager Mary Shaw mary.shaw@spafax.com

Contributors

Allison Ausband, Fergus Baird, Marisa Garcia, Jasmin Legatos, Seth Miller, Katie Sehl, Paul Sillers, Howard Slutsken

ART

Senior Vice-President, Product, Bookmark Arjun Basu

Art Director

Nicolás Venturelli nicolas.venturelli@apexmedia.aero

Graphic Designer

Chief Client Officer Raymond Girard

Angélica Geisse

Contributors

Xavier Ansart, Jorge De la Paz, Gabriel Ebensperger, Romualdo Faura, Jason Hales, Bárbara Malagoli, Sergio Membrillas, Harry Richards, Joke Schut, Felipe Vargas

FSC-FPO

CONNECTIVITY REINVENTED Delivering the high-speed Wi-Fi today’s travelers demand and the performance passengers crave. Score a win for everyone.

The Best User Experience • smartskynetworks.com • 800.660.9982 © SmartSky Networks, LLC 2019. All Rights reserved.

Join us at APEX 2019, booth 1317.

S I M P LY C O N N E CTED

The passenger experience is your focus. It’s ours, too.

To her, the best trip is the least eventful. She doesn’t know Collins Aerospace technology made her Wi-Fi® experience seamless. And she doesn’t need to know our name. Just yours.

See how simply connected your airline can be.

C A B I N C O N N ECT S M • Global broadband connectivity • Applications and value-added services • Wireless IFE for today and tomorrow

collinsaerospace.com/simplyconnected

© 2019 Collins Aerospace, a United Technologies company. All rights reserved.

UTC Aerospace Systems and Rockwell Collins are now Collins Aerospace.

WELCOME

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Escalator to the largest indoor waterfall in the world at Changi Airport’s Jewel.

Up Next: APEX Asia Content Market

APEX Asia Content Market will debut at FTE-APEX Asia Expo, taking place at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore, 12–13 November. Created in response to growing regional demands, the show gives content providers from around the world added exposure to the more than 100 airlines that are expected to attend. For more information, visit futuretravelexperience.com/fteasia.

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APEX ASKS

“We would like to learn more about the timeframe for when scientifically proven solutions for reducing jetlag – such as cabin lighting, air quality systems and onboard catering – will become standard on board aircraft. Besides that, it would be interesting to learn how airlines are willing to further personalize the passenger experience. We have seen different developments to fulfill the future needs of passengers, but they are still too expensive and/or complicated for airlines to implement to become standard on board.”

“I’d like to learn more about the new ways passengers wish to be entertained during their flight. On the ground, passenger behaviors and expectations are evolving faster than ever. There are so many approaches and possibilities for flight that can be imagined; now we just need to transform them into real-life experiences.”

AGNÈS DEBAINS, CO-FOUNDER AND VP PRODUCT AND MARKETING, AIRFREE

DR. ACHIM LEDER, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, JETLITE

“We believe that a continuous learning process is of vital importance in our industry. Our business is based on education innovation, so we constantly inquire about what academic research has been done with regard to flight attendant training, methodologies and other tools.”

EUGENIO M. PIMENTEL, CEO, FLIGHT CENTER

“It’s always interesting to me how an airline comes around to make a decision regarding the interior of an aircraft – the seats, the configuration, the color schemes.

So many options to choose from and the variations seem endless!

So much consideration must go into each of these decisions, but it sure is great to land in a seat where it feels as though they succeeded in making the right ones!”

CATHIE TROTTA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PENNY BLACK MEDIA

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What part of the airline passenger experience industry do you want to learn more about?

Being part of an association means more opportunities to learn about different segments of the passenger experience business. APEX members say where they see the most potential for information sharing.

ILLUSTRATION BY FELIPE VARGAS

“I would love to hear more from the studios; I believe their insights into the future of entertainment and how we will be consuming it will offer a unique perspective. The entertainment industry is rapidly changing, with new streaming platforms, a consolidation of players and a shift in the types of stories we see on screen. So, what are the studios investing in, and do they see a change for in flight?”

MITCH TERRY, GROUP GENERAL MANAGER, STELLAR ENTERTAINMENT

“Airlines have begun to make significant investments to expand and improve their in-flight connectivity (IFC) offering, so passengers can have access to Internet content. Surveys show that passengers want to see improvements to these services.

Yet there is little quantified data on how well IFC works and how much it improves after an upgrade.”

RICH EVANS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NETFORECAST

COMFORT

Socializing is key to the Ultraflex cabin concept, but there’s desk space for working, too.

Business travelers could soon benefit from innovative concepts that address the ergonomic challenges associated with getting work done at altitude.

BY PAUL SILLERS

However sumptuous premium suites are when flying ultra long-haul, the temptation to emerge from the cocoon, network with fellow travelers and work in the vicinity of others in an age of shared workspaces persists. Stretching one’s legs is a step in the right direction in terms of alleviating muscle tension and promoting good blood circulation on longer flights, but working in a shared cabin zone presents privacy issues for businesspeople handling sensitive information.

It’s a conundrum that AIM Altitude has sought to address with its Ultraflex cabin concept: “We’ve been looking at how to introduce a walled-off working area where you have privacy,” explains Ross Burns, group lead industrial designer at AIM Altitude. The company realized there was an opportunity to enable 32

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passengers to work discreetly in a shared cabin environment while simultaneously allowing for some light exercise.

Ultraflex builds on AIM’s expertise in engineering the social zones of Emirates’ Airbus A380s, Qatar Airways’ A380s and Virgin Atlantic’s A330s, and offers a “multifunctional destination area where passengers move around, interacting with activities and each other, to alleviate boredom and aid well-being,” according to the company website.

But that doesn’t mean working up a sweat: “It’s not going to be a gym, although we were aware that Qatar and Emirates were promoting yoga on their IFE [in-flight entertainment]. We were thinking how to introduce light exercises to get the blood flowing by having an area where you carry on working while your

body exercises in the background.” AIM’s solution offers outboard-facing work cubicles equipped with cranks, pedals, muscle rollers and resistance pads which, Burns says, help “blood flow through calves and keep your lower body moving – it’s all about motion and circulation.”

In a separate project, Crystal Cabin Award-winning design student Sahngseok Lee of Hongik University, in Seoul, came up with the “1FA” (one for all) concept, sponsored by Adient Aerospace. “I got the idea from personal experience,” says Lee. “Working with my laptop in flight, I was concerned if anyone saw my screen.

Even with privacy screens in the latest business-class products, there’s still the risk of confidential-information leaks.

Also, when you want to discuss business with colleagues during a flight, you wouldn’t want anyone else to hear your conversation. Only a fully enclosed space resolves these issues.”

The 1FA concept reconciles the real estate constraints of premium economy with the potential for an enclosed room for face-to-face seating, making private

PHOTOS: AIM ALTITUDE; ADIENT AEROSPACE; TU DELFT

Work in Progress

COMFORT

“We aimed to bring office comforts to business passengers, enabling them to make the best use of their time, providing an activity-based environment optimized for working.”

1FA provides privacy for businesspeople and families.

CLÉMENT HEINEN, INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

business meetings a possibility. “If you want absolute privacy for family or work, with this premium economy compartment, two parents and two kids can fly in a fully enclosed bedroom, at the price of four economy seats,” says Lee. Another approach, the Stratus seat, a collaboration between Safran Seats and a TU Delft design team, offers the option of a standing position (in line with trending standing-desk workspaces) as well as zerogravity seating, to alleviate muscle fatigue and promote blood flow.

“We aimed to bring office comforts to the business-class cabin, enabling passengers to make the best use of their time – be it for work or rest,” says Clément Heinen, an industrial designer and former student at TU Delft, who was part of the team

that conceived the idea. Safran provided VR tools to visualize interactions, spatial qualities and dimensions, and the team based the Stratus seat on feedback gleaned from conversations with travelers at the departure hall of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. “After interviewing people who traveled for work, we found that although there’s plenty of time on long-haul flights, the context isn’t always suitable for working,” Heinen says. “We

tried to give business travelers the peace of mind that comes from knowing they’ll be able to get work done and arrive at their destination feeling well-prepared.”

Addressing privacy concerns, the cabin includes screens that, Heinen says, “switch between translucent and opaque.” During boarding, screens are clear, but in flight they can be made opaque. “We want to ensure business-class travelers get the privacy they need,” he adds.

Stratus has many modes, including zero-gravity seat and standing desk.

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ENTERTAINMENT

New Frontiers

One out of every two passengers checks the moving map during their flight, making it the most popular feature in the in-flight entertainment library.

That’s why companies like FlightPath3D, Gotham Studios, Lufthansa Technik, Panasonic Avionics and Wcities are vying to push the map’s boundaries with geotainment and monetization layers.

BY KATIE SEHL | ILLUSTRATION BY JORGE DE LA PAZ

Delight in the Details Passengers have long been able to track altitude, air speed, time zone and temperature data, and connected aircraft bring more personal and practical flight details aboard. FlightPath3D includes a Mecca Pointer, so that Muslim flyers know which way to face for prayer. Wcities content is offered in 27 languages, from Slovenian to Spanish. And Panasonic Avionics’ Arc platform greets travelers by name and lets them peruse their flight history and save preferences for future flights. Those with tight transfers can check gate arrival time and connection details, while those dashing off to meetings can take points-of-interest to go in the airline’s companion app.

Interactive UX

A Different View

Gone are the days of idly watching a pixelated plane inch frameby-frame along its flight path.

Travelers can now pinch, zoom, pan, tilt, rotate and scroll through ultra high-definition interfaces – whether on personal device-based web portals, seatback screens or handsets. Collins Aerospace’s Airshow mobile app, for example, transforms personal devices into portals to the world beyond the cabin. Spire-hopping over a 3-D cityscape of Prague and aerial reconnaissance of Mount Kilimanjaro’s topography are now closer than ever before to a passenger’s fingertips.

No window seat, no problem thanks to maps that offer a range of popular vantage points.

Lufthansa Technik’s “niceview” map allows the cockpit visits of yesteryear to be substituted with virtual tours, augmented with on-screen flight data and gadgetry. FlightPath3D allows passengers to choose from among 2-D map views, themed maps, 360-degree panoramas or other customizable map modes, and the company’s Where We Fly feature displays an airline’s route network in a bid to secure additional bookings. Travelers considering an upgrade can also spy on premium cabin interiors before they buy.

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Entertaining Touchpoints Pinpoints have been transformed into starting points for rich geotainment experiences, bringing passengers to thousands of destinations with news, guides, slideshows, trivia and even geotriggered radio shows. Imagine, as Gotham Studios has, celebs leading passengers on guided audio tours of their flight. Walk travelers through destination highlights via Panasonic Avionics’ influencer-driven discovery tool, or FlightPath3D’s social-mediaapproved Favorite Places lists.

Book last-minute tickets to Céline Dion on the fly with Wcities’ up-to-date event guides.

Purchasing Power High viewership makes in-flight maps prime real estate for ads, but that terrain has yet to be exploited. Integration with advertising and analytics platforms, such as Panasonic Avionics’ NEXT Cloud infrastructure, makes it easier for airlines to make relevant, time-sensitive offers during the flight. For instance, if a traveler insists on poking around the Caribbean despite being bound for Edmonton, they may be more keen on tropical deals and Bermuda shorts than first gleaned. Passenger information can also inform strategic partnerships, such as FlightPath3D’s deal with Uber, which allows passengers to plan and schedule their airport ride.

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SERVICES

Japanese airlines may have landed on the missing piece to better cabin crew communications.

BY FERGUS BAIRD

Interphones, passenger call buttons and hand signals work well for cabin communications, but All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) are looking to do better with new smart earpiece technology.

ANA is currently trialing the BONX Grip earpiece, which combines a proprietary earphone and app to allow free communication at any distance, in any environment connected to Wi-Fi. Currently, it’s being tested on ANA’s Airbus A380 flights, with plans for wider adoption.

“The device takes the place of the intercom in facilitating communication between flight attendants,” says Nao Gunji,

PR manager at ANA. “With an increased seating capacity of 520 on the A380 ‘Flying Honu,’ the device is a perfect tool for us to serve our passengers in an efficient manner.”

The BONX Grip is already helping ANA’s flight attendants provide more expedient, personalized service: “When cabin attendants are assisting passengers with their luggage when there is no overhead bin space left, or fielding inquiries about duty-free shopping items, previously they had to walk up to the intercom and communicate with others,” says Gunji. “Now, with the BONX Grip, they can speak to each other on the spot without leaving the passengers.”

JAL has been trialing the Sony Mobile Xperia Ear Duo, a wireless open-ear headset, since April 2018. Like the BONX Grip, this headset allows JAL’s cabin crew to communicate in real time during flight, empowering them to provide extraattentive customer service.

Smart earpieces for flight attendants are replacing conversations over the intercom.

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Akira Mitsumasu, vice-president of Global Marketing at JAL and APEX board member, reveals that the airline is also developing a new system, called JAL Sky Concierge, to facilitate information sharing across multiple points of the journey. “The concept allows staff at different touchpoints to share information. For example, a check-in agent can inform the cabin crew that a certain passenger complained about his previous flight so that the crew can be aware of the situation,” Mitsumasu says. “The system also incorporates other functions such as a 360-degree customer view, which would allow us to personalize service offerings.”

Mitsumasu notes that advances in technology can’t solve every communication issue, which is why the airline’s crew is trained to cultivate their tacit knowledge, thereby reducing the need to communicate explicitly. “A nod of the head could sufficiently signal a task request to a fellow crewmember without having to rely on a digital device,” he says. “Crewmembers use tacit knowledge to obtain a mutual understanding about coordinated tasks, to anticipate the actions of other crewmembers and to assist one another. It is this delicate human touch combined with technology that we strive to excel at.”

PHOTOS: SONY; BONX

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CONNECTIVITY

Down to the Route What good is global coverage for in-flight connectivity if it doesn’t distribute bandwidth where it’s most needed?

BY MARISA GARCIA | ILLUSTRATION BY BÁRBARA MALAGOLI

Passengers don’t really care whether an airline has in-flight Wi-Fi coverage over Greenland if they’re not flying over it. With this in mind, Aditya Chatterjee, senior vicepresident, Aero Market Segment Solutions at SES Networks, believes airlines may need to change the way they think about connectivity. Instead of pursuing regional, global coverage, he thinks they may want to focus on individual routes.

“If you look at a wide-body aircraft, it goes from country A to country B and makes the return trip to the original country several hours after that, day after day. That’s the business; that’s the enterprise,” he says. “An airline that has 200 wide-bodies has 200 small businesses.

An airline considers each of these businesses individually, and so a routewise approach makes even more sense.”

Using non-geosynchronous-orbit satellites (NGSOs), such as those that sit on a low-Earth orbit (LEO) or mediumEarth orbit (MEO), airlines could steer connectivity where they need it, when they need it. If an airline has a group of flights that depart from North America’s East Coast to Western Europe at around the same time, NGSOs with dynamicbeam capability could “follow” those aircraft across the transatlantic route and over hubs as they land, maximizing data-handling capacity.

SES’ first-generation constellation of 20 MEO satellites, O3b, was completed in April, but has been operating as a maritime connectivity solution for the past five years. “It’s a proven model, therefore our next-generation system is based on a proven business case,”

Chatterjee says, adding that what makes SES’ solution unique is that it will be the only operator to offer a geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO)/MEO service, operating in Ku- and Ka-bands.

By 2022, SES expects to have its second-generation MEO constellation, O3b mPower, up and running. The seven satellites of this constellation will integrate into the existing MEO infrastructure. “At that point, we will be introducing our aero services based on our GEO/MEO network,” Chatterjee says.

Although no other satellite provider offers SES’ particular solution, there are other GEO players that operate NGSOs, such as Telesat. It’s aiming to create a mesh network of approximately 200 initial LEO satellites around the world, with plans to cover the polar regions, says Erwin Hudson, vice-president, Telesat LEO, citing an “increasing interest in polar routes for flights between Asia and North America.” The operator also expects to have its LEO constellation in service by 2022. .

CATERING

Listen Up Social listening has emerged as a quantitative approach to discovering widespread changes in food preferences, and airlines are all ears.

BY KRISTINA VELAN ILLUSTRATION BY GABRIEL EBENSPERGER

Zhoug will be the next Sriracha, according to Alon Chen, CEO and co-founder of culinary trend analysis company Tastewise.

Not only was the Yemeni hot sauce mentioned more frequently in social media posts and on menus throughout the United States in 2018 compared to 2017, it also conforms with the prevalent keto and clean-eating diets, explained the former Google employee in a recent Forbes article.

Two-year-old Tastewise has access to the largest set of menu data in the US, in addition to social media data.

Using artificial intelligence (AI), it also analyzes images and mentions shared on social platforms to determine food and beverage trends – for instance, the use of refreshments for health benefits. “People may drink kombucha or kefir to improve their gut health, or add cannabidiol to their beverage to relax nerves,” Chen suggests.

Marriott International’s hotel restaurant and bar consultancy service, Pure Grey, is a customer, while some of its other clients produce and sell food and beverages to airlines, Chen divulges,

highlighting that the tool can segment frequent-traveler data.

Eurowings has been testing trendy in-flight food products since August of last year through an ongoing partnership with Metro’s NX-Food, which helps gastronomical startups bring concepts to market, and LSG Sky Chefs subsidiary Retail inMotion, which has been gathering customer feedback using social media and e-mail to determine which products performed best.

The most popular items were Wildcorn Mid Sommar (salted popcorn), Berwork (beef salami) and Bitebox Karamello Mandello (salted-caramel-flavored almonds), indicating that specialty snacks are in demand in flight, notes Claudia Witt, Retail inMotion’s product manager of Onboard Retail.

Gateretail, gategroup’s in-flight retail subsidiary, has also turned to AI-powered tools, using Black Swan Data’s Trendscope to develop healthy in-flight menu options, including non-alcoholic beer. “Because gategroup owns the supply chain, they’re

able to action changes, which our nonaviation customers are jealous to see,” says Steve King, CEO of Black Swan Data, which recently rebranded its aviation business as Fethr.

King acknowledges that food tastes different in the air than it does on the ground, and demographics vary by airline.

“It’s not as easy as knowing this will be a huge ingredient in six months, so let’s stick it on loads of planes,” he cautions.

Trendscope identifies food fads by crawling the Internet – including social media, travel-review websites and blogs.

“It can take up to three months to train the AI to understand the context of what it’s looking for. Then it can create millions of keyword sets,” King explains.

“We’re removing the risk for when smart people sometimes get it wrong in their predictions.”

But King doesn’t think machines should be left to their own devices.

“They’re pointless without humans who know how to use the data,” he says. “We are amazing things.”

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INDUSTRY

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Identity Crisis As facial-recognition technology becomes mainstream, public perception about the use of biometric verification is changing. How do travelers in Asia feel?

BY ARI MAGNUSSON

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will be the biggest driver of global air-passenger growth in the next 20 years, according to the International Air Transport Association.

One way that airports hope to ease the pressure on existing infrastructure and keep passengers flowing is the adoption of facial-recognition technology at various touchpoints such as check-in, boarding and passport control. Globally, SITA found that 77 percent of airports and 71 percent of airlines plan to invest in biometric facial recognition technology, with the APAC region leading the way.

Starting in the spring of next year, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, Narita International Airport will introduce “One ID,” a facial-recognition system that will allow passengers to board flights without presenting documents.

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facial-recognition security checks for flights boarding at Senai International Airport in Johor.

But as facial recognition is being embraced in Asia, critics in the West are raising alarms about how governments could use collected data. Testifying before United States Congress in May, Clare Garvie, a senior associate at Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology, said facial recognition presents “a unique threat to our civil rights and liberties.” In the same month, the city of San Francisco took the decision to ban the use of facial-recognition technology by police and other agencies.

78%

of APAC respondents said they are comfortable using biometric authentication today.

One reason is that studies have shown facial-recognition systems still produce high rates of false positives. “I’m very wary of facial-recognition technology. It has so many risks, and most of the time it’s taking place without people’s knowledge or consent,” says Ann Cavoukian, the former information and privacy commissioner of Ontario, Canada.

The government of Singapore was criticized by concerned citizens when it announced in April 2018 a plan to install 100,000 facial-recognition cameras on lampposts across the island city-state, including at Changi Airport, as part of its Smart Nation initiative. Steve Lee, the airport’s chief information officer, told Reuters last year that its experiments were not from a “big brother” perspective, but rather were intended for locating passengers who are lost or late for departing flights.

However, according to IBM’s “Future of Identity Report,” people in the APAC region appear to be less concerned about the technology. The report found those residents have the highest knowledge and comfort level in the world when it comes to using biometrics for identity authentication. Seventyeight percent of APAC respondents said they are comfortable using biometric authentication today, and 94 percent said they would be interested in using biometrics in the future.

PHOTO: JASON ORTEGO

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INDUSTRY

A Fine Balance Atlantic Airways is working to make the Faroe Islands a bigger blip on the tourism radar by leveraging viral video content, modernizing its fleet and interlining with other carriers to boost route connectivity – all with an eye to conservation.

BY PAUL SILLERS

The Faroe Islands, with a population of about 50,000, can fill its entire hotel capacity of 300 rooms with just one-and-a-half planeloads of passengers.

Even with camping and Airbnb options (plus plans to open a 130-room Hilton next year), publicizing the airline’s home destination has to be tempered with the need to preserve the islands’ unspoiled landscapes.

It’s also a challenge for an airline to promote its presence with a fleet of just four narrow-body aircraft while operating in the backyard of giant Nordic neighbors Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Icelandair, Norwegian Air and Finnair. The airline also employs a couple of helicopters for search-and-rescue missions and for access

to two of the Faroe’s 18 islands not yet connected by bridges and tunnels.

“We are very small and have a limited marketing budget, and it’s extremely tough to be in that big world,” says Jóhanna á Bergi, CEO of Atlantic Airways. But through codeshares with Air France–KLM, interline agreements with SAS and plans to work with others, Atlantic Airways is widening its network.

In a country so far off the beaten track that Google Street View had yet to visit in 2017, inhabitants launched a #wewantgooglestreetview campaign, equipping sheep with solar-powered 360-degree cameras to generate their own version of the ubiquitous online mapping tool.

Atlantic Airways CEO Jóhanna á Bergi will be speaking at APEX EXPO. Visit EXPO.APEX.AERO

for more info.

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PHOTOS: ATLANTIC AIRWAYS; VISIT FAROE ISLANDS

Sheep collected Google Street View images on the Faroe Islands, a project Atlantic Airways was part of.

INDUSTRY

“Google did not want to come to us – we were too small and not on the world map.

And then when we did this marketing campaign, they said, ‘Can we come to the Faroe Islands?’” says á Bergi.

This initiative was followed up by Faroe Islands Translate, an online alternative to its Google counterpart. The solution involved islanders volunteering to be available via smartphone to respond to live queries from visitors trying to learn some Faroese. “We did shifts. We made a big schedule with hundreds of people. I was on from six in the morning until noon, then somebody else took over. The islanders were very engaged,” says á Bergi, adding, “if we don’t get this on social media, then our language will die sooner or later.”

“Google did not want to come to us – we were too small.”

JÓHANNA Á BERGI, ATLANTIC AIRWAYS

The most recent campaign addresses the balance between encouraging tourism while being protective of the environment, with the prime minister declaring the islands “closed for maintenance, open for voluntourism” during the last weekend in April of this year. This entailed sights and attractions being closed off to regular tourists,

though volunteers from abroad were encouraged to come and work alongside locals to fix walking trails and fences in exchange for free food and lodging.

Underpinning all this promotional activity and to facilitate new flight routes, Atlantic Airways is upgrading its fleet with the Airbus A320neo, an aircraft that aligns with the airline’s ecological brand position: “The A320neo is 20 percent lower in fuel consumption, and that means that we can reach New York for the first time directly from the Faroe Islands. We hope to complete the first flight in September/ October this year,” says à Bergi. “And at the same time, we’re working very hard on changing all our catering packaging so everything is organic material.”

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PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

C-SUITE

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C-SUITE

Shai Weiss

Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Atlantic This year marks a new chapter in Virgin Atlantic’s 35-year history – one that recently minted CEO Shai Weiss says will bring profit back to the airline.

BY JASMIN LEGATOS

T

here’s a lot riding on the word “velocity” for Virgin Atlantic and its CEO, Shai Weiss, who took over the top job at the British carrier from predecessor Craig Kreeger in January. It’s a word that for him signals movement with direction, and that direction is growth. It’s also how Virgin Atlantic has branded its new three-year strategic plan, which launched at the same time Weiss began his chief executive duties. “Velocity is really harnessing the things that we have around us or assembled around us to create Virgin Atlantic for the future,” Weiss says.

A lot has happened to bring the long-haul carrier to this point. There’s the five-year-old joint venture with Delta Air Lines, which has a 49-percent stake in Virgin Atlantic. More recently, the European Commission approved the acquistion of flybe by Connect Airways, a consortium including Virgin Atlantic, that will help feed the airline’s hubs at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports while also allowing it to expand into the shorthaul European market. There are the new routes to places like Mumbai, Tel Aviv and São Paulo. And there’s the partnership with Air France-KLM that will transform Virgin Atlantic from a point-to-point carrier into one that helps passengers connect to more destinations than ever before through its network.

Weiss also points to the addition of 12 Airbus A350-1000s to its fleet – the plane is more fuelefficient and produces 30 percent less emissions than Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 747 contingent – as one more decision that will help the company achieve a return to profitability by 2021. (The company posted losses in both 2017 and 2018.) In June, the airline also announced an order for 14 Airbus A330-900neos, with options for six more.

And then there’s the Heathrow question and Virgin Atlantic’s desire to emerge as Britain’s second flag carrier. A third runway is slated to be completed at the international airport by 2026, and Virgin Atlantic is lobbying for a larger share of the slots than what might be allotted to it under the current system.

“Once this third runway is built at Heathrow, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create more competition that will benefit everyone. However, it is currently constrained by a slot-allocation regime that will benefit the incumbent. We believe that needs to change, and that change will create a thriving second flag carrier,” says Weiss.

All this change, this movement with direction, he believes will help Virgin Atlantic attain another of its recent goals: to be the most loved travel company in the United Kingdom. “You cannot be the most loved if you don’t take care of customers, if you don’t show up with the best planes, are not on time and don’t provide the best customer service. Love is what fuels our engine,” he says.

LEADING WITH KNOWLEDGE

Though new to the role of CEO, Weiss isn’t new to Virgin Atlantic or to the Virgin brand. He joined the airline in 2014 as chief financial officer and was appointed chief commercial officer in 2017. Before that, he held various roles within the Virgin family: He was a partner at the Virgin Green Fund, which invested in renewable energy, and he helped steer the rebrand of broadband, cable and telephone provider NTL Telewest into what is now Virgin Media, as the company’s managing director. This experience, he says, will serve him well as Virgin Atlantic brings flybe into the Virgin ecosystem. >

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Shai Weiss with crewmembers at the unveiling of Virgin Atlantic’s new A350 in April this year.

Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss will be speaking at APEX EXPO. Visit EXPO.APEX.AERO for more info.

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“It starts with the people who work there. When you give them license to work under the Virgin umbrella, they really go to new heights.”

LIVING UP TO REPUTATION

As the company grows and changes, most significantly with the acquisition of flybe, it isn’t cutting back on service. While a 55-minute flight (the average duration of a flybe trip) won’t offer lie-flat beds and a three-course meal, it will offer the safety, security, reliability and on-time performance passengers have come to expect from the Virgin Atlantic brand, Weiss says: “There’s no growing into that expectation; it is immediate, as it should be.”

He also emphasizes that the airline’s expanded joint venture with Delta and new tie-up with Air France-KLM will mean perks, such as reciprocal earn-and-burn loyalty programs and elite status for clients. “Bottom line, there’s a tremendous amount of synergies from this type of cooperation,” he adds.

There are detractors who might view Delta’s stake in the company, as well as this more recent deal with Air France-KLM, as a sign that Virgin Atlantic is not long for this world. But Weiss discounts those claims.

“The people who bought into Virgin Atlantic bought it not to rebrand it into something else or to consume it.

They bought it for the excellent company that we are, and the company that we keep.”

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

“I know how exciting a rebrand is for the employees and how customers see it. And I’m bringing that knowledge of what we can do with a company and how to bring the Virgin magic to it. It starts with the people who work there. When you give them license to work under the Virgin umbrella, they really go to new heights,” he adds.

As CFO and CCO, Weiss’ concerns were more contained. Now, as CEO, his focus is on the entire company. The magnitude of that responsibility is what he’s found surprising in the months since starting at the helm of the airline. “I’m in charge of the well-being, safety and security of 5.5 million passengers and 10,000 employees day in and day out; it’s not that I’m not ready for the responsibility, but the broadness of that responsibility is big.”

Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way. “As a leader, the intellectual interest in running an airline is second to none. We are recipients of all the external factors that we do not control, and still have so much in our control.”

To that end, Weiss says the company religiously measures its net promoter score by flight and by direction, which means if a passenger reports being unsatisfied on an outbound journey, Virgin can capture that and seed it to the crew on the inbound flight. “It might be something that you think is not meaningful. Maybe you didn’t like the way we greeted you. Shouldn’t we then go out of our way to be nice to you, to rectify that? The opportunities are endless,” he posits.

Improved connectivity between the ground and the plane, data collection and insights will help Virgin Atlantic in its quest to keep customers happy, Weiss says. Connectivity has always been important to the

airline – it was the first European carrier to boast fleetwide Wi-Fi, and it is putting Bluetooth on its A350s. But the increased ability to troubleshoot with the ground when there’s an issue with a connecting flight, for instance, means it’ll be better able to redirect customers when necessary.

When it comes to the future of in-flight entertainment, unsurprisingly Weiss is on board with the idea of a seamless experience from lounge to cabin, from smartphone to seatback screen. “How cool would it be that you start watching a film on your device in the clubhouse, and when you’re on the plane, you’re connected to the same system? You would have curated your content with us and through us,” he says.

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WIRELESS

Light Show The first airborne Li-Fi-enabled data network is set to fly this fall, bringing even greater competition to the onboard connectivity space.

ILLUSTRATION: ANGÉLICA GEISSE

BY SETH MILLER

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“

L

et there be light!” Air France seems to be saying with its new Li-Fi-based in-flight entertainment (IFE) solution.

In September, the airline will become the first to operate a commercial flight with a light-based data network, with the installation of hardware from Latécoère Group on an Airbus A321.

The system will offer multimedia data throughput that the carrier says could soon be 100 times faster than existing Wi-Fi systems.

Demonstrations of Li-Fi capabilities on the ground are just a few years old, but the technology is advancing rapidly with aims to best Wi-Fi on weight, reliability and cost, in addition to performance.

Testing in the controlled environment of a mock-up cabin is relatively easy though – transitioning that to a flying aircraft is more difficult. But Latécoère and Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance say it’s possible. After all, the certification process is far simpler than that needed for traditional Wi-Fi systems.

To implement this new solution, a plastic shell containing the Li-Fi modem transceiver and a user-facing tablet is slid over existing headrests and is connected to in-seat power, minimizing the wiring necessary to bring the kit on board.

Meanwhile, the access point sits in the

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Li-Fi access point (above) and transmitter and receiver (below).

“It is only natural that Air France is investing in innovative solutions that will provide new experiences for our customers in a few years’ time.”

ANTOINE LABORDE, AIR FRANCE

overhead passenger service unit (PSU) console, with the transceiver connected to a headend via fiber-optic cables. Each seat has its own data flow, allowing for dedicated bandwidth to the displays.

By using fiber and not heavier copper wiring, the system saves significant weight over a traditional Wi-Fi or embedded IFE installation, according to Serge Bérenger, Latécoère’s SVP Innovation and R&T. At the same time, Bérenger notes, Li-Fi can integrate into existing cabin network infrastructure, offering the same interface as traditional Wi-Fi systems.

To demonstrate the capabilities of the Li-Fi system, Air France and Latécoère have chosen an activity that requires high transmission speeds. In partnership with video game company Ubisoft, the airline will host an esports tournament in flight.

The Li-Fi-powered gaming experience of TrackMania was previewed in a mock cabin at the Paris Air Show in June. Early stages of the official competition took place a few weeks later on the ground, but the final elimination rounds are slated to be played in the sky in September.

Antoine Laborde, Air France’s head of Innovation, is keen to see how the trial plays out, noting the potential future implications: “In-flight entertainment is a cornerstone of Air France’s onboard experience, and so it is only natural that

PHOTOS: LATÉCOÈRE

WIRELESS

WIRELESS

Air France is investing in innovative solutions that will provide new experiences for our customers in a few years’ time.”

COMPANY’S COMING

IMAGES: MAXIM SERGIENKO; LATÉCOÈRE; EDUARDO LEBLANC (INFOGRAPHIC)

Latécoère isn’t the only vendor working in the Li-Fi space, nor is in-seat entertainment the only market for the solution. Astronics Product Development Technologies (PDT) is also working with the technology to find practical applications that benefit industry stakeholders. At this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, the company demonstrated a concept for IFE data loading that aims to replace the “sneakernet” solution still used so often today.

With the Astronics concept, a Li-Fi transceiver installed in an aircraft’s cargo area is able to transmit data while it is parked at the gate. A second transceiver is installed either permanently at the gate or, to bring more flexibility, on a belt loader or other ground-service vehicle. Some manual effort remains in this scenario, but it dramatically reduces aircraft touch time for technicians during data updates.

One significant advantage of the Li-Fi option for data transfer is that technicians can literally see the movement. Nick Cucci, head of Business Development, Astronics PDT, describes it as “hyperfast Morse code” that can be delivered using the same LED light that is already in the PSU console for passengers. But onboard Li-Fi systems will likely operate with infrared light so as not to disturb passengers. In an external-use case, however, a visible light spectrum could be very useful. Seeing the Li-Fi light turned on would allow a ramp driver to ensure data loading is occurring while bags are being handled, for example.

Li-Fi signals cannot traverse walls and other surfaces, meaning a direct line of sight is needed for the technology to work at an optimal rate. While this arrangement may be a challenge for personal electronic devices (PEDs) due to free movement and obstacles in an aircraft cabin, Cucci notes, it’s an advantage for bulk data loading or gate links. “Given Li-Fi’s really high speeds and directionality – and it being less susceptible to hacking – you could download a terabyte of [stored content] to the plane and offload all the smart aircraft information in seconds.” >

From top to bottom: Li-Fi demonstrations from Astronics, Latécoère and aeroLiFi.

Illuminating Data Transfers

Li-fi access points in the overhead PSU provide wireless access to the local network. The LEDs in the lighting fixture generate the downstream, which is received by sensors in the devices, and transmitting units (IR diodes) send the upstream to the access points.

Source: aeroLiFi

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Since Li-Fi data transmission requires a much shorter range than Wi-Fi and is less vulnerable to interception, it is a strong player for more important data channels such as flight-deck services. As Birger Timm, managing director of LED Lighting Systems at aeroLiFi, a German company betting that Li-Fi is the next frontier of inflight connectivity, notes, “You have to get between the light source and the receiver. In an aircraft, that effectively means you need to be sitting on someone’s knee, and that’s very noticeable. In fact, Li-Fi is so secure that it is already being looked at for use in the cockpit for flight-critical applications.”

“Li-Fi is so secure that it is already being looked at for use in the cockpit for flight-critical applications.”

BIRGER TIMM, AEROLIFI

ANY DAY NOW

While Air France’s announcement is promising, proponents of Li-Fi solutions are not slowing down to celebrate. Rather, they are focused on continuing at the same brisk pace to further develop systems they’ve been working on in recent years. In early 2018, Li-Fi systems offered speeds in the 10– 50 Mbps range. Today’s models are capable of 100 Mbps, and in the coming months, speeds of multiple gigabits per second are expected. Moreover, the technology is being encoded onto custom microchips, keeping costs, size and power consumption down, even as newer models continue to shrink.

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A Li-Fi dongle from Astronics.

Wi-Fi providers can deliver connectivity throughout a space because radio waves do not require a line of sight. A single Li-Fi access point cannot deliver that same coverage, but a network of lights can get very close. Connect reading lights with an LED ceiling panel, for example, and the ability to keep a device connected via Li-Fi as it moves throughout the cabin would

expand significantly. With such lighting panels under development by companies like Safran and Collins Aerospace, this idea could fly soon.

As Li-Fi hardware evolves, one can expect shrinking systems and higher bandwidth, such that it could be included in personal devices rather than only in custom seat mounts or external dongles.

When this comes into play, Latécoère’s Bérenger anticipates delivering entertainment and connectivity not only to seatbacks but also to PEDs. Cucci is similarly expecting Li-Fi hardware to sit alongside a Wi-Fi modem in a device. He describes the disappearance of the dongle as an eventual goal.

Bérenger believes that the push for 5G network performance will help the industry adopt Li-Fi technology. “The objective of 5G is to guarantee a quality of service as opposed to 4G, which is a promise of bandwidth. It will be absolutely essential for a PED to be always connected to an access point, and the modems are already very close to each other in technology,” he says. “The next generation of PEDs will be Li-Fi-ready because it is necessary for 5G, and once they are, we can take full advantage of this infrastructure with no changes on board.”

PHOTOS: LATÉCOÈRE; MAXIM SERGIENKO

WIRELESS

NOT ALL CARRY-ON IFE ARE CREATED EQUAL INTRODUCING SIERRA: THE CARRY-ON IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT POWERHOUSE

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multiple aircraft-powered units merged

enterprise-grade solutions, Sierra is

and Connectivity, Astronics is a proven,

into a single network, with Sierra, you

a uniquely robust solution.

dependable provider.

can scale to fit any need.

Stop by APEX booth 1429 to see the serious carry-on IFE solution.

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CONNEC TIVIT Y SOLUTIONS

DEMOGRAPHICS

BABY BOOM OR BUST Baby boomers are living longer than their parents, and most are wealthier than their kids are now. So how can the travel industry cater to this ageing, yet booming, demographic?

The answer is more millennial than you might think.

BY KATIE SEHL ILLUSTRATIONS BY SERGIO MEMBRILLAS

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DEMOGRAPHICS

P

Patti Smith was born in the inaugural year of the so-called baby boom, and she doesn’t like airport kiosks. “The girl behind the counter insisted I use the kiosk,” the punk poet laureate recalls in a travel anecdote in her memoir M Train. “I want a person to give me my boarding pass, but she insisted I type my information on a screen using the damn kiosk.” Agitated, she rummages for her reading glasses, only to be thwarted by a frozen screen and stymied by a paper jam. Cooling down on the tarmac later, she reflects: “Why did I want the girl to give me a boarding pass? ... It’s the 21st century; they do things differently now.”

She’s right. Instead of first-time customers at travel agencies, we are organic website visitors. Printed boarding passes sent by mail? How about ecofriendly e-tickets on the latest device.

Paper or plastic? Pay contactless: It’s frictionless and gluten-free. In fact, between biometrics and DIY kiosks, we like to keep things as contact-free as possible. Buttons? I don’t know her. We ditched BlackBerrys and Walkmans ages ago. But can you ask Alexa how long it will take to get to the airport? >

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DEMOGRAPHICS

We’ve been swept away with the efficiency promised by venture-fed disruption. We even gave disruption a positive connotation, so long as it offers seamlessness and optimizes every nanosecond of our lives. We all have the same number of hours in the day as Beyoncé, after all, and it’s important that our personal virtual assistants help us track them to the fullest. But as we’ve growth-hacked our way to air travel 4.0, is it possible that we’ve left the boomers – one of the bigger and richer demographics – in the silicon dust?

SENIORITY RULES

The short answer to the question is: not really. Baby boomers may have been born in the postwar years when handwritten letters and typewriters were the primary mode of communication and Winnebagos were a popular mode of transportation, but their aversion to airport kiosks hardly makes them Luddites. Born between 1946 and 1964, boomers came of age at the same time as the commercial airline business, and as the industry’s first full-fledged mass market, they’ve defined air travel for

decades. This generation has always taken to the skies, and as they enter their golden years controlling roughly 70 percent of US disposable income, they – at least those who can afford it – plan to continue to do so.

It can be hard to generalize across the 18-year span of boomers aged 55–73, but countless surveys and studies have noted certain commonalities and generational differences. In general, silver travelers are planning earlier than ever, and will book on desktop directly from an airline or hotel website. There’s a higher chance they’re in a loyalty program, which means they’re often looking for rewards or senior specials. They aren’t as influenced by social, but can be persuaded by TV personalities such as Rick Steves or Samantha Brown. Retired pensioners will travel longer, while semi-retired boomers will opt for shorter trips, since a blended bleisure trip is not really a thing for them.

They prefer paper boarding passes, and will likely pick a person over a machine if given the choice.

Findings like these prompted the AARP, a nonprofit organization for

Americans over 50 (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), to launch a travel website, aarp.org/travel, in 2014. Large type and a simple layout offer easy navigation around vacation ideas, travel tips, deals and membership benefits. Visitors can book flights, hotels, cars, cruises and attractions individually, but the default search is set to packages. Looking for inspiration? Why not try a summer camp for adults in Vermont, or take a low-stress trip to Disneyland with the grandkids? Featured prominently above the fold is a phone number. For calling.

Health is a top concern, and that can add to the stress encountered in the regular pressure points of travel.

“When traveling by air, a key concern is flight delays and missing connecting flights,” says Patty David, AARP’s director of Consumer Insights and Personal Fulfillment. “Boomers are also concerned about packing their carry-ons and having room for those bags. The reason for this concern most likely relates to the fear of losing their daily medications if they get separated from their bag,” she says. >

Mind the Gap

Generational divides are somewhat arbitrary, but here’s how Pew Research Center slices and dices the demos.

1920

1930

BABY BOOMERS

1940

1950

MILLENNIALS

Age: 55–73

Age: 23–38

1946–1964

1981–1996

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

1928–1945

1965–1980

1997–?

THE SILENT GENERATION

GENERATION X

GENERATION Z

Age: 39–54

Age: 22 and under

Age: 74–91

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In-Flight Entertainment & Services

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DEMOGRAPHICS

A recent YouGov poll found that Southwest Airlines ranks as the most popular airline among baby boomers in the United States, and Tony Roach, the airline’s senior director of Customer Experience, suspects that flexibility has something to do with the result. “We have some of the most flexible policies in the industry,” he says, citing the carrier’s policies of free checked luggage and no flight-change fees. “If healthcare needs require some flexibility when booking, I think we’re a great choice for any customer in that scenario because you have the assurance that we’re not going to charge you a fee to change your flight,” he says. “We think it’s right not to do so.”

Delta Air Lines, which ranked second in the poll, unveiled a related benefit this May called “Reclaim My Status.”

Like similar allowances offered by Alaska Airlines, Air Canada and Qantas, Delta’s

“People want friendly, reliable and lowcost service. While that may skew to millennials in some cases, it also skews to baby boomers.”

TONY ROACH, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

policy allows members of its Medallion loyalty program to put their status on a parental pause when they have a child. But more notably, Delta also allows members to put their elite status on hold in the event of illness, injury, family care or other major life occurrences – a benefit that could be of particular interest to boomers.

THE BOOMERANG EFFECT

While often pitted against each other, millennials and boomers have a lot in common. For instance, boomers say they don’t have plans to retire, and millennials say they don’t have retirement plans.

Same same, but different. All jokes aside, it would do travel companies well to find common ground – as unlikely as it sometimes seems – across all age groups.

“We do a lot of studying about what consumers need, and there are a lot of universal things,” says Roach. >

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DEMOGRAPHICS

“People want friendly, reliable and lowcost service. While that may skew to millennials in some cases, it also skews to baby boomers.”

Even though these universal interests exist in consumers regardless of age demographic, there is a shift in goals between the younger generation and the boomers before them. A 2019 survey

by Deloitte finds that millennials now prioritize seeing the world ahead of achieving more traditional milestones, like buying a home or having children, likely the result of growing up in greater economic instability. This millennial sense of YOLO (you only live once) abandon happens to coincide with the AARP 2019 Boomer Travel Trends finding that graycationers are more keen to cross things off their travel bucket lists.

According to Andy Alpine, founder and co-publisher of Boomers Bucket List Travel, a website that helps travelers plan international adventures, bucket lists boomed in popularity after Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson starred in the 2007 movie called – what else? – The Bucket List. “When you’re a baby boomer

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Bucket List Kicks

A recent survey by senior-care service provider Provision Living found that 95 percent of Americans have a bucket list and place travel at the top of it, with an average of eight destinations included. Here are the countries that most often made the cut – but keep in mind that 21 percent of respondents change their list at least once a month.

1. Australia 2. Italy 3. Ireland 4. Japan 5. United Kingdom 6. France 7. Greece 8. Bahamas 9. Egypt 10. Germany

and you’ve grown up in this generation, chances are you’ve made your Europe trip already, or done some travel,” he says. “But now you want to go back and go deeper.” These deeper experiences are often ultimate extensions of lifelong passions. A trekker may have their sights set on the Mount Everest base camp, while a fly-fisher will be angling to catch rainbow trout in Kamchatka, Siberia. For others, a bucket list trip means doing something completely out of character.

“Bucket list means what you want to do before you die, before you kick the bucket,” says Alpine. “But I think it’s what you want to do when you are still healthy and can enjoy things.” Hiking, biking, trekking and wine tasting are at the top of many lists, with multigenerational and wellness travel rising the ranks, he says.

As for destinations, Machu Picchu, Venice and the Galápagos Islands come up often.

Ultimately, travel companies aiming to please platinum pensioners and their kin should treat every customer, young or old, like they’re on a meaningful journey. As the old saying goes, life’s too short to be held up by an airport kiosk paper jam.

WELCOMES

ď‚Œ

Visit: apex.aero/directory

As an APEX Member, gain instant access to the most exclusive airline industry directory today! *New Member inclusion is based on the time between 17 April 2019 and 11 July 2019 and the members who provided logos.

ANNIVERSARY

68 A Flying Start The positive turnout of the very first conference led to the beginnings of this association.

77 Still Counting Forty success stories from the passenger experience industry.

90 Social Club Conducting meetings in hotel rooms or poolside were not unusual – in the early days.

98 ’Til Death Do Us Part Your after-hour party stories, retold, anonymously.

100 Women on Board

112 On the Record

Meet the women who have overseen the association and its events over the years.

Photos from the APEX archives.

106 Close to Home When the WAEA conference coincided with 9/11.

121 The New School Our industry’s future needs fresh ideas and minds like these.

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ORIGINS

1 9 7 9

Throughout its evolution, the Airline Passenger Experience Association has stayed in step with the industry by learning from its past while keeping an eye on its future.

BY CAROLINE KU

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S

ince the very first industrywide gathering of professionals whose job it was to put entertainment on aircraft, the goal has been to bring together airlines and vendors from around the world to discuss collective challenges. The idea came up over lunch at Scandia, in West Hollywood, in 1978. Claus Jensen of Thai Airways International was telling Cindy Tarver and Bill Stewart of Billboard Music In The Air about the need for a forum to discuss emerging in-flight entertainment (IFE) software and hardware solutions, and perhaps form an association, too.

“There was no way for the people in in-flight entertainment to get together.

There was no forum for it. And so we decided: Wouldn’t it be smarter if we … had an annual get-together, and … exchanged ideas, for the improvement of our industry,” Jensen said in a 1983 issue of the Airline Entertainment Association (AEA) newsletter. Could the association then commission committees to tackle technical issues and publish a newsletter to keep members up to date on those topics? Tarver started thinking. Billboard had just sponsored and produced a series of music-related meetings. Perhaps her

PHOTOS: APEX ARCHIVES

A Flying Start

ORIGINS

2 0 1 9

Much has changed over the association’s 40 years!

company could be convinced to sponsor and produce a convention related to IFE? She was right. So was the timing.

SETTING THE SCENE

Besides the need for IFE folks to meet, there was another catalyst that led to the formation of the association. Riding on the success of an ingenious 8mm cassette-based IFE system that would play on loop and fit conveniently inside a baggage bin, Trans Com, along with some movie studios, entertainment distributors and duplicators, had been hosting an annual, invite-only junket to wine and dine airline representatives. This made them the envy of competitors, especially of Inflight Services and Bell & Howell, which were the other major IFE hardware suppliers of the day. “The competitors started looking at this and thought, ‘Trans Com is stealing our

thunder. We need to do something.’ That’s when AEA started – and Trans Com was not invited,” says Jim Snyder, who was with Trans Com (which was acquired by Sony before being absorbed by Rockwell Collins, which is now called Collins Aerospace) and sat on the WAEA Board of Directors from 1995 to 2006.

And so it was decided that Palm Springs, the classic desert getaway of Hollywood A-listers, would be the setting for the first conference on March 18–21, 1979.

Speakers from airlines and vendors were drafted for discussion panels, and word about the event traveled by snail mail.

That year, about 150 attendees showed up at the International Hotel Resort, including 26 airline representatives and more than 50 vendor companies. The city, however, was hit with unusually cold temperatures that week, putting a wet blanket on the outdoor events. Still, “That first 1979 conference was an outstanding success,” recalled late Avion magazine editor and publisher John N. White, in an article about the early days of the event. He went on to suggest that the atypical weather may even have contributed to casual conversation, resulting in camaraderie among attendees. >

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In 2018, 81% of US digital video advertising spend was via the programmatic marketplace. eMarketer

The Inadvia Advertising Platform connects IFEC with the global digital advertising marketplace. Access to more brands and a wider range of advertising budgets, means more revenue to airlines.

Programmatic advertising for the online and offline cabin. Purpose-built for IFEC.

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ORIGINS

2011 2004 2003 2002 1996 Seattle 2015 Portland

Conferences in California 2019 Los Angeles 2014 2013 2000 Anaheim

Traveling Show 1995 Amsterdam 1999 Salt Lake City

1991 London 1989 Basel

1994 Montreal

2007 2018 Toronto Boston 1990 1997 1982 1992 1981 Orlando 1980 2006 Phoenix 1988 Miami 2009 1993 1986 1979 Palm Springs

2005 Hamburg 1985 Munich

2016 Singapore

Approximately

3/4

of conferences have taken place in the US. More than half have been located on the West Coast, and 14 in California.

2017 2012 1984 2010 1983 2008 San Diego Long Beach

“By the second day, there was a general consensus, and indeed a sense of excitement, that the event was a good thing and should be repeated,” says John McMahon, who’s now retired but was with Inflight Services at the time. He was at that first conference and joined the AEA board in 1982 for four years, before returning from 2006 to 2009 (by then he was with Atlas Air Film and Media).

There was also the fact that mixing the aviation and entertainment industries was still relatively new. “The airlines were in the transportation business, not show business, so this was alien territory,” he says. By the fourth day, “airline attendees met and decided that this meeting would be best served by becoming a nonprofit

The Airline Entertainment Conference takes place in Palm Springs in March.

2001 Brisbane 1998 Durban

organization … that no one vendor should sponsor the event,” Tarver said, in a 1987 issue of the association newsletter.

With some persuasion from airline delegates, including from White (as Snyder remebers), who was working for Delta Air

1979 PHOTOS: APEX ARCHIVES

Every location of the association’s annual conferences, from its evolution through AEA to WAEA to APEX.

Elected officers meet in the offices of John Doremus to develop the framework and bylaws of the AEA in November.

1982 A black-tie gala is added to the last day of the conference.

1987 Sydney

Lines at the time, Trans Com appeared at the conference in 1983 and put an end to its distributors’ conference in 1999. “In my opinion, the keystone to the success of the association was altruism,” says McMahon.

“Board members were instinctively competitive representatives of their own company, but quickly learned they needed to leave their company badges at the door if they were going to be successful in equally representing all members; and as this culture took hold, so did the credibility and stature of the association.”

In November 1979, a group of elected officers met in Chicago to develop the framework and bylaws of the AEA, and a plan was put in place to repeat the event the following year, in Phoenix. >

1985 The conference travels to Munich, its first location outside the US, and becomes the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA).

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CONFERENCE-GOING’S JET AGE

For the first several years, the conference maintained the same format. The most acceptable venues were hotel and resort properties that offered meeting rooms, accommodation and catering at affordable prices. Back then, exhibitors would set up a card table and folding chair outside their hotel room and put out pamphlets to promote their products and services.

“There were no official appointments,

there was no such thing as screenings, there was nowhere to put up any graphical information,” says Michael Childers of Lufthansa Systems, a current APEX board member and stalwart of APEX’s Tech Committee and TECH conference.

Fast-forward to 1985, and AEA is going through growing pains. There is talk of changing the association name to be more encompassing of other aviation sectors and giving it a more global focus.

Conference Attendance Numbers, 1997–2018 2018 Boston*

2017 Long Beach*

2016 Singapore*

2015 Portland*

2014 Anaheim*

2013 Anaheim*

2012 Long Beach

2011 Seattle

2010 Long Beach

2009 Palm Springs

2008 Long Beach

2007 Toronto

2006 Miami

2005 Hamburg

2004 Seattle

2003 Seattle

2002 Seattle

2001 Brisbane

2000 Anaheim

1999 Salt Lake City

1998 Durban

1997 Orlando

LEGEND

* Includes attendees from co-located shows, IFSA and/or AIX Americas

72

Total attendees Airline attendees

2,000 attendees

By that time, AEA had five conferences under its belt and “It became clear that the association was just a bit too American in character,” McMahon says.

“The opportunity to fix this came when international airlines showed interest in representation on the board of directors.”

In the spring of 1985, AEA president Georg Sahler, of Lufthansa, an avid woodsman and francophile who was 35 years old (21 when he joined the airline and proud to tout his youth), announced in a newsletter that AEA would become the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA). That same year, the conference traveled to its first destination outside the United States: Munich. Sahler explained, “Because we have achieved international standing as AEA, we all agreed that a dramatic and significant name change should be avoided.” This started a loose pattern of conferences that were hosted in the president’s hub city and supported by the airline they worked for. In 1987, David Peterson of Qantas took the conference to Sydney; in 1988, Judy Oldham of Pan Am took the conference to Miami; in 1989, Italo Poli of Swissair took the conference to Basel; in 1991, Mark Horton took the conference to London; and in 1998, Ruth Rosenbrock took the conference to Durban.

The association’s efforts to go international won over attendees, who, as much as they went to the conferences for business, enjoyed being plucked from their day-to-day office lives to participate in an all-expenses-paid trip abroad, where they drank, danced and ate with peers from around the world. But for the association, these trips abroad just didn’t pay off.

Conferences that remained in the US, and in particular Southern California,

1986

1987

1988

1989

A management company is hired to oversee the day-today running of the association.

The WAEA newsletter evolves into Avion magazine, with John N. White at its helm.

Distributor/exhibitor booths make their first appearance at the conference.

The Pioneer Awards are renamed Avion Awards.

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PHOTOS: APEX ARCHIVES

ORIGINS

ORIGINS

where many of the companies that booked large booth spaces were headquartered, were profitable; conferences that took place outside the country were not. To maintain some sort of international presence, it was decided that the conference would only travel abroad every few years. But there was little consistency to that plan.

BREAKOUT ACTOR

As for the exhibition, it grew from makeshift stands in a hotel hallway to filling an entire convention center.

Vendors brought booths that grew bigger in size and budget, and brighter, with lights, airline seats, computers, cabin mockups, tablets and high-tech demonstrations. The association had also outgrown its management, which for years was looked after by a sole, part-time administrative coordinator, John Hayes.

In 1986, Fontayne Group was hired to help raise WAEA’s profile. They were followed by SmithBucklin, Association Management Group and, since 2009, global management company Kellen.

Looking back at the various management handovers, White wrote, “Added professionalism, strategic planning,

This page, clockwise: an Airfone mascot, hard-wall exhibitor booths and a cabin mockup

membership surveys, member services, the spring workshops, the TV Market, standard-setting technology committees and more all represented great forward steps for the WAEA.” Around this time, Patrick Brannelly of Emirates, who had been on and off the board of directors since 1997, felt that in order for WAEA to stay relevant, it had to break away from the IFE clique and be more inclusive of the rest of the airline passenger experience industry – in particular of aircraft seating. (Prior to that, in the 1990s, the association had opened the conference up to duty-free vendors, but some members felt they were just taking up more of airline attendees’ precious time.) After Brannelly rejoined the board in 2008, he began pushing for the association to expand its membership and spearheaded its name change to reflect the new direction.

He succeeded in 2010, when the association was renamed Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX). Brannelly made the announcement at a WAEA

workshop focusing on aircraft seating, at an Airbus facility in Hamburg, which happened to be on the turf of Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), a conference that was becoming more visible on the exhibition circuit.

PUTTING A FACE TO THE NAME

These days, the air around the conference, now called APEX EXPO, is different: There’s an urgency to book appointments, pull together marketing materials and press releases and construct elaborate booths. “Back in the day, there was a lot more of everyone getting together, and there was a lot more cross-pollination between the different vendors and competitors,” says David Coiley, vice-president, Aviation, Inmarsat, who first attended the conference in 1993 and also participated on the APEX Technology Committee. “All of a sudden it just became extremely intense, hard work, with fewer opportunities to let your hair down and relax. I think everyone just got a lot more business-focused and was there to sell.” >

1993

2000

2006

The conference and exhibition segments merge under one roof.

TV Market is introduced after WAEA is gifted the conference, formerly called Inflight Productions Conference.

The black-tie gala comes to an end after this year’s conference.

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ORIGINS

APEX CEO Joe Leader

“I keep saying to Joe, ‘Do you know the meaning of the word overachieve?’

But he doesn’t.”

MICHAEL CHILDERS, LUFTHANSA SYSTEMS

changed that. At the time of printing, 13 airline CEOs are slated to be at APEX EXPO in Los Angeles this year, compared to five last year. “I keep saying to Joe, ‘Do you know the meaning of the word overachieve?’ But he doesn’t,” says Childers.

Over the past few years, APEX has worked and integrated with International Flight Services Association (IFSA), also managed

by Kellen and of which Leader is also CEO, and AIX (APEX promotes its event in Hamburg, and AIX holds an offshoot Americas conference at APEX EXPO).

APEX has also agreed to terms for the acquisition of Future Travel Experience (FTE), which will help the association maintain an international foothold through FTE’s regional Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia events. These initiatives have allowed APEX to have a presence in catering, cabin interiors, the airport and beyond, not to mention its work with the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, International Air Transport Association and others on the regulatory side.

Looking around at competing conferences, there are two things that distinguish APEX from the others, Childers says. “In-flight entertainment is still at our core, and nobody else focuses on content the way we do. And second, there is no other association in this space.

Nobody else creates content-delivery specs or best practices for how to measure the efficacy of connectivity on the aircraft.

Nobody else goes out to encourage what biometrics to use.”

Forty years ago, conference topics centered on music programing, making a case to manufacture decent headphones and modernizing IFE hardware. Now, the conferences have expanded to include sessions on passport-free travel, aerotropolises, 3-D printing and sustainability. Little did Jensen, Tarver or Stewart know what they were onto.

2010

2015

2019

WAEA rebrands as the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), and Avion becomes APEX Experience magazine.

APEX hires a CEO, Joe Leader.

APEX agrees to terms for the acquisition of Future Travel Experience.

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PHOTOS: APEX ARCHIVES

There was also external pressure coming from other events. A few years ago, some of the vendors were starting to see AIX, which launched in Cannes in 2000 but as of 2002 had relocated to Hamburg, as the event to go to. “APEX was starting to fall by the wayside,” Coiley says. But in 2015, APEX hired its first and current CEO, who made his debut at APEX EXPO in Portland. “Under Joe Leader, things are really building again … with the significant profile and attendance he has secured, the association is doing well.”

Leader, a proponent of personalization and biometrics, set out to put APEX on the global stage by giving the association a recognizable face. Ambitious and not camera-shy, Leader has upheld certain values in global discussions involving the airline industry on seat standards, the electronics ban and seatback cameras, bringing APEX to the attention of mainstream media, airlines, their executives and the aviation industry at large. The lack of an airline executive attendance at conferences used to be an issue for members, but Leader has

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MILESTONES

40

Still

Counting Landing on a genuinely good idea has been said to happen to one in a million – except if you’re an APEX member.

BY STEPHANIE TAYLOR

SUPPORTED BY

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MILESTONES

1

2

When Inmarsat

When Lumexis

In 1990, a business jet became the first aircraft to fly with mobile satellite services developed by Inmarsat. Fast-forward to today, and Inmarsat’s satellite communications are used by more than 200 airlines as well as jet operators and government agencies, and are installed on more than 90 percent of the world’s aircraft crossing oceans.

The introduction of Inmarsat’s satcom service extended the scope of existing datalink services used to communicate with air traffic control over the ocean for the first time, resulting in a reduction in aircraft separation standards, meaning three times more aircraft could fly in any given airspace. This contributed to the growth of the global economy, to which aviation is responsible for contributing $2.7 trillion and 65 million jobs.

Like all successes, Inmarsat’s satcom service had many contributors. Inmarsat began designing the solution in 1985 together with industry working groups including ARINC, the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) and ICAO’s Aeronautical Mobile Communications Panel (AMCP), before companies such as Ball Aerospace, Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace) and Racal Electronics (now Thales) started working to validate the technology in 1987. Manufacturing of the relevant antennas and avionics began in 1988.

As a result of this major collaboration, Inmarsat’s satellite communications service served as the basis for ICAO’s Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Service (AMSRS), which defined standards for all future air navigation services. These standards covered operational performance as well as the required function of avionics. Inmarsat satcom ultimately became a key component of ICAO’s Future Air Navigation System (FANS) report published in 1988, for which Inmarsat helped the AMCP create Standards and Recommended Practices.

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INTRODUCED FIBER-TOTHE-SCREEN

In 2009, Lumexis Corporation’s Fiber-To-The-Screen (FTTS) system took off on board an Airbus A320 aircraft as part of a test flight operated by US Airways.

It marked the first time a fiber-optic network was used to deliver in-flight entertainment (IFE) to a seatback screen.

Lou Sharkey, who served as president and chief operations officer at Lumexis until its dissolution in 2016, explained that the benefits of FTTS were manifold. “FTTS offered heretofore unheard-of bandwidth. It allowed 500-plus passengers to stream high-definition movies on a Boeing 747,” he commented. “This effectively future-proofed the IFE system, since airlines could upgrade the system using the fiber network installed without ripping out wires and replacing them.”

FTTS was the first new IFE system in over 15 years to be certified and linefit-approved by Boeing on its 737-800 and 737 MAX aircraft. Flydubai installed FTTS on over 40 of its 737 aircraft, and “they reported that the system was completely paid for by the revenue that it generated,” says Sharkey. According to the airline, the system is still operating with little support three full years after Lumexis left the industry due to liquidity constraints.

As a result of FTTS, Sharkey says the airline community realized that fiber-optic networks worked on board and, since its launch in 2009, many other fiber-related developments have been made in avionics. This realization also led the Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee (AEEC) to establish a subcommittee focused on developing standards for fiber-optic systems, connectors, maintenance, training and more.

PHOTOS: INMARSAT; COURTESY OF LOU SHARKEY

MADE ROOM FOR MORE AIRCRAFT IN THE SKY

MILESTONES

3

When Airvision

TOOK THE IFE SCREEN FROM COMMUNAL TO PERSONAL

PHOTO: APEX ARCHIVES

Airvision was the first to introduce the personal IFE screen.

During the early 1980s, Arn Steventon, a businessman with a pilot’s license, an engineering background and partial ownership in a Los Angeles-based company specializing in aviation components, was returning from the Boeing 757 rollout in Seattle.

While watching a film being screened overhead to the entire aircraft cabin, Steventon started daydreaming about putting a miniature liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV screen – something he’d recently seen at the Consumer Electronics

Show (CES) in Las Vegas – into the seatback in front of him.

Committed to making his daydream a reality, Steventon founded a company called Airvision. In 1988, once Airvision had become a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Philips, which provided the content and the screens respectively, Northwest Airlines decided to trial Airvision’s world-first personal IFE screens.

The carrier installed 116 seatback screens across business and economy

class on a Boeing 747 operating mainly between Detroit and Tokyo. Surveys

by Warner Bros. and Northwest showed that 70 percent of passengers preferred the personal screens to overhead units, and British Airways and Qantas had both announced their intention to trial the system before the end of 1988.

Northwest offered passengers a personal screen with access to six linear channels showing movies, news, documentaries, music videos and cartoons on a fixed schedule.

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MILESTONES

4

When Bluebox BROADENED ACCESS

TO IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

In November 2017, Virgin Atlantic became the first airline to offer accessible IFE fleetwide with the launch of Bluebox aIFE. Codeveloped by the airline, Bluebox Aviation Systems (Bluebox) and Guide Dogs in the United Kingdom, Bluebox aIFE provides content for visually impaired passengers.

The Bluebox aIFE platform is a fully customized iPad-based user interface that builds upon the accessibility features of Apple’s iOS platform, such as VoiceOver and Zoom, with the addition of support for multiple languages,

5

PHOTOS: BLUEBOX AVIATION SYSTEMS; COURTESY OF W.L. GORE

When Gore’s

CABLES HELPED PUT PEOPLE ON THE MOON

closed captions and audio-description for the IFE environment.

David Brown, business development director for Bluebox, says, “Bluebox aIFE gives this group of passengers what’s missing from an airline system that doesn’t meet their needs: equality and independence – two things we discovered were in many ways more important than the entertainment itself. Learning that, and ultimately providing a solution that made this passenger community feel the industry listened to them, made this the most humbling and enjoyable project any of us have ever worked on.”

It has been 50 years since the Apollo 11 spaceflight made Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin the first people to walk on the moon, an achievement in which W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) played a key role.

For starters, the company’s MULTI-TET ribbon cables were used in the two Apollo Guidance Computers that navigated and controlled the spacecraft. According to Gore, it took approximately 10,500 keystrokes to get to the moon and back.

NASA also used 50-foot-long flat copper conductor cables manufactured by Gore to connect seismographic equipment to the lunar lander. Formed of many layers laminated together, the outer layer used a Kapton polyimide film with a melting temperature above 572°F (300°C) that protected the inner layers from the lunar surface and from radiation. Gore believes its cabling is still working on the moon today.

In total, Gore has been part of more than 100 spaceflight programs, such as the Space Shuttle Program, International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope – all with a 100-percent failure-free record.

Its products have also played a role in missions to Pluto, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.

Success in space paved the way for Gore to develop innovative solutions for in-flight entertainment and connectivity on commercial aircraft: Gore’s Leaky Feeder Antennas keep passengers connected to airborne Wi-Fi, while its family of Ethernet and fiber-optic cables transmit fast, reliable data on airborne digital networks.

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MILESTONES

6

When Asinc

CREATED THE FIRST MOVING MAP

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colors represented various elevations), assigned a number to each color, then keyed in a file of numbers for each pixel on the page.”

Salter continues, “Then, we wrote software so that the Airshow computer could load this list of numbers into a video frame memory for displaying on the screen and, of course, read the position of the aircraft from the aircraft navigation system in order to overlay an aircraft symbol on the map.”

The Airshow DIU containing both the maps and the software to generate the video rapidly became Asinc’s leading product, but it wasn’t until the mid-’80s, when the company attended a WAEA conference, that commercial airlines saw the moving map product. Salter says, “Swissair was immediately interested. At the time, they had a paper map tacked to the wall in the cabin. The chief purser would periodically move a pin to show the updated position of the aircraft!”

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ASINC

Sometime in late 1980, a man named Dutch Arvor, who worked for Wisconsin-based fixed-base operator K-C Aviation in Appleton, chastised the three men behind Asinc – Steve Long, Al Muesse and Rich Salter – when they tried to sell him their product.

It was a package that included a small cathode-ray tube television set, Atari games console and Airshow Digital Interface Unit (Airshow DIU). The Airshow DIU interfaced with a business jet’s avionics and generated a video signal that displayed its ground speed and altitude.

The solution was made to be strapped to passenger seats.

“He basically said, ‘You are all ex-Rockwell Collins engineers. You’ve got a general-purpose video display with all that capability – surely you can come up with something more interesting than text,’” Salter recalls.

“We asked, ‘Like what?’ He responded, ‘Like a map or something.’ And that’s how the moving map was born.”

Making it a reality was a laborious process. “In the early ’80s, there were no computerized maps, only paper versions, so we had to digitize them manually,” Salter explains. “We took a colored map on paper (the

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MILESTONES

When Astronics TOOK CHARGE OF THE AIRPLANE CABIN

In 1994, a manager at Astronics (then Olin Aerospace) was asked by a Middle East airline if any aircraft had the ability to charge laptops. The service wasn’t available at the time, but the question gave rise to its creation.

The manager pitched the idea for in-seat power to a team of engineers at the company, who walked the floor at the 1995 WAEA Conference and Exhibition in Amsterdam to discuss the concept with airlines and OEMs. With laptop proliferation increasing in the mid-1990s and mobile phones beginning to gain in popularity, the idea was well-received, and so development work began immediately upon the team’s return.

The creation of the first EmPower in-seat power system was headed by Mark Peabody, president at Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems, who was working as head of Cabin Electronics for Olin Aerospace. Its first product, a 75-watt 12-volt (75W 12V) automotive cigarette-lighter-style outlet, was officially launched at the 1996 WAEA Conference and Exhibition in Seattle.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines were the first two customers to install in-seat power in 1997. Today, Astronics’ EmPower systems are used by all the major OEMs and are flying on nearly two million seats on over 260 airlines around the world.

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8 When Inflight Motion Pictures

BROUGHT FILMS TO THE CABIN

On July 19, 1961, Trans World Airlines (TWA) launched the world’s first IFE system on board a transcontinental Boeing 707 flight with a screening of John Sturges’ By Love Possessed.

The system was developed by David Flexer and his company, Inflight Motion Pictures, over a number of years, with the help of $1 million Flexer poured into the business himself. Already the owner of a small chain of movie theaters, Flexer had the idea for an IFE system while he was flying. He famously told Life magazine, “Air travel is the most advanced form of transportation and the most boring.”

According to John N. White, in his document “A History of In-Flight Entertainment,” the hardware consisted of a Kodak projection mechanism adapted to accommodate a 26-inch-diameter reel of 16mm film (multiple reels had to be spliced together so that a whole film was on just one reel) mounted horizontally to the ceiling of the aircraft cabin.

Alan Levy, who wrote the aforementioned article about the rise of IFE for Life, described the public response to the solution as “electrifying.” He said that to watch a certain movie, “sophisticated international travelers deferred departures and even switched destinations.” Levy also shared a research firm’s estimate that IFE was responsible for six to eight more passengers per TWA flight.

PHOTOS: ASTRONICS; INFLIGHT MOTION PICTURES

7

Olin Aerospace’s first product launched at the 1996 WAEA Conference and Exhibition.

MILESTONES

9

When TAP Air Portugal

RECREATED ITS 1970S PASSENGER EXPERIENCE fashion designer Louis Féraud, which were common of the times. They were offered vintage bag tags, boarding pass wallets and a time-traveler’s diploma.

Inside the cabin, passengers were met by retro-style branded headrests and a safety video, which has since garnered almost 24,000 views on YouTube. The crew served in-flight meals inspired by the ’70s, including shrimp salad and pheasant terrine for starters, and a banana parfait for dessert.

Even the drinks selection, which included Coca-Cola and Portuguese Sagres beer,

was served in glass bottles featuring the companies’ vintage labels.

The IFE featured movies and music of the era – think Rocky and Janis Joplin – and Portuguese games company Majora created a special TAP-focused version of its famous game, O Sabichão, to entertain passengers traveling in business class.

Passengers at the front of the plane also received the iconic 1970s TAP gift bag, filled with comfortable pajamas, Ach Brito lavender cologne, Benamôr hand cream and Couto toothpaste.

PHOTO: TAP PORTUGAL

In 2017, 72 years after the airline was founded, TAP Air Portugal unveiled its “retrojet,” an Airbus A330 known as Portugal that underwent a serious makeover to offer a throwback passenger experience. The A330 retrojet, which was repainted with TAP’s 1970s branding, flew throughout 2017 on routes from Lisbon to Miami, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Recife, among others.

During check-in for each flight, passengers were greeted by crew wearing the brightly colored uniforms by French

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MILESTONES

When Tangerine In 1998, Tangerine began developing its “yin-yang” seating for British Airways’ business-class cabin, the first product that would give passengers flying in business access to a fully lie-flat bed – a privilege previously reserved only for those traveling first class.

Originally presented to British Airways as a concept called “Sky Lounge” as part of a competitive tender process involving over 20 design agencies, the premise was that “the elbow of one passenger sits over the hip of the other passenger,” explains Matt Round, who was creative director on the yin-yang project and is now Tangerine’s chief creative officer.

Not only did this give passengers more privacy – one could sit up and work, while their neighbor could sleep – it meant a better night’s sleep for all. Round says, “We hired a sleep expert for the project and learned that people turn over 30 to 40 times each night, undisturbed.

10

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Reclining seats or chairs where you put your feet into a footwell prevent the ability to turn freely, disturbing your sleep.” A fully lie-flat bed solved this problem.

The density afforded by the yin-yang layout led to an improved passenger experience and a commercially viable product. Seating eight abreast on a Boeing 747 – an improvement on British Airways’ previous 2-3-2 layout, which wasn’t great for the person in the middle seat!

– the Club World seat, according to Tangerine founder and CEO Martin Darbyshire, achieved a full return on investment within 12 months of taking flight.

After 20 years, the product is still flying today, but with further improvements. In 2006, the first version of the yin-yang seat was replaced with a second generation that features the same footprint, but has 25 percent additional shoulder space as well as a zero-gravity recline position.

Tangerine credits Bob Ayling, then-CEO of British Airways, with enabling the breakthrough concept to reach the market.

PHOTO: TANGERINE

CREATED BALANCE WITH YIN-YANG SEATS

MILESTONES

READ 30 MORE APEX MEMBER SUCCESS STORIES AT APEX.AERO/40-SUCCESS-STORIES

Factorydesign 11 When OVERHAULED

BRITISH AIRWAYS’ CONCORDE CABIN

12 When Spafax MADE IFE DATA EASIER TO ANALYZE

Air Canada 13 When PRIVATIZED ITS

WAY TO BETTER PAXEX

BBC Radio 14 When International MADE WAVES IN THE IFE MARKET

Global Eagle 15 When PUT BEATS IN THE SKY

16 When Gogo

LAUNCHED 2KU IN-FLIGHT CONNECTIVITY

17 When castLabs

HELPED APEX DEVELOP DIGITAL CONTENT DELIVERY STANDARDS

SITA and 18 When IATA LAUNCHED WORLDTRACER BAG TRACKING

19 When Linstol

TOOK A SUPER STEP TO REDUCE PLASTIC WASTE

When Panasonic

20 GAVE PASSENGERS

MORE CHOICE WITH SYSTEM 3000

When Lufthansa 21 Systems PREMIERED WIRELESS IFE

AirFi 22 When ACTUALIZED

Donica 32 When INTRODUCED

23 When Qatar Airways

Aeroméxico 33 When EMBARKED

PORTABLE WIRELESS IFE WITH ITS MOON BOX

RAISED THE BAR FOR BUSINESSCLASS SEATING WITH QSUITE

Sony Trans Com 24 When MADE IFE MORE MANAGEABLE WITH 8MM FILM

When Disney

25 INTRODUCED

CLOSED CAPTIONS WITH EMIRATES

JetBlue 26 When MADE SURE THE

CABIN WAS IN MINT CONDITION

When Airbus 27 PROMPTED THE INDUSTRY TO WATCH THIS AIRSPACE

B/E Aerospace 28 When DEVELOPED THE MINIPOD LIE-FLAT SEAT

Inmarsat 29 When LAUNCHED GX

AVIATION IN-FLIGHT CONNECTIVITY

Formia 30 When CHANGED UP

ITS SHAREHOLDER MAKEUP

A NEW WLAN CABIN SYSTEM

ON A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

When Flame 34 Distribution

BROUGHT ENVIRONMENTAL CONTENT TO IFE

Kontron 35 When STREAMLINED

IFEC HARDWARE

Honeywell 36 When Jetwave HARDWARE MADE WAY FOR GX AVIATION

Buzz 37 When PREVENTED

95 MILLION PLASTIC BOTTLES FROM ENTERING LANDFILLS

Thales 38 When INNOVATED THE

IFE EXPERIENCE WITH AVANT

PressReader 39 When GAVE PASSENGERS ACCESS TO DIGITAL READING MATERIAL

Avid Products 40 When CREATED

PNEUMATIC HEADSETS FOR IFE

Wessco 31 When International PUT L’OCCITANE IN THE AIR

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NETWORKING

dropped from the official agenda and the closing event became formalized as the gala banquet, a much-loved black-tie function that went on until 2006.

ALL THAT GLAMOUR

Despite White’s insistence that the conference continue on a more sober, professional path, the ’80s and ’90s are remembered by members as a time of revelry and downright swanky affairs.

In 1989, the year the conference was held in Basel, Switzerland, then-president Italo Poli, of Swissair, was intent on making it one to remember with a riverboat cruise up the Rhine and a visit to the Feldschlösschen Brewery.

Bryan Rusenko, a member of the APEX Technology Committee, recalls, “There was just an amazing amount of treating us like royalty. Italo really made sure that we got the highest protocol.”

At the 1991 conference in London, there actually was some royalty. That year’s president, Mark Horton of British Airways, raised the bar with a champagne welcome reception at the House of Commons and Avion Awards bestowed by His Royal Highness Prince Edward at Grosvenor House. “It was a glittering affair and one of the most memorable conferences to date,” says Steve Harvey, VP Client Services at Global Eagle, who’s been attending the conferences since 1981.

Even with this seeming extravagance, the headlining finale, the gala banquet, still lacked the verve of a Hollywood blowout, which some members believed would be suitable for an industry so rooted in show business. Kent Harrison Hayes, who attended his first conference in 1988 and was on the association’s board of directors from 1992 to 1998, says, “The glamour of the entertainment industry seemed to

Social Club At its most basic, APEX has always been about relationships – the ones that built it, the ones that nurtured it and the ones born out of cocktails at its networking parties.

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PHOTOS: APEX ARCHIVES

O

n the front page of a 1983 issue of the Airline Entertainment Association (AEA) newsletter, then-president John N. White writes, “It’s become very obvious that the airline representatives, vendors and suppliers want the AEA to be a truly business and professional organization: an association with a conference that abandons the social aspects of many similar groups...” In the following newsletter, he puts it even more bluntly: “If you’re attracted to lightweight conferences that are heavy on the social… you ought to let this one pass.”

Until the year before, AEA conferences stressed socialization, with themed costume parties in the evenings – think Western hayrides and Hawaiian luaus – and golf and tennis tournaments during the day. But at the 1982 conference in Phoenix, several of these gatherings were

NETWORKING

We Met at EXPO

be missing. The only thing I remember them having was a small platform that the president stood on with a microphone.”

During his stint on the board, Hayes managed to veer the gala in the direction of a Hollywood-style award show.

At the time, there was also a program that allowed conference delegates to travel with their spouses, who would enjoy off-site activities during business hours. (An advertisement in a 1987 issue of the association’s newsletter promises spouses a trip on a DC-3 spent “sipping champagne and nibbling on a chicken leg,” for instance.) During the evenings, spouses would attend the networking events, something Rich Salter, a longtime member of the APEX Technology Committee, says really helped with business. “Bringing my wife was especially useful given that there were a lot of women running things on the content side and the airline side.”

BUDDING RELATIONSHIPS

It was under such festive circumstances that airline delegates finally crossed paths with their counterparts at other carriers and vendors became acquainted with their competitors. But given its lack of precedence, mingling with competitors was frowned upon. AEA co-founder Cindy Tarver recalls her “boss would get apoplectic if I deigned to say hello to, for instance, John McMahon [at Inflight Services at the time], who later became one of my best friends in the industry.”

Peter Daniello, who began attending the show in 1981, with Trans Com, and continued until retiring in 2012, explains that the rivalry wasn’t about disliking each other as much as it was similar to the competition you’d get between two baseball teams. “Think of it like the Giants and the Dodgers. We just didn’t sit on the same side.” >

A black-tie gala was added to the conference agenda in 1982.

Countless business relationships and longtime friendships started at conferences.

Here are a few stories.

When Jovita Met Sally There used to be a networking breakfast where vendors could sit with airline reps and get to know them. I sat down at a table with the IFE manager of Air New Zealand (Sally Lythgo) and as it happened, she was there to look for Asian content, and I was with a company that distributed it. Professionally, we clicked, but beyond that we also became great friends, and even though we have both moved on to different companies, we remain very close to this day.

– Jovita Toh, Encore Inflight

Off to Dubai I have several such friendships, but one of my favorites is with Patrick Brannelly. I was one of the first studios to fly to Dubai to meet with Emirates. At the time I went, I walked down the stairs, off the aircraft, onto the tarmac. The terminal looked like Hollywood Burbank Airport, but there was nothing small about Emirates’ vision. It was among the first airlines to install the multichannel AV systems throughout the aircraft. At that time, Emirates, Patrick in particular, worked with the hardware and software providers to get what they needed to make this venture the huge success it became.

– Linda Palmer, formerly of Walt Disney Studios

First-Gen Friends I would never have met John McMahon had it not been for working with him on that very first conference. We became fast friends, and later John came to work for our company. We were such good friends that his wife often called me “the other woman.” I’ve had the chance to stay at the McMahons’ home in Florida. John is one of my best friends and still is today, even though we’re coasts apart.

– Cindy Tarver, AEA co-founder APEX.AERO | V9 E4 |

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See you at Apex Expo

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BBC Studios Booth #1717

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NETWORKING

From Amsterdam to Taiwan

Evelyn Gordon, Pam Ryan, John Landstrom and Linda Palmer decked out in 1920s attire.

But when the workday was over, the rigidity thawed. On one occasion, Daniello recalls heading into the hotel jacuzzi following cocktail hour. “Lo and behold, weren’t some of our competitors in there, too. That started some dialogue, and led us to thinking, ‘These people aren’t that bad after all.’ To this day we have a very good friendship. There’s no question the association and its social events had a hand in helping us get on a talking basis with our competitors.”

After-hours camaraderie was also key to deepening bonds with clients, says Leigh Mantle of Inflight Productions, who attended the conferences from 1987 to 2018. “I’m a big believer in the fact that you can get a lot of business done without actually mentioning the word ‘business,’ and the evening get-togethers were

“A lot of business can be done without actually mentioning the word ‘business.’”

LEIGH MANTLE, FORMERLY OF INFLIGHT PRODUCTIONS

brilliant for that,” Mantle says. “When you would go to the event for the whole week, you couldn’t just talk business 24/7. If you enjoy entertaining and being with people, you can open up doors that you maybe haven’t opened before.”

And sometimes, no matter how unconventional it may seem today, business took place in the most informal of circumstances. “My first ‘conference’ was in Palm Springs, where meetings disintegrated into pool parties with large quantities of beverages being consumed,” says Linda Palmer of Walt Disney Studios, who served nearly 20 terms on the association’s board of directors in the time between 1985 and 2012. “It was an era when this sort of behavior was the norm.”

Michael Manstein of Lufthansa, who began attending in 1986, similarly writes in Avion: “The networking was as valuable to me as were the scheduled appointments.

Even sipping a glass of champagne by the pool at night with new acquaintances produced interesting conversations: ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have an individual screen for each passenger?’ ‘Can’t something be done about the horrible quality of the audio system?’ ... ‘Can advertising really pay for all those investments?’” >

After leaving Airshow in 1995, I attended WAEA in Amsterdam, wanting to become an IFE consultant, and met an old acquaintance from Boeing: Steve Kuo. Steve had just retired and had gone back to Taiwan to start an IFE program at the Industrial Technology Research Institute. He was glad to learn that I was no longer employed, and I was glad to have a consulting gig! I learned a lot about Taiwan over the next few years as we became close friends, and it is on my list of best-things-to-happenat-a-conference to this day.

– Rich Salter, consultant

It’s a Whale!

The APEX event that has had the longestlasting impact on my life is Orlando 1997. I walked into the Spafax booth during set-up day and met Chantal Goulet, a colleague from the Montreal office. I introduced myself and her opening line was, “So you are Whale!”

She would often see the faxes I sent to my colleague Raymond Girard and thought that was how my name was pronounced. This June, we celebrate our 20-year wedding anniversary and have son Noé (18 years old), daughter Florence (13 years old) and our golden Labrador, Biggles (nine years old). Through APEX, I have met some of my closest friends, business partners and many amazingly talented people, but most importantly my wife!

– Walé Adepoju, business strategist

The Vintage Group Since retirement, several of us in Southern California formed a group called the Vintage Group. We all live close by and meet every three months. Pam Ryan is the president and the group consists of some people who were once competitors. About six or eight of us show up every time. We just get together for lunch and because we are so old, we probably tell the same stories over and over again.

Nobody remembers, so we still get a laugh out of it.

– Peter Daniello, formerly of Trans Com

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NETWORKING

CHANGE OF SCENE

As the years went on, the frequency and size of networking events gradually diminished, giving way to larger exhibition floors and a generally more buttoned-up attitude in their stead. Global Eagle’s Harvey describes the first 15 to 20 years of the conference as “under the radar,” with airline IFE managers putting in requests to attend, and superiors doling out approvals without having more than a vague notion that the event had something to do with putting movies on planes. “It was a little closed family affair, so we could more or less do what we wanted on these occasions,” he says.

But with the advent of seatback screens, IFE became a bigger-budget item and airlines began paying millions of dollars to deck out their aircraft with hardware that could screen hundreds of movies.

“Suddenly people like chief executives were paying attention, even attending themselves,” Harvey says. Palmer also points to increased attention from upper

NAVIGATING THE FLOOR Knowing how to score a meeting (or a minute for an elevator pitch) was as important then as it is now.

Learn about the ins and outs of past show-floor logistics here.

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“As fun as the early days were, money talks and it was time to change” LINDA PALMER, FORMERLY WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

levels of airline management as a catalyst for the change. “That radically shifted the culture,” Palmer says. “As fun as the early days were, money talks and it was time to change.”

According to West Entertainment’s Rick Warren, who began attending the conferences in 1993 while working with Sony Trans Com, another major cultural shift took place once the association expanded to encompass a wider breadth of industry players beyond IFE, eventually being renamed the Airline Passenger Experience Association in 2010.

From the early-’90s until then, it really was a content and entertainment show,

CARE TO DANCE? In the early days, conferences began with a sign-up period during which vendors made appointments with airline delegates on what was known as a “dance card.” It was only in 1985, at the association’s first international conference in Munich, that this process took on a more official format, with vendors setting up tables and airlines circulating the room to fill up their dance cards with meetings for the days to come. The tradition ended in 1997, with telephone, fax and later e-mail rendering it obsolete.

“We vigorously scheduled appointments on our dance cards and zealously kept our appointments despite the logistical hurdles,” Lufthansa’s Michael Manstein writes in Avion.

“There was serious business to be conducted, and I think the airline people felt a special responsibility to see as many vendors as possible.” APEX Technology Committee member Rich Salter similarly recalls, “The dance card was a real ritual. Everyone carried their printed dance card in their pockets and never threw it out.”

MEETING ROOM There were no booths in the early days and, after being scheduled on dance cards, meetings would take place in hotel lobbies, suites or rooms. In one case, Global Eagle’s Steve Harvey remembers his girlfriend calling and his having to explain that he couldn’t talk because someone was in the room with him: “‘Male or female?’ she asked, and I said, ‘Don’t worry, darling. It’s strictly business. We’ll talk later.’ Then she called back and I said, ‘Can’t talk now, someone else is here.’ And she said, ‘What the heck is happening at this conference?’”

But nothing off-color was happening, assures Joe Barber, who worked at Cine Magnetics at the time. “When someone says ‘meetings in hotel rooms,’ it might conjure up mysterious things with people wheeling and dealing, but I don’t remember it being like that,” he says. “It was just easier to deal in that atmosphere. In certain cases, these weren’t even one-on-one meetings, but more like social affairs – cocktails being served and preview reels being shown.”

NETWORKING

Here’s looking at you: Carol Gregoire, Bill Grant, Marianne Sammann, John Courtright and Phyllis Bagdadi.

WALLS UP Vendor booths in a ballroom setting made their first appearance at the 1988 conference in Miami, but they were of the draped variety, separated by waist-high barriers.

“It wasn’t incredibly private, but at least it was a start, and it got us out of our hotel bedrooms,” Harvey says. Hard-wall booths were introduced the following year in Basel, Switzerland, and by the time the show got to London in 1991, “people began to make a splash with very flashy booths,” he says.

Once the conference and exhibition were brought together under one roof with the 1993 show in Palm Springs, exhibit stands began to be “built like walled fortresses with only one way in and out and a sentry at the gate,” former board member Jim Snyder writes in Avion. However, within about 10 years, booths became “more visually open” and no longer shrouded in secrecy, with competitors even being invited for a tour of (some) product demos, Snyder adds.

with comedians like Paula Poundstone and even the Beach Boys making appearances to drive that home. “Once the focus was more on the technology, it became less of a Hollywood show, and that hurt it a little bit in terms of the networking,” Warren says. “But it also meant the show had gotten bigger and better, especially in terms of high-quality airline attendance.”

The general consensus seems to be that rather than a clear departure – despite White’s explicit attempt at one in 1983 – exchanging stories over beers and fraternizing over tee time never really ended; it’s only evolved. “Some of the initial hijinks of the early days are no longer there, but it’s like growing up, really,” Harvey says. “The first few years it was like a newborn baby, people trying to figure out what it was all about. Then we had our toddler years and our teenage delinquent years, and now we have become responsible parents.” But parents still play golf together and listen to the Beach Boys – it’s just not on the official agenda.

SUITE DIGS The first conference was held at the International Hotel Resort in Palm Springs, which only had two suites – and the two biggest companies attending the show (Inflight Services and Bell & Howell) had them booked for the duration of the event. “Under lock and key, those companies were showing the very latest in new, lightweight projector technology, and they would let no one enter their sacred portals other than airlines for fear of the competition finding out what the other was presenting,” writes AEA co-founder Cindy Tarver in Avion.

These rules of engagement continued for years and were maintained when hotel suites transformed into party hubs in the evenings, too.

RED OR BLUE? Since the early ‘90s, vendors have been identified with red badges and airlines with blue, with the latter being the primary targets at the shows. “Airline attendees will notice that exhibitors’ eyes often lock onto their blue badges, and those same exhibitors sometimes follow them down aisles… even into toilets,” reads a 2009 article in Avion.

Touch Inflight’s Joe Carreira recalls these dynamics well from his time as both an airline attendee and supplier. “When I was a supplier, I had an airline delegate who would ask me if they could borrow my badge. I sympathized with them being badgered all the time, and I now try not to be too aggressive,” he says.

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Talking Points

Whether on the show floor or dance floor, conference attendees must put their best foot forward. Industry insiders share their tips to cementing lasting relationships.

Off Hours My friendship with Joan Barker got a boost when we took on the Education Committee together. This was probably 1996 or 1997.

We spent a few evenings at my kitchen table, brainstorming and developing plans, sending out questionnaires, but mostly discovering that we worked really well together and enjoyed each other’s company. A lovely friendship evolved, and we have seen each other a lot over the years. To give you a flavor, we skied the Whistler slopes together, shopped for shirts in Washington, DC, and for scarves in Delhi, and had chocolate mousse in Paris with our mutual friend Jean-Pierre from Air France.

– Sophie Vossenaar, formerly of KLM

The Board and Beyond There have been quite a few lasting friendships from my time on the board. People like Kevin Bremer, who I got to know really well. It’s great to be able to consider someone like him a friend as much as a colleague, because you end up spending a lot of time with people during conferences. Sometimes you end up having breakfast, lunch and dinner over meetings.

I also got to know customers like Patrick Brannelly from a different perspective – away from the battle of sitting opposite each other while negotiating.

– Neil James, Signal Lamp Entertainment

Support System One of my closest relationships that I’ve developed through APEX is with Joe Leader.

We’ve developed a strong friendship over the years, and I’ve looked up to him as a mentor as well. He’s really helped me through a couple of the changes that have happened to me work-wise. And we’ve worked pretty closely on a number of the events. I pretty much go to every single event every year, apart from the MultiMedia Market. There are several others, including Rich Salter and Michael Childers, who spring to mind.

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Our outfits are definitely a great ice breaker and conversation starter. We have had many questions – from how much do you get paid to wear it, to who designs them, to how many do you have! What’s even better is that it gets people coming by the booth just to see the outfit for the day. So, we get to see our clients over and over again throughout the conference.

– Jovita Toh, Encore Inflight Just be authentic and have a conversation. Don’t immediately launch into trying to sell something.

You’ve got to build up a relationship and understand how you can help them first.

– Jon Norris, FlightPath3D

At APEX events, it’s important to make the time to talk to people you don’t know, and spend time getting to know the people you do know on a more personal level.

– Cathy Walters, Virgin Atlantic

The best way for a supplier to get an airline’s attention is to say, “We have this great product, and here are the other airlines that have implemented it. I have brought person X and person Y from these airlines who would be willing to talk to you about the product.” If a supplier is there with some current clients, an airline’s willingness to listen increases, because they see the confidence being placed in the product.

– Joe Carreira, Touch Inflight Walk up to the boss of every one of the CSPs, distributors and OEMs and introduce yourself. Tell them what you have to offer. Sit down and talk to them and have a game plan. Have a drink, a beer or an iced tea with them. That’s the best advice I can give you.

In fact, that’s exactly what I did, when I was a 29-yearold kid and went to my first WAEA conference. Say, “This is what I could do for you, so think of me next time.”

– Rick Warren, West Entertainment

Over the years, I’ve always made the effort to introduce myself to as many people as possible both on the show floor and dance floor. You never know if there will be mutual benefit until you make the effort to meet new people!

I also ensure there’s at least one company representative at every APEX party – we like to spread our wings and ensure we’ve got everything covered!

Having said that, I have also been known to attend three or four events in one night!

– Zina Neophytou, BBC Worldwide

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PARTIES

DEATH

19

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PACT

An illustration of a Death Pact pin from 1987, given to everyone who survived the night of drinking in Sydney.

‘Til Death “The idea of the Death Pact was to go to breakfast in your tux from the night before, which I managed to do once, and claimed to be the winner by leaving last at 5 o’clock in the morning. The old Hollywood types weren’t up to scratch anymore, and I was a bit of a young guy at the time.”

“At the end of the gala in Durban, everybody went to the hotel rooftop and some people started hitting golf balls. There was also a swimming pool, and I remember glaring at someone, thinking, ‘You are not pushing me into the pool.’

That was one of the more decadent parties.”

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“In Singapore, one of the companies hosted a party at ‘the highest alfresco bar in the world.’ There were lethal blue cocktails on offer, and Fatman Scoop was a special guest.

Needless to say, he was a great hype man, and I remember seeing high-level airline executives actually dancing on the tables during his set.”

“One company threw this party with the Beach Boys in Amsterdam. As part of the beach theme, everyone was given a pair of mock RayBans and fluorescent-colored Frisbees. What they didn’t appreciate was that a bunch of people who had been drinking were leaving the party with the Frisbees that had their company name on them, and that the locals might get hit in the back of the head with the Frisbees. It wasn’t the intention, but it was the case.”

“On the last night, there were only a couple senior guys left at the hotel-suite party when a little motley crew of us arrived.

There was this one guy who had too much to drink, and he went into the bathroom and stayed there for quite a while.

When he finally came out, he went to the elevator and fell asleep in it. Someone put a load of furniture with him in it, pressed some buttons and he was going up and down for the rest of the night.”

“At my first conference, I was new to the industry and to inflight connectivity. I remember going to some networking events and being quite shy.

Two women came over and introduced themselves to me.

They filled me in on the people I needed to know and the key issues facing the IFC sector. As the evening came to an end, it transpired that they thought I was representing an airline – the reason they initially approached me. Although I was not who they thought, I think it’s quite special they took it upon themselves to assist a total newcomer to the industry. We continue to be good friends to this day.”

PARTIES

The Death Pact was a mutual agreement among conference attendees that on the last day, everyone would gather in a hotel suite and drink the place dry. John N. White writes in Avion for the WAEA’s 25th-anniversary issue that the very first such pact began in 1983 in San Diego. “All were invited, with no one to leave until everything was consumed.” It was a tradition that lasted for many years. Although these evenings are far in the past, we’ve convinced some partygoers to share their favorite after-hours stories anonymously.

Do Us Part “The company I was working for was having a party in the hospitality suite where we were all staying. I was at the door trying to monitor who came in and out and keep things under control. My good friend came to sit down at the piano near the door almost as soon as the party started and kept everyone entertained for about six hours. We had a mini-party outside the party, and I never actually ended up going inside.”

“One of the hardware companies had booked a suite for their exposition, which was a newly renovated penthouse with a beautiful wool carpet.

There was a party there in the evening. People put out their cigarettes on the wood floor. And because they were dancing and twisting their feet on the carpet, there was three inches of fluff sticking up off of it. After I got everybody out at around 3 o’clock in the morning, I wrapped each of my arms and legs in duct tape and lay on the floor, doing snow angels trying to pick up all the lint. When you run a conference, you have to stay sober. We had taken out insurance in case anything got destroyed. Luckily, nothing ever came of it.”

“In Durban, there was a fiberglass sculpture at the party, and we decided to try to take this thing out the back door. We even had the help of a high-ranking airline representative – he was holding the doors for us. We were out the door with the sculpture when we got caught by security.

Luckily, they let us off with a gentle warning. ”

“You know the song ‘Macarena’? You know the bit where they all turn around?

In Durban, there was a DJ at the disco night and he was getting a bunch of people on stage to turn around. About eight of us were hiding backstage. When that part of the song came on, we all turned around and dropped our trousers and stood on stage with our bums hanging out.”

“As the president of the association, you were expected to participate in the Death Pact and stay until all the booze was gone. One year, the president left his room to go, with his wife still in the room. She woke up to go to breakfast, but the door was locked. She didn’t think much of it and called the front desk to let her out. But their response was along the lines of, ‘I’m sorry, madam, but we do not get involved in domestic disputes.’ That was the thinking back then. She ended up being stuck in her room for quite a while. And little did he know what he was walking into when he returned.

That is one of the fabled tales.”

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LEADERSHIP

Women

on Board In an industry as traditionally male-dominated as aviation, APEX exists as an enclave where women have made their mark.

BY VALERIE SILVA

LEADERSHIP

T

Cindy Tarver during her days at Avicom (top right).

There are a number of names tied to the beginnings of the Airline Entertainment Association (AEA). But none more to thank than Cindy Tarver of Billboard Music In The Air, who John N. White, past president and esteemed editor of Avion magazine, called “the greatest hero of that time.”

Once the idea for an annual in-flight entertainment (IFE) meeting was cemented over lunch with Claus Jensen of Thai Airways International, Tarver dedicated herself to the cause of organizing and securing sponsorships (mainly from her own company) for the initial 1979 event. She then persuaded Billboard to underwrite the many miscellaneous costs of founding the association. As the years passed, she served on the board numerous times, spearheaded the creation of the association’s Technology Committee, and took up positions at various member companies, including Avicom, Rockwell Collins and Transdigital Communications.

Of course, if you asked Tarver about the early days of AEA, she’d wax poetic about how instrumental people like White, John McMahon of Inflight Services and Harriet Korn of Trans World Airlines, were. And she’d be right – it was a family effort. But if that family were to name a matriarch, it would likely be her.

In later years, Tarver served as an inspiration to younger generations of women in the industry. “I was impressed by her knowledge of the industry and the respect others had for her,” says Mary Rogozinski, who served as World Airline

Entertainment Association (WAEA) president from 2002 to 2004 and as a board member in the years preceding and following that period. “I have always considered Cindy a mentor and a friend,” she continues. “For many years, I fondly referred to her as my mom.”

Despite the airline industry’s notoriously male-dominated culture, Tarver was joined by a number of high-ranking female board members.

Over the years, more than one-third of the association’s boards have been led by female presidents, with women making up at least half of the board members most years between the late 1980s and mid-2000s. At their most visible, women outranked men nine-to-four in 2000.

While today’s association management team makes a concerted effort to level the gender playing field, back in the day, equal representation was more circumstantial than intentional. “IFE had been more of an afterthought for the airlines, which, quite frankly, allowed women the opportunity to grow and excel in leadership,” explains Tarver. >

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LEADERSHIP

“IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT HAD BEEN MORE OF AN AFTERTHOUGHT FOR THE AIRLINES, WHICH ALLOWED WOMEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW AND EXCEL IN LEADERSHIP.” CINDY TARVER

Linda Palmer, Sophie Vossenaar and Joan Barker with gala emcee at the 2004 Seattle conference (below). Judi Bishop and Kathy Libonati at a WAEA conference session (top).

Until the advent of IFE, few women were part of airline leadership, because few women had studied engineering.

But with IFE initially falling under the purview of customer care, the path was cleared for women, Tarver explains.

“This brought, and still brings, a lot of women to the association’s events and was likely the reason so many women joined the board,” she says. Christine Ringger of Swiss International Air Lines, who served on the board from 2006 to 2011 and as president in 2008–2009, agrees, adding that there may have been more women in the content part of the industry than in most other parts because “choosing content wasn’t always seen as such a sexy, blokey thing to do.”

Ringger speculates that there may be one more reason female leadership took root on the board. “The way I see it, you will always have more women in these positions because women are the ones who do; they are the ones who make things happen,” she says. “It was the women of the association who were rolling up their sleeves and getting things done. I’m not saying there weren’t men doing a lot of work, but there was an attitude among the women to move things forward, to progress.”

The view, it seems, was even shared by White, says Karen Schipper of El Al Israel Airlines, who served as president

of the 1999–2000 board. “John used to say to me, ‘If you want a job done well, give it to a woman,’” she recalls. “In those days, there were a lot of women on the board and in the higher positions.”

In one case, Pam Ryan of Sony Trans Com and then Spafax, who served on the board from 1990 to 1993, remembers being at one of the conferences and a male colleague looking around the room in amazement. “‘Wow,’ he said. ‘Look at all these women and all the notes they’re taking. What will they do with so many notes?’ And he wasn’t taking any notes,” Ryan laughs.

In the early days, before the association was professionally managed and was still very much community-driven, being part of the board meant doing a fair amount of administrative legwork – taking notes, booking venues, organizing floorplans.

And perhaps this sort of housekeeping wasn’t seen as especially “sexy, blokey” work, to borrow Ringger’s words.

Whatever the case, being a member of the board also gave women the chance to hone their leadership skills. “This was a place where they could plant their feet. They knew the business and could focus on leading, rather than just being another worker bee,” Ringger says.

Schipper agrees, adding, “I learned so much from being an active participant on the board and especially as president. >

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LEADERSHIP

Marianne Sammann and Hermine Wachtmeister on the show floor.

You learn to speak in front of large audiences, run board meetings and get many opportunities to prove yourself.”

Sophie Vossenaar of KLM, who served as president in 2000–2001, says her experience on the board proved useful later in life. (She left the airline in 2003 and went on to hold senior management positions in the nonprofit sector.) “My membership on the WAEA board was, for me, an alternative to management training,” she explains. “Being part of a board made up of people from very culturally diverse backgrounds was interesting, and I also learned a lot from going through a tender process for the management of the association.”

Under such female stewardship the association did grow, but not without the hurdles endemic to the time. “There were glass ceilings everywhere in the world, which explains why it took us so long [eight years] to have a female president,” Tarver says. “We were still a product of our times.”

The glass ceiling remains to this day, and perhaps has been felt even more acutely in recent years as airline company structures evolve. “As IFEC decisionmaking moves from marketing to tech

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Thanks to all the female board members who have made APEX what it is today: Manoela Amaro Sylvia Arndt Phyllis Bagdadi Joan Barker Marsalee Beaubelle Judi Bishop Sarah Blomfield Jo Boundy Dee Brady Jeanenne Brown Lee Casey Linda Celestino Maura Chacko Vivian Chee Gloria Chow Jennifer Clark Kerry Covey Christelle Cuenca Janice Daniello Kathy Danielson Jodi Dunlap Joan Filippini Sue Ellen Gamble Evelyn Gordon Patricia Graham Carol Grégoire Michelle Hardy Joni Herman Kate Himmelberger Barbara Hollenbeck Kathy Libonati

Sue Luxem Maver Mayuga Amy McHaney Meredith Melville-Jones Stephanie Morton Zina Neophytou Audrey Nobriga Sharon Oberman Judy Oldham Linda Palmer Sue Pinfold Christine Ringger Mary Rogozinski Ruth Rosenbrock Pam Ryan Marianne Sammann Alexis Sarkisian Karen Schipper Carol Selman Terry Steiner Trudy Storey Cindy Tarver Cindy Taylor Theresa Torlai Pat Vance Ryanne Van der Eijk Sophie Vossenaar Hermine Wachtmeister Jolinda Wood Ashley Woodall Christine Zhu

ops and tech procurement teams, I’m seeing more men represented and fewer women,” Rogozinski says. Although women at airlines are still more prominent in marketing departments, more and more are joining technical departments, she notes. As for APEX’s member vendors, Rogozinski says they aren’t quite as women-centric as the association itself.

It is over a decade since women outnumbered men on the association’s board of directors, but balance is being slowly restored. In 2018, of the six members on the newly inaugurated APEX/IFSA Board of Governors (a group of airline CEOs appointed to help the industry define its goals) only one was a woman: LATAM’s Claudia Sender. “This year, we already have four female CEOs confirmed,” says Maura Chacko of Spafax, who’s been on the board of directors since 2015.

At this year’s EXPO, Chacko hopes to see the male CEOs address how they plan to encourage more women into leadership roles – a question that was directed solely to Sender last year. “I don’t think the onus should always be on the other women leaders,” Chacko says. “We all need to take ownership of promoting gender equality.”

We all need a positive sense of direction.

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9/11

Close to Home

One of the most unforgettable conferences was in Brisbane, Australia, in 2001, when the September 11 attacks unfolded at the end of the first day. Delegates were thousands of miles from the incident, but that did not lessen the impact upon all who were part of the aviation industry. Despite what happened, there was a collective decision to move forward with the event that year. Association members who were there recall their experiences.

BY CAROLINE KU

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9/11

It was about 10:45 p.m. in Brisbane. Some were heading to the lobby bar for one last drink, others were retiring to their hotel rooms for a night’s rest after the first day of the conference. Not far away, a group of friends were still at a restaurant, lingering at their tables, filling each other in on life since the last WAEA conference.

The evening was winding down when someone’s phone rang. This was unusual.

FIRST RESPONSE

Mobile technology was in its infancy, roaming was expensive and very few people had international calling plans, let alone received calls while they were traveling. Kent Craver, of Continental Airlines and vicepresident of WAEA at the time (now with Boeing), and 40 or so people were seated in a more private area of the restaurant and could overhear the conversation: An aircraft had hit one of the Twin Towers in New York City. “Nah, that’s just a bad joke. That’s a bad joke in poor taste,” they thought.

“But then another phone rang. And another. Then somebody’s pager went off. The calls were coming in like a slow-motion wave,” Craver says. “People’s offices were calling to report that something big was happening.”

Coincidentally, there were several other WAEA parties being held at the same restaurant.

Mary Rogozinski of United Airlines and Sue Luxem of American Airlines, both of whom were board members, initially thought it was a small plane that was involved.

“We quickly learned it was a commercial plane, and rumors were spreading that it was United or American. The other tables were hearing the same thing,” says Rogozinski. After the news broke, the restaurant owner wheeled in a TV and put on CNN. That’s when they all watched an airplane collide into the second tower.

News of the incidents was spreading in the lobbies of the various hotels where attendees were staying, too. Sue Pinfold of Spafax was just returning to her hotel from a retirement party when her colleague told her what had happened. “At this stage, the only thing anyone knew was that a plane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. It wasn’t clear that it was a terrorist attack,” Pinfold says. “Everyone scattered to their rooms to turn on the TV. With the second aircraft, it was immediately clear that this was not an accident anymore.”

MIDNIGHT ASSEMBLY

That night, an impromptu meeting was called. With some still in their pajamas and some sleepy-eyed, current and past board members – Craver, Rogozinski, Luxem, Pinfold, plus Linda Palmer of Walt Disney Studios, Joe Carreira, then of AEI Music, Janice Daniello of Post Modern Group, Karen Schipper of El Al Israel Airlines, Al McGowan of TEAC, Joan Barker of Inflight Productions, Sarah Blomfield of Cathay Pacific Airways, Jim Snyder of Rockwell Collins, Ruth Rosenbrock of South African Airways and Patrick Brannelly of Emirates – gathered in the suite of then-president Sophie Vossenaar of KLM. The sheer size of the Twin Towers, with 110 floors of people about to start their workday, multiplied by two, suggested the scale of the disaster to those in the room. Brannelly had estimated that night – fairly accurately – that 3,000 people had died. “We realized that, while every single person was affected, several may have lost relatives, friends, business colleagues – or be suffering the agony of not knowing whether loved ones were safe. It would likely take days before the impact was known (and of course it took a lot longer than that),” says Daniello. >

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9/11

“The calls were coming in like a slow-motion wave.

People’s offices were calling to report that something big was happening.”

KENT CRAVER, THE BOEING COMPANY

The question that night was whether to resume the conference, of which three days remained. The airspaces of the United States and Canada had been closed, and domestic Australian carrier Ansett Airlines, which many relied on for connecting flights from Sydney, was on the verge of collapse – which it did on September 14.

It was clear that for the next few days, none of the 950 or so conference attendees were going home.

At some point during the discussion, all heads turned to the two board members whose airlines were involved. “We all looked at Mary and Sue [Luxem] and said, ‘Nobody in the room is as affected as you are, and we think your opinion has a lot of weight on what we should do,” Carreira recalls. The group agreed to cancel the next morning’s itinerary and resume the conference as scheduled in the afternoon. They would keep the exhibition floor open and run international news feeds so attendees could follow the situation. There was also a quiet room, and grief counsellors were brought in. Someone at Brisbane Airport offered to loan a metal detector arch, but the group decided that would likely make people more nervous.

Now that they had a plan, they had to get the word out. “We decided we needed to get to all the hotels; we needed to print a statement from the board and get it under each door of every hotel room we knew there were people from WAEA,” says Carreira.

Association press officer Rob Brookler, Palmer and Pinfold, who were on the communications committee, got to work, and by about 5:30 a.m. had a completed statement in their hands. Board members ran off with copies to their assigned stations at the various hotel lobbies, stopping people on their way to breakfast to be the bearers of the news.

Knowing that for some members – Terry Steiner International (TSI), Cine Magnetics, Discovery – this literally hit home, the board made an effort to ensure they were supported. A board member was also assigned to console Rogozinski and Luxem, both of whom were still shaken. “It was good to have Al [McGowan] to talk with following the events.

I was pretty sure it was the beginning of WWIII,” recalls Rogozinski. “We had a long walk through a beautiful park that morning. He and I remain friends, as do Sue [Luxem] and I.”

CARRYING ON

By about 1 p.m., the conference had restarted. Craver remembers finding it surreal that every person there, just by being part of the airline entertainment industry, had been affected.

“People were going to their meetings, but not a stitch of business was being done,” he says.

“It was just people meeting and >

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9/11

talking and sharing and enjoying each other’s company. The feeling of being family – that resonated those next few days.”

That afternoon, Pinfold, along with her peers Barker and Clare Josey of Rockwell Collins, got together to compare notes on what in-flight entertainment (IFE) content containing sensitive images needed to be pulled from aircraft. “Competitive rivalry went out the window – we were all far from home, and just needed to continue with life as normally as possible,” she says.

“It needed to be done for our industry, irrespective of who the service company was.” Daily news was canceled, and most airlines removed Friends (shots of the Twin Towers between scenes) and Frasier (producer David Angell was aboard AA Flight 11).

Those TV shows didn’t resume for nearly a year. “We then liaised with the other service companies there to make sure we were all doing the best for all airlines, anywhere,” says Pinfold.

That evening’s networking event at a wildlife park went on as planned. Attendees were promised they would meet kangaroos and koalas while swaying to an Australian bush band. The black-tie gala and awards ceremony that closed the conference also went on as scheduled. “We proceeded with the dinner, and I think people used it as an outlet following the tragedies,” Rogozinski says. As a last-minute addition, someone had laid black sashes across the banquet tables and set the background music to something with a New York theme. “We tried very hard to ensure that

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everything we did would be considered appropriate in light of these events,” says Daniello, who remembers spending hours in an edit bay at the conference center making changes to the videos that would be shown at the Avion Awards ceremony.

HOME, AT LAST

By the time the conference was over, flights to the United States were departing again, but the schedules were all changed, causing a chaotic few days. Some had planned to stay the weekend in Australia, and by the time they got back, things had returned to a new, uneasy normal. “I remember surrendering my nail scissors at security, but being so glad that security measures were in place,” says Daniello.

Terry Steiner of TSI and her husband decided to make the best of the situation and went to Melbourne for an unplanned few days following the conference.

“When people learned we were from New York, they went out of their way to show sympathy and welcome us,” she says. Upon returning home, Steiner learned that one of their neighbors had not made it out of the World Trade Center. “I’m not sure if being so far away made things better or worse. I do know it was comforting to be with my IFE friends.”

“Competitive rivalry went out the window – we were all far from home, and just needed to continue with life as normally as possible.”

SUE PINFOLD, SPAFAX

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PHOTO ESSAY

On the Record

Somebody had the good sense to record what was happening at the conferences. How rare was it to have competing airlines and vendors in one room working out the kinks of poor audio quality? When best to serve a meal during a movie? And what are the merits of boarding music?

The airline entertainment community was on the verge of something new, and it was about to make history!

BY CAROLINE KU | PHOTOS APEX ARCHIVES

This page: Basel, Switzerland, 1989. At the 10th WAEA conference.

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Opposite page, clockwise from top left: WAEA Board of Directors, 1993–1994

Lean on me – Italo Poli, Swissair; and Linda Palmer, Walt Disney Studios.

Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo Kerry Covey, America West Airlines

Gerard Shadrick, Garry Peter Morris and Kent Harrison Hayes, Intersound; Karen Schipper, El Al; Jim Snyder, Sony Trans Com; and peers.

Cindy Tarver, co-founder of AEA Technology Committee friends Mary Rogozinski and Rich Salter

Asinc celebrates an acheivement with Boeing.

PHOTO ESSAY

I

t was always planned as a three-part entity: conference, association and newsletter. If you read the article on how the Airline Passenger Experience Association came to be on page 68, you would know that the newsletter was imperative to members for exchanging information, keeping abreast of conference discussions and establishing the association as a professional organization. In 1979, before the newsletter began, a report was released offering only “a thumbnail sketch” of what happened in Palm Springs. But looking back today at the paraphernalia of past conferences and old pictures that were used (or intended for use) in WAEA newsletters and issues of Avion opens a window into what it was like to be in the hotel lobbies, conference rooms and networking parties at various times over the years.

Flipping through the archives, one gets a sense of what it was like to sit in on sessions about state-of-the-art programming and how different a time it was, with panelists dangling cigarettes between fingers while engaged in constructive discussions. With regard to fashion, some of the men wore widespread collars without ties, revealing chest hair (a sign of disco’s influence or of having chosen a hot, desert conference destination), while some of the women teased their hair far from their heads and wore sparkly jewel-tone dresses and suits.

Events in the 1990s and early 2000s were quite glamorous. There are photos of conference gophers dressed in airline flight attendant uniforms and entertainers who illuminated the evening ceremonies! In one photo, Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo is holding a United Airlines model jet. (Alas, we couldn’t find anyone to situate the photo.)

Some of the photos were submitted to late editorial director John N. White with press releases, typewritten captions, instructions and handwritten thank-yous attached. These messages carry a sense of familiarity. And you can tell by the way White allowed profile articles about his peers to wander far into the personal or included offbeat anecdotes about them in the “Turntable” section, that he knew them all, too.

Do you have a good story about one of these photos?

E-mail editor@apex.aero.

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Visit us at APEX EXPO booth #1901

BoardConnect The complete solution for your digital passenger experience Count on the market leader in in-flight entertainment and choose from a wide range of services available through our strong partner network.

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PHOTO ESSAY

From top to bottom, left to right: Late editor of Avion magazine, John N. White, in three takes.

Cheers! To another great conference.

San Diego, 1983. At a B/E Aerospace demonstration.

Orlando, 1997.

At a George of the Junglethemed party.

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PHOTO ESSAY

Clockwise from top right: Orlando, 1997. On the conference show floor.

Escalators, crucial for navigating convention centers.

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Promoting Delta Air Lines Horizons with Turner Inflight Services Dallas, 1993.

At an offshoot WAEA event.

Get in line – for dancing!

Helen Irvine, Stellar Group; and broadcaster Margaret Throsby with their Avion Award trophies, in 1992.

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF JOHN MCMAHON

PHOTO ESSAY

Clockwise from top left: Munich, 1985.

John McMahon, Inflight Services; Marianne Sammann, Lufthansa; Gabriel Desdoits, Gades Films; Gay Lynn Hege, Inflight Services, Bert Diener, Swissair Michael Covell and Roy Cox, founders of Entertainment in Motion London, 1991.

Italo Poli, then Swissair (second from left); and Mark Horton, then with British Airways (fourth from right).

Lori Krans, Sony Trans Com Sir Richard Branson with the Airvision IFE system in view.

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PHOTO ESSAY

Long Beach, 2010. Daphne Braam-Rodgers, Global Eagle; Doug Backelin, American Airlines; and Patrick Brannelly, Emirates

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WAEA Board of Directors, 1990–1991 Durban, 1998.

Riding a rhino.

Miami, 2006.

Photoshoot with cocktails.

Undated press release photo

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LEIGH MANTLE

Clockwise from top left:

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VISIONARIES

THE

new SCHOOL There’s been much to applaud in the past 40 years, but it’s all for naught if we don’t know where we’re heading. Some of the industry’s brightest minds are recognized here for their vision of the passenger experience of the future.

BY VALERIE SILVA | PHOTOS BY XAVIER ANSART, JASON HALES, HARRY RICHARDS AND JOKE SCHUT

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MARTINE VAN DER LEE -

For Walking the Talk on Direct Customer Communications Online

DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA, KLM

KLM piloted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in its customer-service operations three years ago, and 50 percent of its social interactions are now supported by the technology – something Martine van der Lee says makes her team of 350 (the largest social media team in the world) twice as productive.

Conversational interfaces – be they social media, messaging apps or voice-activated systems – will continue to play a major role in the passenger experience of the future, and when combined with AI, they’ll yield entirely new user experiences and commercial opportunities, van der Lee says. “We believe service will become realtime and proactive, with complete trips being booked and planned through conversational interfaces,” she says.

“Building your brand and business with conversation is the future.”

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PHOTO: JOKE SCHUT

•

VISIONARIES

•

CLYDE HUTCHINSON

HEAD OF INNOVATION, VIVA AIR LABS

For Rooting Out Regional Travel Deterrents

PHOTOS: VIVA AIR LABS; RECARO

In Latin America, the journey to the airport could cost a traveler just as much as the airfare itself, says Clyde Hutchinson, identifying one of the pain points low-cost carrier Viva Air sought to address with the inauguration of South America’s first aviation innovation lab last year. Regarding the question of urban mobility, Viva Air Labs is slated to run a pilot project this fall at José María Córdova International Airport in Colombia to deliver a multimodal solution that would allow passengers to get to and from the airport inexpensively and efficiently.

Another segment of the journey begging to be reconsidered, according to Hutchinson, is the airport, which in addition to long queues and baggage woes offers food that “is typically unhealthy and lacking character or a sense of place” and a “duty-free bargain that is now more expensive than you can buy at home online.” Hutchinson envisions airports of the future taking cues from models like WeWork and Selina “rather than the declining shopping mall,” and as one of the lab’s only full-time employees, he is eager to prototype new solutions from innovators and entrepreneurs in the region.

•

DR. MARK HILLER -

CEO, RECARO AIRCRAFT SEATING

For Not Resting Until Passengers Can Do So Comfortably, Too

Space and comfort are compromised in the aircraft cabin, but the application of new materials and technologies could mitigate the impact flying has on sleep, posture and pressure points – even in the main cabin, says Dr. Mark Hiller.

Recaro was awarded the 2019 Crystal Cabin Award for “Passenger Comfort Hardware” for a trio of comfort elements designed for long-range economy-class flying, and recent partnerships with jetlite for humancentric lighting that reduces the effects of jet lag, and Airbus for an Internet of Things-enabled cabin environment, show that Dr. Hiller isn’t resting on his accomplishments.

When it comes to his vision for the future of the passenger experience, Dr. Hiller expects seats to be fully customizable and adaptable. “Passengers will be able to determine how their seat will look, which comfort options will be available and what additional services they will receive,” he says, adding, “There is also a growing trend to increase the sustainability of a product and reduce its environmental impact – efficiency is a key consideration.”

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VISIONARIES

•

STEVE KING -

CEO, BLACK SWAN DATA

For Making Sense of Today’s Numbers for Tomorrow’s Reality

“It’s shocking, really, when you look at all the airlines that are going bankrupt these days. I think it’s a moral responsibility for all of us working in the business to help them out, because without them we simply don’t have any business,” says Steve King, explaining why Black Swan Data’s aviation arm, Fethr, isn’t just about creating pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) tools for airlines, but also pairing these with business models that allow airlines to keep flying. “Right now, airlines are being penalized with everything new they are trying to do. They shouldn’t be paying for things when they’ve got loads of passengers sitting idle-thumbed,” he adds.

A self-proclaimed geek, King believes airlines can harness the growing ubiquity of in-flight connectivity – and the resulting onslaught of data – to better understand passenger behavior patterns and create personalized and profitable in-flight experiences. Armed with strong industry alliances – Panasonic Avionics has helped it get airline exposure and Gate Gourmet has allowed it to experiment with menus and crunch data on waste – Fethr is well-positioned to make that happen. “I can talk as much as I want about algorithms and AI, but we need the people who can actually implement the change on our side,” he says.

PHOTO: HARRY RICHARDS

“I can talk as much as I want about algorithms and AI, but we need the people who can actually implement the change on our side.”

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Congratulations to APEX! Here’s to the next 40 years!

VISIONARIES

•

DAVID BARTLETT

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, PANASONIC AVIONICS

For Realizing the Possibility of Wellness on Board

•

AIREEN OMAR

DEPUTY GROUP CEO, TECHNOLOGY & DIGITAL, AIRASIA

It seems like every airline these days is pontificating on plans to become the “Amazon of travel,” but AirAsia is actually doing something about it, having just this spring announced plans to erect an e-commerce lifestyle app it hopes will surpass the size of its airline business. CEO Tony Fernandes intends to spend up to $22.5 million a year to transform the low-cost carrier into a technology-first company, and the woman tasked with the job of heading digital strategy and encouraging innovation and collaboration across the business is Aireen Omar.

Nearly two decades after becoming the first in the region to issue e-tickets, AirAsia – fortified by a mega-pool of consumer data from its booking engine – is now primed to take on non-airline companies, too. “Any startup, or even the existing players, would love the data that we have on our consumers and their behavior,” Omar told Nikkei Asian Review. To expand its core business, AirAsia this year launched a venture-capital arm, called RedBeat Ventures, of which Omar is its CEO, to invest in startups operating in travel, lifestyle, logistics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, fintech and more.

Not long ago, mobile phones did little more than make calls – now they are personal devices containing entire worlds. Panasonic Avionics is planning a similar shift for the humble in-flight entertainment experience: “We are transitioning IFE systems to be digital platforms that drive new outcomes in addition to just playing movies,” says Bartlett.

The company’s Wellness solution is a great example of how an open framework could deliver entirely new and personalized experiences for passengers. It integrates with external apps such as Calm, myNoise and Mimi, and can also combine with an Internet of Things endpoint to provide better noise reduction, lighting and air cleansing. The company is even working with ecosystem partners such as wellness retreats to deliver new content. “Because of advances like these, I’m a firm believer in our aspiration that tomorrow’s passengers will leave the plane feeling even better than when they boarded,” Bartlett says.

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PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; PANASONIC AVIONICS

For Building the Digital Airline of This Generation’s Dreams

VISIONARIES

GIL WEST -

SENIOR EVP AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, DELTA AIR LINES

PHOTO: JASON HALES

For Fostering Technological Innovation From the Inside Out

They say if you want something done right, you ought to do it yourself. This might be what Gil West had in mind with the creation of Delta Air Lines’ wholly owned subsidiary Delta Flight Products (DFP), which began as a vision to help the airline take control of the most complex aspects of aircraft interiors. In addition to facilitating mid-life interior modifications, DFP has already yielded its own wireless streaming in-flight entertainment technology, enabling the reduction of about one pound (half a kilogram) of wiring per seat, the company reports. As a result, Delta’s modified Boeing 767-400 fleet will eliminate about 1,330 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.

DFP, along with The Hangar, Delta’s global innovation center, are “key channels we’re using across the business to constantly explore new ways to turn air travel into a part of the journey to get excited about,” West explains. “Customers expect their experiences with Delta to align with those of other great brands, so as technology advances at warp speed, we will continue innovating to transform flying in the ways customers and employees tell us are most important.”

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VISIONARIES

“We’ve really committed to having startups working side by side with our c-level, senior executives and everyone in our offices.”

•

DUPSY ABIOLA -

HEAD OF GLOBAL INNOVATION, INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP

As a young barrister, Dupsy Abiola found herself abandoning her career and setting up her own intern recruitment company: an online meeting place where students and graduates could be matched with employers. To get Intern Avenue off the ground, she delivered the pitch of a lifetime on Dragons’ Den, which garnered her an investment of £100,000. Several years later, she now sits on the opposite side of the pitch table for Hangar 51, International Airlines Group’s (IAG) accelerator program, which gives startups the chance to rapid-pilot their ideas on an airline’s global scale. (Past participants have included Volantio, Inflight VR and Mototok.)

“Most corporate accelerator programs are externally based, but we’ve really committed to having startups working side by side with our c-level, senior executives and everyone in our offices for 10 weeks. This level of engagement gets the best value for us and for them,” Abiola says. Her ultimate vision for the future of travel? “Seamless, sustainable and powered by technology.” This year’s iteration of the Hangar 51 innovation program includes a sustainability category, with a focus on carbon offset, carbon capture and innovative waste management, giving weight to Abiola’s vision.

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF DUPSY ABIOLA

For Believing in a Sustainable, Technology-Enabled Future

VISIONARIES

•

DEVIN LIDDELL -

PRINCIPAL FUTURIST, TEAGUE

For Innovating at the Seams of Transport Industries

While industry insiders are touting the need for seamless air travel, Liddell is busy imagining a future for the seams surrounding that journey – be they the transition from city to airport, security checkpoint to gate, or aircraft cabin to hotel room. “These in-between moments, these handoffs, are the real opportunities for breakthrough design that delivers better passenger experiences and better aviation-based businesses,” Liddell says.

As a regular contributor on Fast Company, Liddell has written about the looming effects of lost airport parking revenue at the hands of ridesharing and autonomous vehicles, the role of artificial intelligence in airport processing and radical alternatives to current airline practices, such as the introduction of Amazonstyle subscriptions. Through regular work with clients like Toyota, Amazon and Google, Liddell bolsters his intermodal focus with intimate knowledge, not blanket assumption. “People will sometimes ask me why I’m so active within both commercial aviation and autonomous vehicles, for example. The reason is super-straightforward,” he says. “Both of their futures are deeply intertwined.”

PAUL EDWARDS -

HEAD OF CREATIVE DESIGN, AIRBUS

The parameters of comfort, service, ambience and design in the cabin are undergoing a process of expansion, says Paul Edwards, the main creative architect behind Airbus’ Airspace.

“Airlines will offer passengers in all classes much more choice and flexibility, including the ability to select a flight experience based on their personal needs, which are very different for business or leisure, for old or young or for traveling alone or with family,” he says. And while in the past, the cabin experience was punctuated by stand-alone cabin elements – seats, galleys and lavatories, for instance – with greater digitization these will conjoin, and an Internet of Things-enabled environment will become the standard.

“IoT is about so much more than just voice-activated controls,” Edwards says. “We will see the merging of lighting and display technology to create truly unique, inspiring spaces and atmospheres where ambience and functionality combine, enhanced by augmented reality and supportive multimedia technologies such as surface lighting, OLED screens and artificial outside views.” A visualization of these digitally enhanced spaces was made public at this year’s Paris Air Show, where Airbus released its Airspace Cabin Vision 2030. Like the airframer’s Concept Cabin 2050, the vision for 10 years out is driven by passenger needs, Edwards says, but is “just a little closer to reality!”

PHOTOS: TEAGUE; AIRBUS

For Flexing Imagination Inside the Confines of the Cabin

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VISIONARIES

•

MICHAEL IBBITSON -

EVP, TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, DUBAI AIRPORTS

The fact that passengers still have to queue at check-in, passport control and the gate to prove who they are when they’ve already provided all that info weeks or even months out “is just bizarre,” says Michael Ibbitson. A system that ensures traveler identities are made available to all the entities before they arrive would improve the experience for travelers and reduce the amount of space dedicated to processing in airports, Ibbitson says. The reallocation of space is something that would certainly benefit an airport like Dubai’s, which saw 22 million travelers pass through its doors in the first quarter of 2019 alone.

“It’s not a simple task because it’s cross-border, cross-jurisdiction and it covers many ideologies and governments,” Ibbitson says. But Dubai Airports is working closely with IATA, as well as other airports and airlines, to create a system that is standardized across the entire industry, with trials already completed between London and Dubai and pending for London–Dubai–Australia. Ibbitson insists this type of industry-wide collaboration isn’t unprecedented: Widespread standardization of barcode boarding and e-ticketing have already been achieved, for example. “Surely we can do the same with identity and biometrics,” he says.

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PHOTO: XAVIER ANSART

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TRAVELOGUE

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TRAVELOGUE

Paper Trail Delta Air Lines’ senior vice-president of In-Flight Service, Allison Ausband, shares how her background in journalism is anything but yesterday’s news.

AS TOLD BY ALLISON AUSBAND TO VALERIE SILVA ILLUSTRATION BY FELIPE VARGAS

J

ournalists are taught that to become effective communicators, they must first hone the more thankless skill of listening.

Ironically, I learned this lesson long before ever setting foot at the University of Georgia, where I would, in 1980, enroll in journalism straight out of high school.

The small town of McDonough, Georgia, where I grew up, was home to no more than 2,900 citizens, and I knew nearly all of them – not least because my father was their mayor. I’d watch him in the town square exchanging hellos, listen to him in front of large groups and overhear him on the telephone as he helped someone who’d called at 9 o’clock at night with a problem.

Big or small, he was all ears.

Today, McDonough’s population is upward of 26,000 – just a little larger than the group of flight attendants I lead at Delta Air Lines, who, I might add, are some of the best in the world. And like my father – who, at 86 years old, remains the town’s mayor – I bring with me a willingness to listen to every single member of my community, practicing a similar open-door (and inbox) policy, with a huge sense of responsibility and accountability to those I serve every day.

Delta, unlike most American carriers, benefits from these direct relationships and a culture that thrives on servant leadership and valuing diverse perspectives. Of course, employee issues

arrive at our airline like at anyone else’s, but we make a point of responding to them differently.

In the case of a large operational disruption that happened a few years ago, 1,400 flights were grounded. If you were traveling with us during that time, you know it was rough, but you may not

I bring with me a willingness to listen to every single member of my community, practicing an open-door (and inbox) policy. have realized that it also created havoc for our flight crews. Things were out of sync, their days were extended and many couldn’t get home to their families. Those were some very difficult days, and we refused to let it happen ever again. We quickly arranged listening sessions with flight attendants and gave them a space to express their concerns. Thirty days later, we instated work rule changes for irregular operations that involve compensation, new scheduling protocols and more. Our culture empowers action. And one of our top priorities is creating opportunities for Delta people to share feedback.

With a team sprawled across the world, I need to make sure the communication is flowing both ways. I share videos, attend employee-involvement group sessions and send weekly e-mails in an effort to form lasting connections in a professional setting that doesn’t often allow for conventional face-to-face office meetings. Of course, any flight is always an awesome opportunity to listen to our flight attendants – they keep me straight on their priorities.

When crafting these communications, I often think back to my time writing scripts in journalism school and to that mental checklist that was instilled in me as a student: Be succinct, be truthful, be relatable. Being involved at the University of Georgia, I go back often to visit my alma mater and tell the dean and students that everything I learned during my time there, I am still using wholeheartedly today to ensure my message resonates with my audience.

I wouldn’t trade my career at Delta or the education that preceded it for anything, but it definitely wasn’t what I had in mind fresh out of journalism school in 1983. After turning down a job at Turner Broadcasting, I went to work at a local radio station, where I wore many hats – from disc jockey in the morning to advertising salesperson in the afternoon.

I loved it, but after some time I craved something bigger. > APEX.AERO | V9 E4 |

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TRAVELOGUE

Being in Georgia, I had a number of Fortune 500 companies to consider. After doing my homework on each company’s values and cultures, I set my sights on Delta, where I figured I could put my communications background to use in their public relations department. I wrote up my resume and sent it off straightaway.

I was swiftly rejected. At the time, it was a major disappointment, but today I wear that rejection letter like a badge of honor – in fact, I look at it nearly every day, since it’s framed above my desk in my office.

The letter explained that administrative positions, like those in PR, were only filled by promotions within the company, so the only way I could get into Delta at the time was to take on a frontline position. So I did, as a flight attendant – a job I held for six years before climbing the corporate ladder, so to speak.

The more I flew, the more I thought, I want to learn more about Delta, and I want to give more of myself to the airline. I still refer back to my time on the front line to help me think through issues that I’m faced with as a leader today. And to make sure my “research” isn’t out of date, I make it a point to keep up my qualifications as a flight attendant and work several flights every year.

In one case, I was approached by a member of my team about the design of the uniform’s neck scarf. The scarves have this bad habit of rotating around the neck and then ending up with the knot at the bottom.

Sounds minor, but it is frustrating – I know 136

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because I experienced it firsthand while working a flight. To properly advocate for my team, I need to understand what they’re going through. As for the scarves, we enlisted the help of Lands’ End and the Savannah College of Art and Design to redesign the accessory.

While I paid my dues on the front line, I never did make my way to the PR department – at least not officially. But with a community of 24,000 incredible flight attendants, it’s my responsibility, every day, to make sure our vision is clear and our message is delivered.

Other times, I’m speaking to a boardroom of men and need to work really hard to find my voice. It’s something I’m still working on, and as recently as three years ago, I had a mentor whisper in my ear during a meeting, “Lean in. Speak up.

You know this topic.” I had read my fair share of Sheryl Sandberg, so I knew what he was talking about, but being called out in the moment had a huge impact on me.

As a woman in my position, there is a huge opportunity to support other women. And I think Delta is doing a really good job at it – it has made Fortune’s “Best Workplaces for Women” for two consecutive years. But it isn’t just about gender; diversity in all its forms can point out our own blind spots and unconscious biases, so it’s important to give as many people as possible a seat at the table.

Over the past two years, I’ve been at the helm of Delta’s anti-human-trafficking initiatives, which seek to raise awareness

among our 80,000 employees, over three-quarters of whom have already been trained to observe the signs of trafficking and take action both on the ground and in the air. Just recently, we had two Delta mechanics eating at a fast-food restaurant over lunch who were able to identify, report and help two young girls who were being trafficked.

One of the most significant things we do for survivors of human trafficking is offer them apprenticeships. We understand that the effects of being trafficked don’t end once victims are found, because many are then faced with emotional hurdles, drugrelated problems and even felony charges.

The fact that Delta is able to give them a leg up, be part of their reintegration and help them find their voice is something I’m especially proud of.

It’s a dark topic, but an important one that needs to be addressed. And in that way, it feels like I am very much doing what I had initially set out to do. If I were a journalist, I’d be doing investigative work, tackling difficult topics and shedding light on human-rights issues.

At Delta, I’m just approaching it from a different angle.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ALLISON AUSBAND

Allison Ausband on the job as SVP of In-Flight Service (left) and at her first day of flight attendant training (below).

13 Whatney, Irvine, CA 92618 IoT.Inquiry.USA@advantech.com www.advantech.com

NEWS

Headlines

LUFTHANSA UNVEILS NEXT-GEN PREMIUM ECONOMY SEAT

Top news stories from the airline and passenger experience industries

Lufthansa has unveiled its next-generation premium economy seat, which will debut on the airline’s Boeing 777-9s in late 2020. The seats will have larger seatback displays and a bigger storage nook below the screens. The premium economy seat will also be installed on subsidiary Swiss’ Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A340 aircraft as of early 2021. At Lufthansa’s Capital Markets Day, the airline revealed that its revenue per square meter for premium economy class is six percent higher than in business, and 33 percent higher than in economy.

PHOTOS: LUFTHANSA

BRITISH AIRWAYS FINED $230M FOR CUSTOMER DATA BREACH British Airways (BA) was hit with a $230-million fine from the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for last year’s breach of the airline’s security systems. The ICO said the penalty is the biggest it has handed out, and the first to be made public under the European Union’s new General Data Protection

Regulation rules. The incident took place after visitors to BA’s website were diverted to a fraudulent site, where details of about 500,000 customers, including credit card numbers, were harvested by the attackers, the ICO said. BA chairman and CEO Alex Cruz said the airline was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision.

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NEWS

ANA TO TEST SELF-DRIVING ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIRS AT NARITA All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Panasonic began testing self-driving electric wheelchairs at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. The wheelchairs incorporate robotic elements and tracking capabilities that enable them to navigate autonomously through the airport, while detecting and avoiding people and obstacles.

“ANA’s partnership with Panasonic will make Narita Airport more welcoming and accessible, both of which are crucial to maintaining the airport’s status as a hub for international travel in the years to come,” said Juichi Hirasawa, senior vice-president of ANA.

Google Flights signed an expanded longterm deal with ATPCO that gives the metasearch website access to all Routehappy rich content. The agreement extends Google Flights’ five-year relationship with Routehappy, granting flight shoppers access to information on amenities such as Wi-Fi, seat pitch, in-flight entertainment and power availability, while also providing access to universal ticket attributes (UTAs) and universal product attributes (UPAs). UTAs provide easy-tounderstand information about individual fares, such as cancellation policies and baggage restrictions, while UPAs visually highlight in-flight features through descriptive text, photos, graphics and videos.

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SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SELECTS INMARSAT GX AVIATION FOR A350 FLEET Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has selected Inmarsat’s GX Aviation in-flight connectivity for its forthcoming fleet of eight Airbus A350-900s. The first equipped aircraft is scheduled for delivery by the end of the year and is expected to fly in 2020. The service will allow passengers to browse the web, use instant messaging apps, check social media and stream video and audio content. Philip Balaam, Inmarsat Aviation’s president, said the service is a “perfect fit for the airline’s new Airbus A350 aircraft, which will cover high-demand long-haul routes from Scandinavia to the United States and Asia.”

AIRASIA TACKLES AIDS WITH A THAI-AMERICAN FUSION BURGER AirAsia partnered with (RED) and New York City-based celebrity chef Hong Thaimee to support the fight against AIDS. The partnership has seen the introduction of a ThaiAmerican fusion burger, called the INSPI(RED) Burger, to AirAsia’s new in-flight menu. The burger features a chicken patty infused with fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. Ten percent of sales from the burger will support AIDS testing, counseling, treatment and prevention programs.

PHOTOS: PANASONIC AVIONICS; AIRASIA

GOOGLE FLIGHTS EXPANDS DEAL FOR MORE ROUTEHAPPY DATA

NEWS

GOGO’S 5G AIR-TOGROUND NETWORK UP BY 2021 Just over a year after joining the Seamless Air Alliance to help shape the future of in-flight connectivity, Gogo revealed in late May that it would launch a 5G air-to-ground (ATG) network in 2021. The solution will be available for commercial regional jets, small mainline jets and business aviation aircraft operating within the United States and Canada. “We expect to launch Gogo 5G at the same time as the terrestrial telecommunications companies are deploying the same generation of technology on the ground – a first in the in-flight connectivity industry,” said Oakleigh Thorne, CEO of Gogo.

AIRBUS GOES THE DISTANCE WITH A321XLR Airbus unveiled the A321XLR (Xtra Long-Range), a new A321neo variant capable of flying up to 4,700 nautical miles, which is 15 percent farther than the existing LR (LongRange) model. The 240-seat version of the aircraft will have a maximum takeoff weight of 101 metric tons and will be capable of flying on routes between Central Europe and destinations in the Midwestern United States. During the Paris Air Show in June, Air Lease Corporation ordered 27 A321XLRs as part of a larger contract for 100 aircraft, including 23 A321neos and 50 A220-300s worth $11 billion at list prices.

PHOTOS: ARI MAGNUSSON; AIRBUS; GOGO

PILOT LAUNCHED FOR PAPERLESS TRAVEL BETWEEN CANADA AND THE NETHERLANDS The World Economic Forum and the governments of Canada and the Netherlands launched a pilot project for paperless travel on flights between the two countries. The Known Traveller Digital Identity (KTDI) initiative is the first platform to use a traveler-managed identity for paperless international air travel.

Passengers are expected to begin using the platform on a trial basis, on around 10,000 flights, with the first end-to-end journey expected for 2020.

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NEWS

BOOM SUPERSONIC PARTNERS WITH JPA DESIGN FOR NEW JET INTERIORS

BOMBARDIER SELLS CRJ PROGRAM TO MITSUBISHI

Boom Supersonic has partnered with JPA Design to develop the cabin interior of Overture, the company’s Mach-2.2 commercial airliner. JPA Design will work in collaboration with Boom’s internal team to tailor the seating options, maximize cabin flexibility and work with airlines, such as Virgin Atlantic, which has signed options for the aircraft. “We are deeply excited to partner with Boom, a company that shares our belief in the potential of design and technology to transform how we live and also our desire to re-examine the entire passenger journey,” said Ben Orson, JPA Design’s managing director.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries agreed to buy Bombardier’s CRJ regional jet program for $550 million and take on $200 million worth of associated debt and liabilities. Under the terms of the deal, the Japanese manufacturer will take over maintenance, support, refurbishment, marketing and sales activities. Mitsubishi said it plans to retain three-quarters of the staff working under the CRJ program – about 1,200 employees around the world. Bombardier will keep its CRJ manufacturing facility in Mirabel, Quebec, where around 375 people will be employed until the sales backlog of 42 jets has been cleared.

Thales has developed new security and encoding technologies for its 4K in-flight entertainment systems, which will see Emirates passengers be able to stream premium ultra high-definition (UHD) content from Hollywood studios when the carrier launches Thales’ AVANT solution on its Boeing 777X fleet in 2020. The contract, under which Thales is to install AVANT on the first 50 of 150 777X aircraft Emirates has ordered, was announced at the 2016 APEX EXPO in Singapore. It was secured as a result of Thales’ committing to establish an innovation center – Discovery Dubai – in the United Arab Emirates.

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PHOTOS: BOMBARDIER; BOOM SUPERSONIC; THALES

THALES AVANT TO BRING 4K UHD TO EMIRATES PASSENGERS

Youar ec or di al l yi nvi t e dt ot he i n-i g htmot i onpi c t ur ee ve nto ft hes e as on

Wor l dwi deRi g ht s

CYNTHIA KLAR

CYNTHI A. KLAR NBCUNI .

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inflightdublin.com | mail@inflightdublin.com Images from: Men in Black: International, A Dog’s Way Home, Ghostbusters (2016), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: ©2019 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2019 MARVEL. Images from The Tomorrow Man: ©2019 Meridian Entertainment (Tomorrow Man), LLC. All Rights Reserved. Images from All Is True: ©2018 TKBC Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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Introducing the APEX/IFSA 2019–2020 Board of Governors Jointly appointed for a one-year renewable term by the presidents of APEX and IFSA, the APEX/IFSA Board of Governors consists of airline CEOs and presidents who meet each year at EXPO to provide top-level strategic guidance for the year ahead. The mission of the board of governors is to identify the priorities to best advance the global airline passenger experience and in-flight service industries. Their feedback will be presented to the membership of both associations with further updates on actions and accomplishments over the course of the year.

Ed Bastian

Jóhanna á Bergi

Ted Christie

Andrés Conesa

CEO Delta Air Lines

CEO Atlantic Airways

President & CEO Spirit Airlines

CEO Aeroméxico

Zhao Dong

Tewolde GebreMariam

Joanna Geraghty

Sebastian Mikosz

Chairman & Party Secretary Xiamen Airlines

CEO Ethiopian Airlines

President & COO JetBlue

CEO Kenya Airways

Christine OurmièresWidener ex-CEO flybe

Claudia Sender

Gonen Usishkin

Shai Weiss

Alex Wilcox

CEO Emeritus LATAM Brasil

CEO El Al Israel Airlines

CEO Virgin Atlantic

Co-founder & CEO JetSuiteX

Meet the Board of Governors at APEX EXPO: EXPO.APEX.AERO

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The list of members of the Board of Governors is subject to change.

ED BASTIAN

CEO, DELTA AIR LINES

Ed has led Delta’s transformation of the air travel experience with investments in technology, aircraft, airport facilities and its employees. A 20-year Delta veteran, he has been a critical leader in putting the airline’s shared values of honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance and servant leadership at the core of every decision.

Prior to joining Delta, he held senior finance positions at Frito-Lay International and Pepsi-Cola International.

ZHAO DONG

CHAIRMAN AND PARTY SECRETARY, XIAMEN AIRLINES

Dong is a senior management leader with 33 years of experience in civil aviation. He graduated from the Civil Aviation University of China, and has an MBA from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. Under his leadership, Xiamen Airlines is the only airline in China that has been profitable for 32 consecutive years. Dong also promoted the signing of an agreement on sustainable development goals between Xiamen Airlines and the United Nations, making it the first airline in the world to do so.

JÓHANNA Á BERGI

CEO, ATLANTIC AIRWAYS

Prior to joining Atlantic Airways in 2015, Jóhanna was the CEO of the shipping company Faroe Ship and was a sales manager for various companies in the fishing industry. She has a degree in Leadership from Robert Gordon University and has also studied Sales and Marketing at Den Danske Eksportskole.

TED CHRISTIE

TEWOLDE GEBREMARIAM CEO, ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES

Tewolde was appointed group chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines in January 2011. He began his career at the airline in 1985 as a transportation agent. Tewolde serves as a member of the High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport with United Nations, as a chief executive board member of Star Alliance, and as a board member of IATA and Airlink Advisory Council.

Tewolde graduated from Addis Ababa University with a BA in Economics and earned his MBA from The Open University in the United Kingdom.

PRESIDENT AND CEO, SPIRIT AIRLINES

Having joined Spirit in April 2012, Ted, in his various roles, has overseen many departments of the airline, including finance and human resources. Prior to this role, he served as CFO of airline holding company Pinnacle Airlines Corp. Ted began his airline career at Frontier Airlines, where he helped the carrier achieve a competitive cost structure. He earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Arizona in 1992.

ANDRÉS CONESA CEO, AEROMÉXICO

Appointed as CEO of Grupo Aeroméxico in 2005, Andrés has been a member of the IATA Board of Governors since 2008.

Prior to his aviation career, he held several senior positions in the Mexican government. Andrés holds a PhD in Economics from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico.

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JOANNA GERAGHTY

PRESIDENT AND COO, JETBLUE

Joanna’s focus is on delivering a leading customer-service experience and enhancing operational and commercial performance while nurturing JetBlue’s unique culture. She is a JetBlue Foundation board member and chairperson of the board of Concern Worldwide. Before joining JetBlue, she was a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight. She received her BA from the College of the Holy Cross, her MA in International Relations from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and her JD from Syracuse University College of Law.

SEBASTIAN MIKOSZ CEO, KENYA AIRWAYS

Sebastian has over 20 years of professional experience in executive management both in the private and public sector. Prior to joining Kenya Airways, Sebastian was the CEO of LOT Polish Airlines, director of Deloitte Poland and more recently, the CEO of eSky.pl, the leading Central European online travel agent. Sebastian is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies in France with an MA in Economics and Finance.

CHRISTINE OURMIÈRES-WIDENER EX-CEO, FLYBE

Christine started her aviation career in 1988 on the maintenance team for the Concorde at Air France. She then headed the Air France-KLM team for North America, and later of UK and Ireland, before serving as chief executive of the Irish airline CityJet. She joined flybe in 2016 and became its CEO in 2017.

In 2018, she became the first woman elected to IATA’s Board of Governors.

GONEN USISHKIN

CEO, EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES

Gonen has served as president and chief executive officer at El Al Israel Airlines since February 2018. Prior to these roles, he held leadership positions in the airline’s business development, planning and organization; revenue management; scheduling and distribution systems; and commercial planning departments. He is also a member of the Advisory Board at Cockpit Innovation Hub. He holds a BA in Economics and Management and an MBA, both from Tel Aviv University. He has also served as a combat pilot in the Israel Air Force.

SHAI WEISS CEO, VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Shai joined Virgin Atlantic as executive vice-president and chief financial officer in July 2014 from Virgin Management, where he had been an investment partner since 2012 and was a founding partner of Virgin Green Fund. In January 2017, he assumed the role of executive vice-president and chief commercial officer responsible for shaping the airline’s strategic position in the market, driving opportunities for new revenue, and leading the Loyalty, Alliances and Marketing programs that distinguish the airline. Shai holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a BBA from City University of New York, Baruch College.

CLAUDIA SENDER CEO EMERITUS, LATAM BRASIL

Claudia leads the marketing, airport, onboard service, contact center, frequent flyer program and customer experience initiatives of LATAM Airlines Group. She joined TAM Airlines in December 2011 as Commercial and Marketing vice-president.

With the LAN-TAM merger in 2012, she became head of the Brazil Domestic Business Unit, and TAM Airlines’ CEO in May 2013. Claudia has a BA in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic School at the University of São Paulo and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

ALEX WILCOX CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, JETSUITE & JETSUITEX

For over two decades, Alex has disrupted traditional business models in the aviation industry. As a founder of JetBlue, he introduced LiveTV and all-leather seating to the low-fare-carrier sector. In 2008, he started JetSuite, a private air charter company in the United States, and in 2016, Alex created JetSuiteX, an alternative for flying short distances between major West Coast destinations from private terminals at costs close to a traditional airline seat.

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Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Brinder Bhatia Each year, APEX identifies an individual who embodies the association’s values of transforming the in-flight experience and pushing the industry forward. This year’s recipient, Brinder Bhatia, is no exception. His impressive career of over 40 years, most recently with Panasonic Avionics (formerly known as Matsushita Avionics Systems), helped build the organization into the powerhouse it is known as today. Working his way through the ranks, Bhatia served as Panasonic Avionics’ executive vice-president, executive counselor and corporate advisor to the CEO, where he demonstrated the ability to bring various cultures and ideals together, revolutionizing the in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) industry for years to come.

Beginning in the late 1970s, Bhatia helped implement systems such as Hughes’ early 12-channel audio systems on McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and Boeing 747s. Later, he led teams in the development of ACESS and Apax 140 cabin communications systems, and the introduction of Panasonic’s interactivity, AVOD and now connected aircraft. Bhatia later leveraged these experiences and learnings when leading a multinational team of engineers in creating truly unique antenna technologies that, once completed, were deployed globally.

His drive and determination remain unmatched among his peers, young and old.

Regardless of the project, Bhatia’s focus is geared toward airlines and their passenger experience.

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Brinder Bhatia helped develop cabin communications and AVOD systems, and spearheaded the movement toward making IFEC a more integral part of the passenger experience.

Throughout Bhatia’s career, he worked tirelessly to balance the sometimes-competing needs of airlines and aircraft OEMs. He pushed the industry toward building both custom and customizable systems that made IFEC central to the passenger experience for virtually every airline. Not content with only finding new solutions for passenger interactivity, Bhatia led his team in engineering and introducing on-demand entertainment; giving passengers the freedom to choose how and when to watch what they want. These efforts lead to the creation and deployment of Panasonic’s S2000e VOD1/1.5 delivering VOD to first- and business-class cabins. Subsequently, he, once again, pushed the industry to provide these technologies to all classes and on large, long-range aircraft through the creation of S3000 and 3000i systems with AVOD. Even in retirement, Bhatia continued to dedicate his life to IFEC. His drive and determination remain unmatched among his peers, young and old. Regardless of the project, Bhatia’s focus is geared toward airlines and their passenger experience. For this, APEX is proud to honor Brinder Bhatia as the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and a lifetime honorary member of APEX.

IFSA

Highlight: IFSA Government Affairs and Advocacy Work As a long-standing global association focused on the advancement of the airline onboard experience, the International Flight Services Association (IFSA) is working to advocate and be the voice of the in-flight catering industry. IFSA provides representation before government officials to ensure the safety, security and quality of the service within the airline catering industry, assuring it has a seat at the table to discuss new regulations that impact airlines, caterers and passengers.

The in-flight catering industry is rooted in safety and security, and we continue to strive toward

exceeding all levels of compliance.

Compared to traditional food and service companies, the in-flight catering industry requires a different approach to regulations such as labeling and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Numerous IFSA members (American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Flying Food Group) have invested additional resources into IFSA’s government affairs capabilities to take a proactive approach to addressing critical issues involving food safety and labeling requirements impacting airlines and airline caterers, both in the United States and globally.

Compared to traditional food and service companies, the in-flight catering industry requires a different approach to regulations.

Please be on the lookout for more information around IFSA’s enhanced advocacy work.

IFSA provides regular updates on new food and beverage labeling regulations, food contact materials, ramp safety, regulated garbage, special meal codes, halal guidelines and more. To stay in-the-know with updates from IFSA’s Government Affairs and Education Committee, visit IFSA.aero/GAEC.

Connect With IFSA Facebook International Flight Services Association

Twitter @IFSAOnBoard

LinkedIn International Flight Services Association

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INNOVATION AT STARTS WITH

Some companies start with a contract. We start with eye contact.

In a world of mega-mergers, a simple conversation isn’t always that simple anymore.

That’s why Astronics takes a down-to-earth approach that invites collaboration.

It’s a process that accelerates the innovation of technology systems that integrate seamlessly with your aircraft. Ready to work differently? Your seat is waiting.

POWER | CONNEC TIVIT Y | LIGHTING | INTERIORS | SERVICES | TEST © 2019 Astronics Corporation. All rights reserved.

30,000 FEET A CONVERSATION AT 30 INCHES

ELEVATING innovation Let’s start the conversation. APEX Booth 1429

Astronics.com/Partner

The largest independent distributor of Feature Films and Special Programming to the airline market APEX DPS Sponsorship Banner.indd 1

What to look for in the months ahead

Coming Attractions W

21 Bridges

Director: Brian Kirk Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Sienna Miller, J.K. Simmons, Taylor Kitsch An embattled NYPD detective is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy. As the night unfolds, lines become blurred between who he is pursuing, and who is pursuing him.

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Ad Astra

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Aladdin

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Director: James Gray Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland

Director: Guy Ritchie Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban

Astronaut Roy McBride travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

This thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of the animated classic tells the tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the genie who may be the key to their future.

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL AND TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

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Director: Ric Roman Waugh Cast: Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Piper Perabo, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nick Nolte Authorities take Secret Service agent Mike Banning into custody for the failed assassination attempt on US President Allan Trumbull. After escaping from his captors, Banning must evade the FBI and his own agency to find the real threat to the president.

DISTRIBUTOR: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CONTACT: JOAN FILIPPINI

* EXCLUDING MAINLAND CHINA, HONG KONG, MACAU AND TAIWAN

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

Angel Has Fallen

* EXCLUDING US

N: NORTH AMERICA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF STXFILMS; © 2018 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; © 2019 DISNEY ENTERPRISES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; © 2019 VVS FILMS

DISTRIBUTOR: TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: NADJA RUTKOWSKI

A Global Eagle Company

PHOTOS: © 2019 WARNER BROS. ENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES RELEASING; © 2019 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; © 2019 IQIYI PICTURES (SHANGHAI). ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; COURTESY OF CINESKY PICTURES

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Annabelle Comes Home W

Director: Gary Dauberman Cast: Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren bring the possessed doll to the locked artifacts room in their home, placing her “safely” behind sacred glass and enlisting a priest’s holy blessing.

But an unholy night of horror awaits as Annabelle awakens the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target: the Warrens’ 10-year-old daughter Judy and her friends.

DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS. CONTACT: JEFF CRAWFORD

*

Aquarela

The Art of Racing in the Rain W

Director: Viktor Kossakovsky From the precarious frozen waters of Russia’s Lake Baikal, to Miami in the throes of Hurricane Irma, to Venezuela’s mighty Angel Falls, water’s many personalities are captured in startling cinematic clarity.

DISTRIBUTOR: SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES *ARUBA, AUSTRALIA, BOTSWANA, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS, GAMBIA, GREENLAND, INDIA, LATIN AMERICA, LESOTHO, MALAWI, MAURITIUS, MOZAMBIQUE, NAMIBIA, NEW CALEDONIA, NEW ZEALAND, SCANDINAVIA, SEYCHELLES, SOUTH AFRICA, SWAZILAND, US, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE; EXCLUDING DENMARK, FRENCH GUIANA/ FRENCH, GUADELOUPE/FRENCH, MARTINIQUE/FRENCH, MOZAMBIQUE/PORTUGUESE, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES/DUTCH

Director: Simon Curtis Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, Kathy Baker, Martin Donovan, Gary Cole, Kevin Costner For the first time on the big screen comes Garth Stein’s soulful and humorous bestselling novel, told from the eyes of the wise and lovable dog Enzo. After years of life, love and adventure on the racetrack, Enzo looks back on his life’s ups and downs alongside his best friend and professional racecar driver.

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL AND TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

* EXCLUDING ...

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ATM

Director: Zha Mu Chun Cast: Zhu Ya Wen, Sandrine Pinna, Wang Liang When an ATM located 200 miles away in Beartown suddenly breaks down, secret lovers Meng Xiaoxian and Hebi make a bet to see who deserves to keep the high-paying job at the bank by helping to prevent more losses.

DISTRIBUTOR: ENCORE INFLIGHT CONTACT: EDWIN CHEUNG * EXCLUDING MAINLAND CHINA

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood W

Director: Marielle Heller Cast: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Cooper This timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism is based on the real-life friendship between Mister Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness and decency from America’s most beloved neighbor.

DISTRIBUTOR: SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

N: NORTH AMERICA

W

Being Rose

Director: Rod McCall Cast: Cybill Shepherd, James Brolin, Pam Grier Rose is a widowed, retired ex-cop.

Learning that she has a serious illness, she goes on a solo road trip through the American Southwest. During her adventure, Rose falls for an old cowboy who has come to a crossroads of his own.

Sometimes love takes the back roads.

DISTRIBUTOR: CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON * EXCLUDING US AND CANADA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

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Delivering the richness and diversity of Indian language content A Global Eagle Company

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Birthday

2019-07-25 4:40 PM

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Director: Lee Jong-un Cast: Sul Kyung-gu, Jeon Do-yeon Soon-nam can’t accept her son Su-ho’s tragic death in the 2014 South Korean ferry disaster. Su-ho’s father, Jung-il, who bears the guilt of not being there for his family, finally returns to Korea two years after his son’s passing. As Su-ho’s birthday approaches, his family’s longing for him only increases, but they are determined to mark the day in his memory.

Blinded by the Light

Director: Gurinder Chadha Cast: Viveik Kalra, Hayley Atwell, Robert Brydon, Kulvinder Ghir, Nell Williams, Aaron Phagura A drama set to the inspiring music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen’s timeless songs.

DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS. CONTACT: JEFF CRAWFORD * EXCLUDING PAKISTAN, INDIA, JAPAN, FRANCE, UK, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, SCANDINAVIA, SWEDEN, DENMARK, NORWAY, FINLAND AND ICELAND

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Blue Iguana

Director: Hadi Hajaig Cast: Sam Rockwell, Phoebe Fox, Ben Schwartz, Al Weaver, Robin Hellier Small-time New York crooks Eddie and Paul are in over their heads when a cute lawyer hires them to fly to London and steal a rare jewel called the Blue Iguana.

Meanwhile, a mullet-haired gangster wants the gem for himself. Bullets and sparks fly in this pond-hopping comedic caper.

Mullets, bullets and one gem of a heist.

DISTRIBUTOR: EMPHASIS VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT CONTACT: GIGI LEE

DISTRIBUTOR: PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI

* EXCLUDING KOREA

* EXCLUDING US AND CANADA

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Bottom of the 9th

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Brian Banks

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Chamboultout

Director: Raymond De Felitta Cast: Joe Manganiello, Sofía Vergara, Burt Young, Denis O’Hare

Director: Tom Shadyac Cast: Aldis Hodge, Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd

Director: Eric Lavaine Cast: Alexandra Lamy, José Garcia, Michaël Youn

From the producers of the Rocky franchise comes an inspirational underdog story about a young rising star whose life went wrong. After serving 17 years in prison for a terrible mistake made in his youth, a once-aspiring baseball player returns to his Bronx neighborhood. He must fight to reclaim his career, his friendships and his love.

The inspirational true story of Brian Banks, an All-American high school football star committed to USC who finds his life upended when he is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.

Beatrice celebrates the publication of her book, in which she tells the story of her husband’s accident, with her close friends and family. The accident turned their lives upside down: Though still funny and seductive, Frederic has become an unpredictable man with no filter. But even though Beatrice may have changed the names, everyone will try to find his or her character.

DISTRIBUTOR: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CONTACT: JOAN FILIPPINI

DISTRIBUTOR: CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON

DISTRIBUTOR: O’BRIEN INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: JACQUELINE BRIENS * EXCLUDING TAIWAN, FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, SPAIN, US AND CANADA

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

156 156 experience

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N: NORTH AMERICA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

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Charlie’s Angels

Director: Elizabeth Banks Cast: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Elizabeth Banks, Noah Centineo, Djimon Hounsou The next generation of fearless Charlie’s Angels takes flight. Sabina Wilson, Elena Houghlin and Jane Kano work for the mysterious Charles Townsend, whose security and investigative agency has expanded internationally. With the world’s smartest, bravest and most highly trained women all over the globe, there are now teams of Angels guided by multiple Bosleys taking on the toughest jobs everywhere.

2019-07-25 4:42 PM

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Crawl

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Director: Alexandre Aja Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper When a massive hurricane hits her Florida hometown, Haley and her father become trapped by quickly encroaching floodwaters. As time runs out to escape the strengthening storm, they discover that the rising water level is the least of their fears.

DISTRIBUTOR: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CONTACT: JOAN FILIPPINI

Dora and the Lost City of Gold Director: James Bobin Cast: Isabela Moner, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots, Diego and a ragtag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost city of gold.

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Dumbo

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End of Sentence

Director: Tim Burton Cast: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin

Director: Elfar Adalsteins Cast: John Hawkes, Logan Lerman, Sarah Bolger

This all-new grand live-action adventure expands on the beloved classic story where differences are celebrated, family is cherished and dreams take flight.

Down-and-out ex-con Sean joins his uptight but well-intentioned father Frank on a road trip to scatter their late mother and wife’s ashes. Between a disconcerting Irish wake, the resurfacing of an old flame, the pickup of the intriguing hitchhiker Jewel and plenty of unresolved issues, the journey becomes a little more than father and son had bargained for.

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

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Shizuka takes her niece to a hypnotist to inspire her for an upcoming school musical, but it is Shizuka who falls under the spell.

Soon she is uncontrollably breaking into song and dance whenever she hears music: in the street, during board meetings, at posh restaurants, even a cell phone ringtone!

Shizuka must embark on a cross-country hunt for the hypnotist to break the spell.

* EXCLUDING JAPAN

DISTRIBUTOR: PARAMOUNT PICTURES CONTACT: JOAN FILIPPINI

158 158 experience

Director: Shinobu Yaguchi Cast: Ayaka Miyoshi, Yu Yashiro, chay, Takahiro Miura, Murotsuyoshi, Akira Takarada

DISTRIBUTOR: ENCORE INFLIGHT CONTACT: EDWIN CHEUNG

DISTRIBUTOR: SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES

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Dance With Me

DISTRIBUTOR: JAGUAR DISTRIBUTION CORP. CONTACT: FRANCE CAPOR

N: NORTH AMERICA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES RELEASING; © 2019 PARAMOUNT PICTURES; © 2019 “DANCE WITH ME” FILM PARTNERS; © 2019 PARAMOUNT PICTURES; © 2019 DISNEY ENTERPRISES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; © ROCKET SCIENCE

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For Love or Money

Director: Mark Murphy Cast: Robert Kazinsky, Samantha Barks, Ed Speleers, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Tony Way A fairy-tale romance takes an unexpected turn when Mark discovers his beautiful bride-to-be, Connie, has actually been plotting against him. Instead of dumping her immediately, he decides to make her life a living hell first, taking them both through an adventure of an unromantic comedy.

DISTRIBUTOR: PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI

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The Goldfinch

Director: John Crowley Cast: Ansel Elgort, Oakes Fegley, Aneurin Barnard, Finn Wolfhard, Ashleigh Cummings, Willa Fitzgerald Theodore “Theo” Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief, guilt, reinvention, redemption and love.

Through it all, he holds onto one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day: a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch.

DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS. CONTACT: JEFF CRAWFORD

2019-07-25 4:44 PM

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F.R.E.D.I.

Director: James Mangold Cast: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas

Director: Sean Olson Cast: Lucius Hoyos, Candace Cameron Bure, Casimere Jollette, Reid Miller, Tyler Christopher

Based on a true story. An eccentric, determined team of American engineers and designers, led by automotive visionary Carroll Shelby and his British driver, Ken Miles, are dispatched by Henry Ford II with the mission of building from scratch an entirely new race car with the potential to finally defeat the perennially dominant Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans World Championship.

An intelligent and lovable robot known as F.R.E.D.I. is stolen from a secret research facility by the project’s lead scientist. The robot is discovered by 15-year-old James in the forest behind his Arkansas home.

Soon, the two begin to communicate and create a bond through which F.R.E.D.I. learns about teenage life and James learns some new values.

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL AND TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

DISTRIBUTOR: PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI

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Hotel Mumbai

Director: Anthony Maras Cast: Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Jason Isaacs, Anupam Kher, Nazanin Boniadi This gripping true story of humanity and heroism vividly recounts the 2008 siege of the famed Taj Hotel by terrorists in Mumbai, India. Among the dedicated hotel staff are a renowned chef and a waiter who risk their lives to protect their guests. As the world watches, a desperate couple is forced to make unthinkable sacrifices to protect their newborn child.

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I Am Duran

Director: Mat Hodgson Cast: Mike Tyson, Robert De Niro, Sugar Ray Leonard, Manuel Noriega, Roberto Duran, Sylvester Stallone A world champion by the age of 21, Duran was a fighter, a brawler and a warrior, and the fans loved him.

Duran transcended sport and inspired his beloved Panama to rise toward independence. This is the story of a man who became a hero, an icon and an inspiration to successive generations.

DISTRIBUTOR: JAGUAR DISTRIBUTION CONTACT: FRANCE CAPOR

DISTRIBUTOR: PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI * EXCLUDING UK, INDIA, INDIAN SUB-CONTINENTS, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, US AND CANADA

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

160 160 experience

Ford v Ferrari

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N: NORTH AMERICA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF PICTUREWORKS; © 2019 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; COURTESY OF PICTUREWORKS; © 2019 WARNER BROS. ENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; COURTESY OF PICTUREWORKS; © KALEIDOSCOPE

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I Am Mother

Director: Grant Sputore Cast: Rose Byrne, Hilary Swank In the wake of humanity’s extinction, a teenage girl is raised by a robot designed to repopulate Earth. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news.

DISTRIBUTOR: ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS * EXCLUDING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

2019-07-25 4:40 PM

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The Informer

Director: Andrea Di Stefano Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common, Clive Owen To free himself from jail and return to his wife and daughter, reformed criminal and former special-ops soldier Pete Koslow has been working undercover for crooked FBI handlers to infiltrate the Polish mob’s New York drug trade. For his final step, Koslow must race against time in Bale Hill Prison when a drug deal gone wrong threatens to identify him as a mole.

DISTRIBUTOR: JAGUAR DISTRIBUTION CONTACT: FRANCE CAPOR

The Invincible Dragon W

Director: Fruit Chan Cast: Max Zhang, Anderson Silva, Kevin Cheng, Annie Liu, Stephy Tang Agent Kowloon is a rising star in the Hong Kong police force. A few years earlier, during an investigation of a series of murders, both a colleague and Kowloon’s fiancé had been killed. Now copycat cases have occurred in Macau, where Kowloon has no jurisdiction, and he suspects American army veteran Alexander Sinclair.

DISTRIBUTOR: EMPHASIS VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT CONTACT: GIGI LEE * EXCLUDING CHINA

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It Chapter Two

Director: Andy Muschietti Cast: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone

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Judy

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Director: Rupert Goold Cast: Renée Zellweger, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell

Because every 27 years evil revisits the town of Derry, Maine, this sequel brings the characters – who’ve long since gone their separate ways – back together as adults, nearly three decades after the events of the first film.

Winter, 1968: Showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in swinging London to perform in a sell-out run at the Talk of the Town. Featuring some of Garland’s bestknown songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer.”

DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS. CONTACT: JEFF CRAWFORD

DISTRIBUTOR: ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS

The Kitchen

Director: Andrea Berloff Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss, Domhnall Gleeson, James Badge Dale, Brian d’Arcy James In 1978, three Hell’s Kitchen housewives’ mobster husbands are sent to prison by the FBI. Left with little but a sharp ax to grind, the ladies take the Irish mafia’s matters into their own hands, proving unexpectedly adept at everything from running the rackets to taking out the competition – literally. Based on the Vertigo comic book series from DC Entertainment.

DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS. CONTACT: JEFF CRAWFORD

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

162 162 experience

| V9 E4 | APEX.AERO

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I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

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Director: Todd Robinson Cast: Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Christopher Plummer, Jeremy Irvine The true story of a courageous Air Force medic who gave his life aiding soldiers in battle. Years later, his comrades and father seek an investigator to finally procure him a long-deserved Congressional Medal of Honor.

DISTRIBUTOR: CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON

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Little White Lies 2

Director: Guillaume Canet Cast: François Cluzet, Marion Cotillard, Gilles Lellouche, Laurent Lafitte Max retreats to his beach house to relax, but his old buddies, who he hasn’t seen in over three years, show up to surprise him for his birthday! Max’s surprise is genuine, but his excitement less so, leading to a comedy of fake happiness that lands the group in some unexpected situations.

When priorities change, leaving little white lies in the past, what remains of friendship?

DISTRIBUTOR: ENCORE INFLIGHT CONTACT: EDWIN CHEUNG

* EXCLUDING US AND CANADA

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A Long Goodbye

Director: Sho Tsukikawa Cast: Mei Nagano, Takumi Kitamura As retired school principal Shohei gathers his family to celebrate his 70th birthday, he reveals to his wife and two daughters that he is suffering from dementia. While Shohei’s memory loss is upsetting and confusing for his family, the situation also reveals that one particularly happy memory, which the three ladies had long forgotten, is still alive and well.

DISTRIBUTOR: EMPHASIS VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT CONTACT: GIGI LEE * EXCLUDING JAPAN

* EXCLUDING FRANCE

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Love Beats

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Luce

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Ma

Director: Roberto Bueso Cast: Gonzalo Fernández, Charlotte Vega, Pepo Llopis, Xavi Giner

Director: Julius Onah Cast: Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Tim Roth, Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Director: Tate Taylor Cast: Octavia Spencer, Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, Luke Evans, Missi Pyle

Edu, a young musician living in London, returns to his hometown in Spain for 10 days to attend his brother’s wedding.

The return awakens in him a need to recover everything he left behind, especially Alicia, the eternal girlfriend of his best friend.

An all-star high school athlete and accomplished debater, Luce is a poster boy for the new American Dream, as are the parents who adopted him from a war-torn country a decade earlier. When Luce’s teacher makes a shocking discovery in his locker, Luce’s stellar reputation is called into question.

In this horror-thriller, Sue Ann is a lonely woman who offers her basement as a hangout spot for teenager Maggie and her group of friends. They just have to follow a few house rules and call her “Ma.” It seems like the perfect place to party, until Ma’s hospitality takes a terrifying turn.

DISTRIBUTOR: ENCORE INFLIGHT CONTACT: EDWIN CHEUNG

DISTRIBUTOR: ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS

* EXCLUDING SPAIN

DISTRIBUTOR: NBCUNIVERSAL CONTACT: CYNTHIA KLAR

* EXCLUDING US, CANADA AND CARRIBEAN

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

164 164 experience

| V9 E4 | APEX.AERO

N: NORTH AMERICA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CINESKY PICTURES; © JEAN CLAUDE LOTHER; © 2019 “A LONG GOODBYE” FILM PARTNERS; © NATXOMARTÍNEZ; COURTESY OF ENDEAVOR CONTENT; ANNA KOORIS/UNIVERSAL PICTURES

The Last Full Measure W

2019-07-25 4:42 PM

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2019-07-25 4:44 PM

Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner

Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law

The fourth installment in the Avengers saga is the culmination of 22 interconnected Marvel films and the climax of an epic journey. The world’s greatest heroes will finally understand just how fragile our reality is – and the sacrifices that must be made to uphold it – in a story of friendship, teamwork and setting aside differences to overcome an impossible obstacle.

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Set in the 1990s, this all-new adventure reveals a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

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Meri Nimmo

Director: Rahul Ganore Shanklya Cast: Anjali Patil, Karan Dave, Aryan Mishra, Amar Singh Parihar In this tale of first love, eight-year-old Hemu is old enough to realize he’s in love, but a little too young to understand what that means. Nimmo, an older girl, has always taken care of Hemu, so when he starts to develop romantic feelings for her, Hemu tries to win Nimmo over in his own innocent way.

DISTRIBUTOR: EROS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CONTACT: PRASHANT GAONKAR

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

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Midway

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Director: Roland Emmerich Cast: Luke Evans, Woody Harrelson, Patrick Wilson, Darren Criss, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas The story of US Navy sailors and aviators who changed the course of World War II during the June 1942 Battle of Midway in the Pacific Theater. Based on real-life events when US and Imperial Japanese naval forces fought during a furious fourday battle that marked a turning point in the war.

My Spy

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The Nightingale

Director: Peter Segal Cast: Dave Bautista, Kristen Schaal, Ken Jeong

Director: Jennifer Kent Cast: Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Aisling Franciosi

JJ, a recently demoted hardened CIA operative, finds himself at the mercy of a precocious nine-year-old girl named Sophie when he is sent undercover to surveil her family.

In 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict, chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. Along the way, she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.

DISTRIBUTOR: TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: NADJA RUTKOWSKI

DISTRIBUTOR: TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: NADJA RUTKOWSKI

DISTRIBUTOR: CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON * EXCLUDING US AND CANADA

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

166 166 experience

| V9 E4 | APEX.AERO

N: NORTH AMERICA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

PHOTOS: © 2019 MARVEL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; © 2019 MARVEL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; COURTESY OF EROS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA; COURTESY OF CINESKY PICTURES; COURTESY OF STXFILMS; KASIA LADCZUK

Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame W

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Official Secrets

Director: Gavin Hood Cast: Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes, Rhys Ifans, Indira Varma The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

DISTRIBUTOR: CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON

2019-07-25 4:40 PM

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Only You

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The Operative

Director: Harry Wootliff Cast: Josh O’Connor, Laia Costa

Director: Yuval Adler Cast: Diane Kruger, Martin Freeman

Elena and Jake meet by chance on New Year’s Eve, arguing for the same taxi.

However, instead of going their separate ways after sharing a taxi, they start a passionate relationship.

A taut psychological thriller about a young Western woman recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran, where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.

DISTRIBUTOR: PENNY BLACK MEDIA CONTACT: CATHIE TROTTA

DISTRIBUTOR: ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS

* EXCLUDING UK

* EXCLUDING US

*

Pain and Glory

Director: Pedro Almodóvar Cast: Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz, Asier Etxeandia Salvador Mallo is an ageing film director recounting his past: his childhood in Valencia, his first adult love, the pain of the breakup, the discovery of cinema and the void that eventually stopped his filmmaking.

DISTRIBUTOR: SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES * ANDORRA, BAHAMAS, BERMUDA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, SABA, SPAIN, ST. EUSTATIUS, ST. KITTSNEVIS, ST. MAARTEN AND US, EXCLUDING ST. MAARTEN/DUTCH

DISTRIBUTOR: TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: NADJA RUTKOWSKI * WORLDWIDE, EXCLUDING US, UK, SPAIN, FRANCE AND BENELUX

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Director: Rachel Ward Cast: Bryan Brown, Richard E. Grant, Aaron Jeffery, Jacqueline McKenzie, Heather Mitchell

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Papi Chulo

Director: John Butler Cast: Matt Bomer, Alejandro Patino

A group of lifelong friends reunite to celebrate a special birthday, with Sydney’s iconic Palm Beach providing a stunning backdrop for the unfolding drama. The good times roll, with loads of laughter, lavish meals, flowing wine and fantastic music, but tensions slowly mount and deep secrets soon emerge.

This heartfelt comedy explores communication across racial and socioeconomic lines in Los Angeles.

When Sean is put on leave from work, he quickly realizes that solitude doesn’t exactly suit him. Driving past a hardware store, he spies Ernesto and hires him to do some home repairs. Soon, despite a language barrier, the two men develop an unexpected but profound friendship.

DISTRIBUTOR: ENCORE INFLIGHT CONTACT: EDWIN CHEUNG

DISTRIBUTOR: JAGUAR DISTRIBUTION CONTACT: FRANCE CAPOR

* EXCLUDING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

168 168 experience

Palm Beach

N: NORTH AMERICA

I: OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

W: WORLDWIDE

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Directors: Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Thomas Haden Church This modern Mark Twain-style adventure tells the story of a young man with Down syndrome who runs away from a residential nursing home to follow his dream of attending his idol’s professional wrestling school. A strange turn of events pairs him with a small-time outlaw on the run.

DISTRIBUTOR: ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS

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Penguins

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Director: Alastair Fothergill Narrator: Ed Helms An Adélie penguin named Steve joins millions of fellow males in the icy Antarctic spring on a quest to build a suitable nest, find a life partner and start a family. None of it comes easily for him, especially considering he’s targeted by everything from killer whales to leopard seals, who unapologetically threaten his happily-ever-after.

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

* EXCLUDING US AND CANADA

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Proxima

Director: Alice Winocour Cast: Matt Dillon, Eva Green, Zélie Boulant, Lars Eidinger, Sandra Hüller Sarah is a French astronaut and the only woman training at the European Space Agency in Cologne. She feels guilty that she cannot spend more time with her seven-year-old daughter, Stella, with whom she lives alone. When Sarah is chosen to be part of a yearlong space mission called “Proxima,” chaos in the mother-daughter relationship ensues.

DISTRIBUTOR: JAGUAR DISTRIBUTION CONTACT: FRANCE CAPOR * EXCLUDING FRANCE, DOM TOM

Rich Boy, Rich Girl

Directors: Judy San Roman, Andrew Damon Henriques Cast: Sasha Jackson, Cody Longo, Elaine Hendrix, C. Thomas Howell, Sean Whalen Andy is a front-desk clerk with little ambition until he meets Hayley, a beautiful shampoo girl chasing big dreams in NYC. When their worlds collide, the star-struck lovers assume false identities and follow the script of life from a self-improvement book, leading to potentially bigger problems than they could ever have dreamed.

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The Russian Five

Director: Joshua Riehl Cast: Jeff Daniels, Viacheslav Fetisov, Wayne Gretzky In the late 1980s, the Detroit Red Wings worked to finally break their decadeslong Stanley Cup drought by extracting players from the Soviet Union – and in the process, changed the way North American hockey is played.

DISTRIBUTOR: TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: NADJA RUTKOWSKI

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Sea of Shadows

Director: Richard Ladkani Cast: Jack Hutton, Carlos Loret de Mola, Andrea Crosta, Javier Valverde, Alan Valverde, Dr. Cynthia Smith A looming disaster in one of the most spectacular environments on Earth sparks a rescue mission unlike any other.

Poaching in the Sea of Cortez threatens the endangered vaquita porpoise. But a team of scientists, conservationists, journalists, agents and the Mexican Navy put their lives on the line to save the vaquita and bring the culprits to justice.

DISTRIBUTOR: DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL AND FNG NON-THEATRICAL CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

DISTRIBUTOR: PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI * EXCLUDING MAINLAND CHINA

DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS CODES

170 170 experience

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The Peanut Butter Falcon W

2019-07-25 4:42 PM

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The largest independent distributor of Feature Films and Special Programming to the airline market A Global Eagle Company

The Secret Life of Pets 2 W

Director: Chris Renaud Cast: Patton Oswalt, Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Tiffany Haddish, Lake Bell The highly anticipated follow-up to The Secret Life of Pets, the blockbuster animated comedy about the lives pets lead after their human counterparts leave the home each day.

DISTRIBUTOR: NBCUNIVERSAL CONTACT: CYNTHIA KLAR

2019-07-25 4:44 PM

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Shaft

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Director: Tim Story Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, Regina Hall, Alexandra Shipp, Titus Welliver, Richard Roundtree

Director: Pippa Bianco Cast: Rhianne Barreto, Charlie Plummer, Poorna Jagannathan, J.C. MacKenzie, Nicholas Galitzine, Lovie Simone

JJ, a.k.a. John Shaft Jr., is a cybersecurity expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. The legendary John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly, but while JJ’s FBI badge may clash with his dad’s trademark leather coat, there’s no denying family.

In this feature-length drama based on the Cannes Film Festival award-winning short, 16-year-old Mandy discovers a disturbing video from a night she doesn’t remember and must try to figure out what happened and how to navigate the escalating fallout.

DISTRIBUTOR: HBO CONTACT: KALLIOPE DIAKOS

DISTRIBUTOR: WARNER BROS. CONTACT: JEFF CRAWFORD

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Spies in Disguise

Directors: Nick Bruno, Troy Quane Cast: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Rashida Jones, Karen Gillan, DJ Khaled, Ben Mendelsohn Scientist Walter, lacking in social skills but rich in smarts and invention, creates the awesome gadgets that smooth, suave and debonair superspy Lance uses on his epic missions. But when events take an unexpected turn, this odd couple suddenly has to rely on each other in a whole new way to save the world from peril.

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Stree

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Tanguy, le retour

Director: Amar Kaushik Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi

Director: Étienne Chatiliez Cast: Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier, Éric Berger

The people of Chanderi live in constant fear of Stree, a woman’s spirit who attacks at night during the festivals. Vicky, along with his friends, decides to solve the mystery.

Forty-four-year-old Tanguy is devastated after his wife Mei Lin dumps him, so he does what everyone does: goes back to his parents! Along with Zhu, his teenage daughter, Tanguy moves back in with Edith and Paul. The concerned parents immediately welcome their offspring, but as weeks go by, they realize that Tanguy and Zhu are here to stay. The family nest is way too comfortable.

DISTRIBUTOR: EROS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CONTACT: PRASHANT GAONKAR

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Delivering the richness and diversity of Indian language content A Global Eagle Company

2019-07-25 4:40 PM

Terminator: Dark Fate

Where’d You Go, Bernadette

Where’s My Roy Cohn?

Director: Tim Miller Cast: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta

Director: Richard Linklater Cast: Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig

Director: Matt Tyrnauer

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Sarah Connor and T-800 return in their iconic roles in Terminator: Dark Fate.

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Bernadette Fox has it all: a loving husband and a brilliant daughter. When she unexpectedly disappears, her family sets off on an exciting adventure to solve the mystery of where she might have gone.

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One of the most controversial and influential American men of the 20th century, Roy Cohn was a ruthless and unscrupulous lawyer and political power broker whose 28-year career ranged from acting as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Communist-hunting subcommittee to molding the career of a young Queens real estate developer named Donald Trump.

DISTRIBUTOR: SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES * EXCLUDING CANADA

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Yesterday

You Shine in the Moonlight W

Director: Danny Boyle Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon After a freak accident, struggling singersongwriter Jack Malik realizes that he’s the only person on Earth who remembers the Beatles. Performing their classic songs to a world that has forgotten them, Jack skyrockets to fame with the help of his agent, but he could end up losing Ellie, the woman who loved him all along.

DISTRIBUTOR: NBCUNIVERSAL CONTACT: CYNTHIA KLAR

Director: Sho Tsukikawa Cast: Mei Nagano, Takumi Kitamura Takuya Okada is a high school student who visits his classmate Mamizu Watarase in the hospital, where she is suffering from a mysterious ailment called luminescence disease. Watarase is not allowed out of the hospital and will not live long enough to become an adult, so Okada offers to help her fulfill her bucket list of wishes before she passes away – but Okada falls for Watarase, just as death grows ever closer.

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PL ANESPOTTING DIGITAL

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Want to land your photos in print or in the APEX Daily Experience newsletter? Share your aviation snapshots on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #APEXPOTD for a chance to be featured.

DANIEL RICO @danielrico.esp LOCATION:

Madrid

YEARS IN AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHY:

13 CURRENT OCCUPATION:

Studying game development

Boeing 747, BAC Concorde, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D

How did you get started?

I started planespotting when I was eight years old, but it wasn’t until I was 13 that I started to become more creative with my shots. My father taught me where to go without being noticed and how to obtain cooler shots than just a sideview of an aircraft. I initially wanted to do YouTube videos, but then I thought using a DSLR camera would enable me to change lenses.

In between the clouds.

Every day I feel more in love with airplanes.

These machines have a soul.

Once you break the rules of photography you break the chain of being a beginner.

No crops, no turning, just color off and light balance with curves – @AirEuropa’s Julio Iglesias named Dreamliner.

Under the belly of an @AirEuropa 737.

Instagram @theapexassoc

FAVORITE AIRCRAFT:

Twitter @theapexassoc

What do you enjoy most about aviation photography?

I just lose perception of time and enjoy watching aircraft screaming and flying overhead.

You should appreciate the beauty of the aircraft and shoot it the way you see it. I feel very attracted to the curves of the wings, and multiple bogie landing gears also draw my attention.

Get your daily dose of planespotter pictures and top PaxEx headlines: APEX.AERO/NEWSLETTER

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THROWBACK

Retro airline liveries are just cool. Maybe it’s the feeling of nostalgia that comes with seeing long-gone airlines like Allegheny, Piedmont or Trans World Airlines resurrected on American Airlines jets. Or that unmistakably mid-century-modern vibe of the bright blue cheat line over the windows of El Al’s Boeing 787-9s. And the fact that a Lufthansa 747-8 looks just like

Lasting Liveries In honor of British Airways’ centenary, the airline has made over a crop of its aircraft in celebratory duds.

BY HOWARD SLUTSKEN

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its 707s did when they plied the world’s airways in the 1970s. Whatever the reason, travelers groove to the retro look, and planespotters drape themselves along airport fences hoping to catch the latest vintage design.

Airlines often celebrate a milestone by unveiling a retro livery on a modern plane, but it’s even more of a treat if the retro-jet is the latest in a long line of aircraft, like the Boeing 747. This year, British Airways (BA) celebrates its onehundredth birthday and has repainted three 747s and an Airbus A319 to create a multigenerational homage to the airline’s liveries over the years.

“So many British Airways customers and colleagues have fond memories of seeing, spotting and flying on our previous liveries, so it’s only right that they feature so prominently in our celebrations,” says Hamish McVey, BA’s head of Brand and Marketing.

Each of the 747s proudly wears a vintage livery – the Negus, Landor and blue-and-

gold British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) designs – that once flew on the airline’s “Queen of the Skies” fleet. British European Airways’ classic Red Square 1960s livery is on the A319, honoring the airline, which merged with BOAC in 1972 to create British Airways.

The repainting of each aircraft took a couple of weeks, scheduled when the planes were due for regular paint work.

The heritage liveries will remain on the aircraft until they are retired from service, and passengers can read about the designs and BA’s centenary on special cards tucked in the seat pockets.

The response to BA’s celebratory fleet shouldn’t come as a surprise to any AvGeek.

“We couldn’t have hoped for a better reaction,” says McVey. “We have been sent photos from across the globe of the different aircraft, while social media has been awash with excitement. You only had to look around the Heathrow perimeter fence for the delivery flights to see just how much this means to our customers.”

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

A Boeing 747 in the Negus livery from British Airways’ centenary fleet, arriving at Heathrow Airport.

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