PAX International magazine

F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 2 | V O L . 1 6 , N O . 1 A | w w w . p a x - i n t l . c o m

HamburgAviation Cluster

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS HAMBURG

IFEUpdate

Seattextiles

REED EXPOSINTERVIEW p.12 RETROFIT

REPORT p.36 p.46 VIPINTERIORS p.54HEALTH

& SAFETY

N E W S A N D A N A LY S I S F O R T H E P A S S E N G E R S E R V I C E S E X E C U T I V E

PAX-2012-FebMar-AIX-v012 3/12/12 9:58 AM Page 1

Norduyn onboard with over 50 airlines worldwide

www.norduyn.com

Come and meet with our team at booth #4A20 at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2012

Discover our line

of lightweight solutions

o Robust and certified products

o Measurable energy savings

o Significant environmental benefits

o Customizable modern design

www.norduyn.com+1 514 334-3210 x [email protected]


www.pax-intl.com | PAX INTERNATIONAL | 3

PAX International

26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 1X2, CanadaTel: (1 905) 821-3344; Fax: (1 905) 821-2777website: www.pax-intl.com

P U B L I S H E R

Aijaz Khan

E-mail: [email protected]

E D I T O R I A L O F F I C E S

Rick Lundstrom, Editor in Chief PAX International723 Jefferson Street, NEMinneapolis, MN 55413, USATel: (1 612) 378-0862Fax: (1 612) 378-0852E-mail: [email protected]

Maryann Simson, Managing EditorTel: (1 905) 821-3344 x31E-mail: [email protected]

Lauren Brunetti, Associate EditorTel: (1 905) 821-3344 x21E-mail: [email protected]

A R T D E PA R T M E N TPatrick Balanquit, Art DirectorE-mail: [email protected]

A D V E R T I S I N G O F F I C E S

Deepa J, Subscription & Conference ManagerTel: (1 905) 821-3344 x35Fax: (1 905) 821-2777E-mail: [email protected]

PAX International is published six times a year

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September/October, November/December) by PAXInternational, 26 Pearl Street, Mississauga, Ontario

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editor. February/March 2012, Vol. 16, No. 1A. Printed in

Canada. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reprinted

in whole or in part without written permission from the

publisher. © PAX International magazine

EDITOR’S LETTER

EVOLUTIONAND SUCCESS

Want more? Visit us online to check out our current e.Newsletter, read recent print issues.

www.pax-intl.com

Congratulations! You are holding inyour hands the very first edition ofPAX International dedicated specifi-cally to the interests of professionalsworking in aircraft interiors and IFEC.

Inside it you will find company and productnews, interviews with important aircraftinteriors and IFEC industry figures, in-depth reports and more great content thatwe hope you will find useful and interesting.

Four years ago PAX International exhib-ited and distributed at Aircraft Interiors ExpoHamburg for the first time. Immediately we sawconnections between what was happening hereand what was happening in other sectors of theindustry, such as airline catering. As a passen-ger services publication, our job has alwaysbeen analyze and report on all variables that con-tribute to the enhancement of a passenger’stravel experience, so naturally these connectionsgot us excited. Since then, we have workeddiligently to expand our coverage to includemore stories about the progressive innova-tions in IFE and connectivity, cabin manage-ment systems, passenger seating, galley equip-ment, safety, lightweight composites, engi-neering and general cabin aesthetics.

PAX International has been working withthe International Travel Catering Associa-tion since 1997 and Aircraft Interiors Exposince 2009. With Reed Expo’s acquisition ofITCA’s annual exhibition, we are thrilled in2012 to see the two largest shows we attendjoin forces to stage a co-located event here inHamburg. Finally, the world’s airline and

general aviation procurement specialists havean exhibition serving as one-stop-shop whereall their in-cabin needs can be met.

These separate issues are our tribute to theunion of these two very specialized industryevents. Like the Expos themselves, our dou-ble issue represents two distinct aspects of thepassenger experience, bound by a commongoal: the continual improvement of the pas-senger experience onboard.

As Expo Director John Hyde says in ourinterview on page 12:

“Airline catering – which is obviously acrucial part of the onboard passengerexperience – was under-represented atAircraft Interiors Expo. We looked at var-ious ways of incentivizing more food andbeverage exhibitors to attend AircraftInteriors Expo but our research demon-strated that this segment of the cabininteriors market tends to have a differentset of airline procurement personnel fromthose who traditionally attend AircraftInteriors Expo and that exhibitors preferredit to be a separately branded event.”

Our next special IFEC and Interiors issuewill be published in time for the AircraftInteriors Expo and Airline Passenger Expe-rience events in September.

Please enjoy!

Maryann SimsonManaging Editor, PAX International


4 | PAX INTERNATIONAL | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012

ContentsF E B R U A R Y / M A R C H | V O L . 1 6 , N O . 1 A

REGIONAL REPORT16 A TIGHT CLUSTER

Each year thousands descend on Hamburg for the annual Aircraft Interiors Expo, butthe ones who stay behind after the crowds have gone are reshaping the future ofaviation, particularly in the cabin

IFE AND CONNECTIVITY18 THE RUNDOWN

IFE hardware leaders discuss progress made in 2011, what’s on display at AircraftInteriors Expo and what’s in store for 2012

28 GO-GOING GLOBALGogo, the company that successfully created an ATG network servicing theContinental U.S. and Alaska and brought broadband IFE access to the cabin, positions itself for expansion globally

IN THE CABIN30 COMPOSITE CONTAINMENT

The Hybrite concept takes on a new shape as Driessen-Zodiac Aerospace preparesfor this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo

32 FORM AND FUNCTIONAfter 55 years and the sale of tens of thousands of products, Sell GmbH comes to AIX with a new line of galley inserts designed for an increasingly discriminatinggroup of airline customers

34 CONDUCTING THE SYMPHONYMonogram Systems presents its latest range of “instruments” to the aviation community

RETROFIT REPORT36 BLAZING NEW TRAILS

From plush interiors to seat installation to “pit stop” IFE exchanges, retrofitcompanies on three continents are diving headlong into new services, some whichhold the possibility of changing the way aircraft are modified

SEATING REPORT38 WHAT’S IN A SEAT?

PAX International explores the fills and the fibers that go into today’s airline seats

INDUSTRY Q AND A42 A SINGULAR INFLIGHT EXPERIENCE

Good fortune and hard work have led Monogram System’s Tom Lee to some veryinteresting places. PAX International’s Maryann Simson recently caught up with himto discuss the many ways in which aviation has enriched his life

HEALTH AND SAFETY44 THE SKINNY ON SAFETY

PAX International talks passenger safety with two key producers of lap belts and other restraints

EQUIPMENT 48 EQUIPPED FOR TAKEOFF

PAX International investigates just what kinds of specialized equipment come intoplay when food takes flight

52 DUE SOUTHVolare Engineering, a growing firm in city of Mexicali, Baja California, positions itselfto challenge international competitors and change the way that the industry looks atdoing business south of the U.S. border

VIP INTERIORS54 FIT FOR A VIP

Luxury for a volume market can be found in many places at this year’s AircraftInteriors Expo, but one British company still creates elegant interiors one client at a time

55 GERMAN FIRM BRINGS 328 CONVERSIONCAPABILITIES TO AIX

ON THE COVER: Lufthansa Systemswill present its nextgeneration in-flightentertainment solutionBoardConnect at AIX Hamburg

16

38

3 EDITOR’S COMMENTS

6 NEWS

14 NEW FACES, NEW PLACES

56 WHAT’S HOT

58 ASSOCIATION NEWS

58 ADVERTISER’S INDEX

58 CALENDAR

44


1COMPANY CAN BRING COMMAND

PERFORMANCES TO SINGLE AISLES.

20 12

T O DAY

> >

© 2012 Rockwell Collins, Inc. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCING PAVES™ 3. THE INDUSTRY’S MOST VERSATILE IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM.

PAVES 3 from Rockwell Collins can deliver an overhead broadcast solution, a full on-demand

in-seat entertainment solution or any confi guration in between. With all content cached at

the seat, single-point system failures are eliminated, giving users a smooth entertainment

experience every fl ight. Easy upgradability provides system owners with cost-effective options.

Enjoy the performance. Learn more about PAVES 3 at rockwellcollins.com.

Visit us at Aircraft Interiors Expo, booth #6B1.

PAVES 3 benefitsDesigned for single-aisle operations

Highly reliable

Easily upgradable

A true HD passenger experience



Vision Systems will showcase Noctis at the AircraftInteriors Expo 2012 - a shading system that givespassengers the ability to instantly and uniformly con-trol light and heat intensity entering the cabin.

Noctis is specifically designed for first and busi-ness class cabins.

Consistent switching speed and shading levels,ranging from very bright to blackout, will give thecabin an distinctive look and comfortable feeling,said a release from the company.

With Vision Systems cabin management sys-tem (CrewView); Noctis can be controlled by apassenger directly at their seat and by cabincrewmembers. The crew can synchronize multi-

ple tinted windows at the same time and light andtemperature sensors can be adjusted automaticallyaccording to the degree of absorption of light fromthe windows.

According to the official press release, this newtechnology will also open up a new array of designpossibilities for aircraft and helicopters. Noctis canbe used for solar protection or as a cabin divider,allowing full areas of privacy.

This compact shading system will be on displayin Bombardier Aerospace’s CSeries aircraft cabinmock-up. Bombardier has also equipped the busi-ness class windows in its mock-up with Noctis formarket evaluation.

NEWSIFEC NEWS

Noctis will allowpassengers to instantly

and uniformly control any level of light

and heat intensityentering the cabin

Thales IFE monitoroffers uniquecapabilitiesThe latest in IFE seat innovation, theSVDU-G4 from Thales Group, is set to offerunique capabilities, including Hand Ges-ture Control technology and Smart Pas-senger Interface Modules.

The unique Hand Gesture Controltechnology will give passengers the abil-ity to control and navigate through vari-ous entertainment options with the sim-ple wave of a hand. Providing completemobility, the passenger will no longer berequired to reach for a handset or to leanforward for touch screen operation.

The SVDU-G4 will also offer a SmartPassenger Interface Module, which will enable passengers to connect a wide variety of portable devices, to listenor view personal content through theThales IFEC system. Thales also developed the SVDU-G4 with high defi-nition capability and advanced processortechnology.

Aura’s new products aredesigned to be flexible,modular and upgradable

AURA, from Intelligent Avionics, has recentlyannounced plans to broaden its product line byintroducing a trio of in-flight entertainment solutions,including the Aura Works, One and Connected.

The original AURA Works seat-centric system,which was introduced in Hamburg last year, is a“seat-centric” design with more processing powerand content storage. At about two kilograms perpassenger place, AURA Works saves fuel, reducesCO2 emissions, or enables greater payload.

Also, the AURA One is a lightweight andinexpensive way to replace analog (tape-drive)systems with state-of-the-art digital IFE. Literallyovernight, airlines can provide passengers withbetter-quality video and audio, and a broaderrange of content and services – without chang-ing existing overhead screens or wiring. Contentcan also be refreshed quickly and simply with

secure MPAA-approved processes via a hard-drive swap, with daily updates via a USB stickor 3G/4G modem.

Lastly, the AURA Connected will also be intro-duced later this year, offeringa lightweight, low-cost wire-less intranet system. Thisproduct will provide an exten-sive range of content, adver-tising, and digital productsand services to be streamedto smart phones, tablets,and other mobile devices.

According to a releasefrom the company, all three solu-tions embrace AURA’s goals of offer-ing a lightweight, reliable productwith low ownership costs.

Aura develops trio of in-flightentertainment solutions

Vision Systems plans to showcaseNoctis at AIE 2012

INTERIOR NEWS


IFEC NEWS


LufthansaSystems to unveilBoardConnectat AIXLufthansa Systems will be presenting Board-Connect, a next generation in-flight enter-tainment solution, at the Aircraft InteriorExpo 2012.

The all new cost-efficient infotainmentsystem is set to open up a new world ofopportunities for on-board communication;the product will be based on a WiFi networkwhich passengers can log on to throughseat-back screens or their own laptops,tablet PCs, smart phones or other WiFi-enabled devices to access a wide range of content.

BoardConnect opens up numerous pos-sibilities for airlines, including new forms ofcustomer communication, information and ser-vices. New services can generate additionalrevenue for airlines, and airlines can alsocustomize their contact with each passenger.

This product will also offer airlines a num-ber of advantages, including installation andmaintenance; while the installation of con-

Lumexis Corporation, developer andmanufacturer of in-seat HDTV over fiberoptic networks, has announced its launchof WiPAX, a stand-alone wireless deliv-ery solution for Passenger ElectronicDevices (PEDs) in narrow body aircraft.

In introducing WiPAX, Lumexis CEODoug Cline explained that the new prod-uct was developed as the result of cus-tomer demand. “Our FTTS (Fiber-To-The-Screen) full cabin, in-seat HDTV hasbuilt an unmatched record of perfor-mance and reliability with over ten millionseat-operational hours in revenue ser-vice for both wide body and narrow bodyaircraft, and medium to long-haul oper-ations,” he said. “But multiple carriersasked us to create a similarly end to-endsolution for short-haul, narrow body routes

which may not justify in-seat monitors.”WiPAX, is derived from the FTTS head-

end server/aircraft interface system andoffers a turnkey solution from end to end.The same Lumexis FTTS applications widelydeployed in daily revenue service give air-lines the opportunity for ancillary revenue inshort-haul, narrow body applications. WiPAXalso offers the capacity to simultaneouslyprovide HDTV over fiber to big screens inFirst and Business Class cabins.

Lumexis marketing research sug-gests that the most popular configura-tions may well include in-seat 12-23”HDTV monitors in premium classes, whiledelivering full-cabin wireless data to everycoach passenger’s PED. Moreover,WiPAX is easily retrofit into existing wiredFTTS installations, if desired.

ventional IFE systems requires an extensivedowntime of the aircraft, BoardConnect canbe fitted during routine overnight layovers

or maintenance checks. The new IFE system also has very few com-

ponents, making it much easier to maintain.

NEWS

Aircraft Cabin Systemsset to launch new lineof video monitorsAircraft Cabin Systems (ACS) will be intro-ducing a new line of video monitors, designedto be used with the Honeywell OvationSelect CMS.

The new line will consist of four large LCDVideo Monitors sized at 24”, 32”, 42” and 46”.All of the monitors will use LED instead of flo-rescent lamp backlighting, to provide numer-ous benefits, which are typically associatedwith lower weight and power use.

According to the official press release,ACS has worked closely with Honeywell toinsure full integration of the ACS.

The Honeywell system’s modular archi-tecture uses a robust and open Ethernetbackbone, which permits the ACS EthernetMonitors to be used with any of the variouscabin video sources, including Blu-ray play-ers that provide a source for 1080p HD movies.

BoardConnect will bebased on a WiFinetwork andaccessible through awide range ofdevices

Lumexis introduces WiPAX



IFEC NEWS

NEWS

DTI developsworld’s firsteManga reader for inflightDTI Solutions, an inflight applications andsolutions specialist, has announced that itwas selected by Japan Airlines (JAL) to develop

its unique eManga Reader, which will be avail-able onboard the airline’s 787 Dreamliner air-craft in March 2012.

Designed exclusively for JAL in partnershipwith online manga provider eBook InitiativeJapan, DTI Solution’s eBook Reader applicationwill allow passengers to browse through anextensive collection of reading material, fromtheir video seat terminals.

“DTI Solutions is proud to have collaborated

with JAL on this exclusive eBook Reader appli-cation” said Patrick Préfontaine, President ofDTI Solutions. “Manga are an essential read inJapanese culture and we aim to provide air-lines with original inflight entertainment solu-tions that offer outside-the-box content sen-sitive to passengers’ cultural heritage.”

DTI Solution’s eManga Reader will be avail-able in all seat categories of JAL’s Boeing787 aircrafts from the end of March 2012.

OnAir will be partnering with Inmarsat to intro-duce Global Xpress, the only global Ka-bandnetwork available on the aeronautical market.

As one of the two exclusive distributionpartners, OnAir will assist in providing GlobalXpress to commercial airlines, VIP, busi-ness jet and government operators, start-ing in 2013.

Global Xpress will operate in the Ka-band

and will provide users with significantly higherthroughput compared to other satellite solu-tions, including the current generation tech-nology based on Ku-band.

Combined with superior economics forboth services and equipment, it will supportthe broad introduction of connectivity ser-vices to passengers and airlines on a sus-tainable basis anywhere around the globe

and across their entire fleet.OnAir was the first SwiftBroadband Dis-

tribution Partner in 2006, and in 2009 wasgiven an award for being the greatest con-tributor to SBB growth.

The two companies plan to keep workingon the development of a clear and simpledeployment path from SwiftBroadband andother solutions to Global XPress.

OnAir partners up with Inmarsat for Global Xpress

Global Xpress willoperate in the Ka-bandand will provide userswith significantly higherthroughput


With Panasonic Avionics’ eXW wireless IFEC solution, you can deliver an unforgettable in-flight entertainment

experience to your passengers’ Wi-Fi™ enabled laptop, tablet, smartphone or other personal electronic device.

You’ll be able to offer passengers an immersive, personalized web portal, so they can enjoy exciting onboard

services such as food and beverage ordering and payment, duty-free shopping, games, movies, moving maps, gate

information, and more. When combined with eXConnect, you can offer high-speed Internet access, social media

services, email, and even live television programming right to your passengers’ personal devices. eXW is more

than entertainment, it’s a business platform that helps you drive ancillary revenue with advanced e-commerce and

advertising capabilities that is lightweight, cost effective and easy to install.

Available as a standalone system or to complement your embedded IFEC solution, eXW is another way Panasonic

is connecting the business and pleasure of flying.

© 2012 Panasonic Avionics Corporation. All Rights Reserved.AD163

panasonic.aero

CONNECTING THE BUSINESSAND PLEASURE OF FLYING

Wi-Fi ENABLED

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NEWS


INTERIOR NEWS

Yarwood Leather brings forwardtwo new productsYarwood Leather Ltd will be launching two new products, Yarwood NT and Seat CoverSolutions, both of which have been designed to build on the company’s reputation asa market leader in innovation and aviation leather products.

The latest lightweight genuine leather available, Yarwood NT will offer enhanced dura-bility at a weight of only 420gsm. Made using genuine leather, the company saidYarwood NT will offer an aesthetic appeal and a sense of luxury, while reducing the aver-age economy pax weight. On a maximum configuration A380, this leather has the poten-tial to reduce weight by nearly 1 tonne.

Yarwood Leather will also introduce Seat Cover Solutions, a new service that willallow airlines to source leather seat covers from leather manufacturers. This verticallyintegrated supply ensures that economical and fixed priced covers can be supplied inshorter lead times and with higher quality.

Altitude extendsproduct offeringwith galleyinnovation project Altitude Aerospace Interiors (Altitude) hasrecently announced the development ofa new galley innovation project, which willextend the company’s current productoffering.

In order to be able to sell an entiresuite of monuments throughout the cabin,Altitude and their manufacturing partnersare investing heavily in galley technologies.

According to a release from the com-pany, Altitude’s previous experience indesigning and manufacturing other com-plex monuments helps to put them in anexcellent position to offer galleys.

“This is a natural progression for us,and I think we can bring something newto the galley market,” said Baden Smith,Head of Airlines at Altitude.

Altitude says the new initiative willhelp customers that want to simplify theirsupply chain and at the same time, be ableto have an interior that is different fromtheir competitor’s.

Yarwood NT willoffer an aestheticappeal and sense

of luxury

MacCarthy Aviation has recently landed a contract with Brussels Air-lines to upgrade the business and economy class lavatories on five ofits A330 aircraft.

The design and installation will include a new worktop and basin,lighting, amenity stowage and an enhanced vanity unit. The finished prod-uct is set to compliment the airlines new colour scheme and corporateidentity, said the online press release.

“MacCarthy Aviation is delighted that we can add yet another nationalairline to our customer base. Working with the client from the concept stageour Industrial Design team interpreted the customer brief beyond their expec-tations and produced some quite exceptional renderings. Brussels Airlines’vision for their corporate branding throughout their fleet is innovative,fresh and will have a lasting impression on their customers for years to come,”said Mark Radford, Business Development Director at MacCarthy Aviation.

The first set of installations is scheduled for completion in Spring2012, at the Lufthansa Technik MRO facility in Malta.

MacCarthy Aviationlands contract withBrussels Airlines

The designand installation

will include anew work top

and basin,lighting,amenity

stowage andan enhanced

vanity unit


Southwest Airlineschooses E-Leather for newinterior on select aircraftsSouthwest Airlines recently announced that E-Leatherhas officially been chosen as the appropriate uphol-stery for the seats inside their ‘Spirit interior’ aircrafts.

“E-Leather is a win-win-win for our passengers,our business, and the environment. By providing uswith a high-quality product that looks great, is com-fortable and lighter weight, E-Leather is the perfectfit for Southwest’s ground-breaking interior redesign,”said Angela Vargo, Manager of Customer Marketingand Experience at Southwest Airlines.

According to Geoffrey Buschur, Systems Engi-neer at Southwest Airlines, E-leather offers numer-ous advantages, which allow it to stand out amongits competition.

“By selecting E-Leather’s rolled stock we get a con-sistent raw material with predictable performance. Ourmanufacturing vendors can utilize mass productiontechniques, that not only help them operate more effi-ciently but helps us get a uniform final product at alower price. When you add in the weight savings, dura-bility and environmental sustainment qualities, E-Leather really stands above the competition. Allthese efficiencies help us keep our cost down whilemaintaining an industry leading interior for our cus-tomer,” he said.


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NEWSINTERIOR NEWS

Lantal to present latestconceptional forecast collectionLantal will be presenting its latestConceptional Forecast collection fortotal cabin concepts, which have beencrafted to maximize the well-being ofpassengers, at the AIE 2012

The highlights in seat cover fabricswill be shown, showing off smoothstripes, granular textures and wafflepatterns. Colorways will also emphasizesubtle blues, elegant graphite grays,

earthy hues, and zesty accents.Meanwhile in carpets, fishbone and

tweed classics have been reinterpretedand paired with structures as well asnovel patterns, featuring generousfaded repeats.

Matching curtains and leathers willround out the collection, with designsand colors based on Lantal’sConceptional Forecast 2012.

New seatcover fabricshave beencrafted tomaximize thewell-being ofpassengers

Keeping the customer and industry require-ments in mind, Sell has recently devel-oped a new Generation of Inserts, with afull product range that includes an oven, cof-fee maker, beverage maker, water boiler andbun warmer.

Combining both form and function,the new product line is set to deliver anattractive and elegant outer appearanceand also is aimed to incorporate theincreased functionalities required by air-lines today.

An insulated serving pot, a steam ovenwithout internal overpressure and an ovendoor with double safety latching of whichcan be operated with one hand only, are justsome of the advantages that Sell`s newGeneration of Inserts offers.

Sell launches new generation of inserts with full product range



PAX International: There is a lot of spec-

ulation in the industry about how Reed

came to be the organizer of the world’s

largest travel catering and onboard ser-

vices annual trade show, formerly part

of the International Travel Catering Asso-

ciation (ITCA). Can you set the record

straight for us about what exactly hap-

pened and where it all stands now?

John Hyde: We felt that airline catering –which is obviously a crucial part of the onboardpassenger experience – was under-represented

at Aircraft Interiors Expo. We looked at vari-ous ways of incentivizing more food and bev-erage exhibitors to attend Aircraft InteriorsExpo but our research demonstrated that thissegment of the cabin interiors market tends tohave a different set of airline procurementpersonnel from those who traditionally attendAircraft Interiors Expo and that exhibitorspreferred it to be a separately branded event,although they were very interested in seeingit co-locating with Aircraft Interiors Expo.

Following negotiations, we acquired theevent from ITCA but decided to give it a newname and harmonize the branding with ourAircraft Interiors Expo event. We also engagedwith a number of key exhibitors to ensure wesecured their buy in to the event. PAX: Do you have separate teams work-

ing on WTCE and AIX, or is Reed treat-

ing them as one large event? How eas-

ily will delegates be able to move

between shows?

Hyde: We are certainly not just treating WorldTravel Catering & Onboard Services Expoand Aircraft Interiors Expo as simply onelarge event. Both events contain areas thatrequire tailored marketing to visitors. Forexample the World Travel Catering & OnboardServices Expo is not just about an airline’sonboard services, so we are also reaching outto rail operators and cruise and ferry opera-

tors for whom thisevent is equally valu-able. However thereare obviously many

synergies with the twoevents. We have allo-cated additionalresources within allthe key areas – sales, marketing, event man-agement and operations - to ensure that bothevents receive the attention they deserve.PAX: Industry members have been ask-

ing for one major show to attend for a

long time now. Has the feedback been

positive regarding the newly co-located

Hamburg events? Do any exhibitors/del-

egates feel it is not a good idea?

Hyde: So far the feedback has been goodand I think the fact that World Travel Cater-ing & Onboard Services Expo was 95% soldbefore the end of 2011 demonstrates both theneed for this event and exhibitors’ trust in Reedto deliver in this sector. It is also the first

time for several years that industry heavy-weights Gate Gourmet, Servair and LSG SkyChefs are all exhibiting at the same travelcatering and onboard services exhibition.PAX: What sort of numbers are you expect-

ing to see for both shows individually and

combined in Hamburg in 2012?

Hyde: We anticipate similar visitor num-bers attending Aircraft Interiors Expo as lastyear when 7,900 visitors (*pre-ABC Auditfigure) attended from 89 countries. The num-ber of airlines that attended was 144. In termsof square meterage we are 100% sold outand the show will cover over 16,600 squaremeters. The number of exhibiting companies– just over 500 – is the same as in 2011.

In terms of World Travel Catering &Onboard Services Expo we cannot speculateon possible visitor numbers as this is the firsttime we’ve run the event. We currently have180 exhibiting companies participating cov-ering 4,300 square meters.PAX: Do you expect the financially unsta-

ble Euro-zone will affect the show at all?

Hyde: In previous years we have faced downthe threats of everything from economicdownturns and rocketing fuel prices to air-space closures due to ash clouds. Of course,any global or local economic events that havean impact on travel operators can ultimatelyaffect our exhibitors and visitors – but because

INDUSTRY Q&A

Aircraft Interiors Expo and World Travel Catering and Onboard Services ExpoEvent Director John Hyde chats with PAX International about what visitorsand exhibitors can expect to see, hear and take away from this year’s newlyco-located events running from March 27-29, 2012 By Maryann Simson

In early 2011, it was announcedthat Reed Exhibitions hadacquired the ITCA’s annualEuropean trade show, but haddecided to re-name the eventand harmonize the brandingwith Aircraft Interiors Expo Last year’s Aircraft Interiors

Expo drew 7,900 attendeesfrom 89 countries

Togetherat last!



Aircraft Interiors Expo is the ‘mustattend’ event of the cabin interiorscalendar it has been remarkablyresilient to economic challengesand we have maintained virtuallythe same levels of exhibitors andvisitors over the last three events.PAX: You have a conference

scheduled for March 26 for AIX.

Who are some of the speak-

ers and what can the industry

learn from attending it?

Hyde: Our speaker line up includesPeter Lewalter, Head of Cabin Interiors and IFEat Lufthansa. The conference will begin witha look into the future provided by well-knowndesign and innovation consultancy Seymour-powell – this will give industry a valuableinsight into our changing tastes and lifestyles– highlighting the critical trends shaping pas-sengers’ travel expectations in the future.

This is a joint conference with WorldTravel Catering & Onboard Services Expo;leading speakers from the travel catering andhospitality world include Arnaud Masson,Head of Onboard Services for Eurostar Inter-national, who will be joining a panel discus-

sion entitled ‘Offering choice, mak-ing money – what are the future ser-vice options your customers willwant to buy into?’PAX: Are there any informa-

tion/conference sessions

planned for WTCE?

Hyde: Yes one of the dedicatedstreams of the conference is gearedtowards topics relevant to WorldTravel Catering and Onboard Ser-vices Expo visitors and exhibitors(and is going to be chaired by your

editor Rick Lundstrom). Subjects covered willinclude ‘A New vision for comfort – lessons fromthe hospitality industry’ and ‘Meeting chang-ing expectations of friendliness and service.’PAX: Are there any talks currently about

combining AIX Americas or the Asia events

with inflight service associations as well?

Hyde: Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas hasrun successfully with a co-location with bothIFSA and APEX in the past. This year APEXand IFSA have opted to return to Long Beachbecause they felt this location worked betterfor their members. We, in turn, feel that Seat-tle works better for Aircraft Interiors Expo

Americas exhibitors as it is at the heart ofNorth America’s airline supply chain. We con-tinue to talk to both APEX and IFSA as impor-tant associations which are complementary toAircraft Interiors Expo’s offering. PAX: What are you most excited about see-

ing or being a part of in Hamburg this year?

Hyde: The co-location of both these eventsmeans that we really feel we are at the forefrontof innovations taking place across the wholeof the passenger experience now. Some of thetrends I’m going to be looking out for are thegrowth of what’s on offer for regional airlineoperators, the latest in the world of inflightentertainment and connectivity and what foodtrends are inspiring travel operators.PAX: What one piece of key advice would

you give to a new exhibitor or delegate

for Hamburg 2012?

Hyde: For exhibitors it would be to makethe most of the marketing and PR support onoffer to maximize your visibility both beforeand during the events. For visitors we highlyrecommend that they take the time to look atboth shows at the Hamburg Messe – there maywell be valuable ideas on show in one that couldcross over into a complementary area.

INDUSTRY Q&A

John Hyde, AircraftInteriors Expo andWorld TravelCatering andOnboard ServicesExpo Event Director



Goeke namedgategroup SVPDoug Goeke has been named gategroup’s GroupSenior Vice President and President of its NorthAmerica region.

He took over the new position January 1. Hehas served as President and Managing Director forGate Gourmet Canada since November 2010.

Goeke continues to have oversight of Canada andwill direct responsibility for all of the Gate Gourmet’sU.S. operations. He is also a member of the gate-group Executive Management Board.

Goeke joined gategroup as the Chief Financial Offi-cer for Gate Gourmet’s North America region in 2003. Previously, he held progressivelyresponsible financial positions with The Lincoln Electric Company and earlier worked withthe international accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP.

New to Zodiacsales teamZodiac Group an -nounced in a recentcompany newsletterthat Eileen Song hasjoined the company’sGalley EquipmentSales team at its Sin-gapore offices.

Song has spentseven years in salesand customer ser-vice experience inthe aerospace andhospitality industries.She recently graduated with a degree inAviation Industry Management with Dis-tinction at RMIT University in Australia.

Her experience includes a period asSales Executive at Leki Aviation PTE Ltd. inSingapore. Leki Aviation specializes in thesupply and distribution of aircraft parts,interiors and components to the global Avi-ation industry.

PEOPLE NEWS

Doug Goeke was previouslygategroup’s managing director for Gate Gourmet Canada

Candiani takes overServair Air ChefServair has appointed Marco Can-diani to the position of General Man-ager of Servair Air Chef.

Candiani began his career as aconsultant at T&MSI Consulting. In1992 he became Logistics Managerof CO.E.S. SpA (Compagnie Edil San-itaria), an Italian company specializ-ing in hydrothermal sanitary installa-tions. Candiani joined Salvesen Cav-alieri Logistica SpA in 1997 beforetaking the position of DevelopmentManager in the Italian subsidiary of theKuehne Nagel group in 2001. Hisduties included overseeing supply forCarrefour hypermarkets. He was thenappointed as Director of Retail & Con-sumer Operations for logistics man-agement and key account supply forsuch companies as Sephora, Car-refour, Danone, and Carslberg.

MarcoCandiani

joinedServair AirChef latelast year

New CEO for MTN SatelliteCommunicationsMTN Satellite Communi-cations the provider ofcommunications, con-nectivity and content ser-vices to remote locationsaround the world hasappointed Errol OlivierPresident and Chief Exec-utive Officer. He mostrecently served as thecompany’s President andChief Operating Officer.

Olivier has more than25 years experience intelecommunications. Before joining MTN, Olivier wasPresident and CEO of Broadpoint and President andCOO of CapRock Communications.

Additionally, Joe Wright, who served as MTN’sChairman of the Board of Directors, is now ExecutiveChairman of the Board of Directors. Wright is currentlya Senior Advisor at Providence Equity Partners andChart Capital Partners.

MTN offers services and solutions to cruise lines,commercial shipping, oil and gas, mega yachts, gov-ernment entities and aviation markets.

Nico Vandecaveyeappointed ManagingDirector for deSterNico Vandecaveye joined gategroup’s deSterbrand as Managing Director February 1.

He is responsible for deSter sales, oper-ations and financial performance worldwide.He is based at the company’s headquartersin Hoogstraten, Belgium.

Before joining deSter Vandecaveye wasVice President of Sales at Georgia-Pacificin Brussels. Georgia-Pacific manufacturestissue, pulp, paper, packaging, building prod-ucts and related chemicals, and Mars Inc., aglobal food manufacturer.

Anne Bauer namedPresident ofRacket GroupAnne Bauer has been named President andCEO of Racket Group in Kansas City, Missouri.

Racket Group is privately owned by theHoagland family, which also operates businessesin cattle and citrus growing. Racket was estab-lished in 1891.

Joe Hoagland will remain Chairman of theBoard of Racket Merchandise Company. His son,Dirck Hoagland has taken over daily managementof two cattle ranches and the commercial feedlot.

Bauer has been with the company for 14years. She was responsible for opening RacketGroup’s offices in Europe and worked as EuropeanSales Manager for several years. She returned tothe United States to become the company’s Direc-tor of Sales. Last year, Racket’s overall salesincreased nearly 30% under her leadership.

Eileen Song previouslyworked with Leki Aviation

Errol Olivier has more than25 years experience intelecommunications.


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Its streets are leafy and pleasant, itsnightlife is notable and the wide ElbeRiver in the Free and Henseatic Cityof Hamburg has been Germany’sseaport lifeline to the outside world.

On a boat trip along the Elbe, hosted by offi-cials from the city, the past can be brought instark contrast to the present with just a few facts.In early days, one learns that the 60-kilome-ter trip to the North Sea along the river couldtake up to 13 days. Goods loaded in rail carsby massive gantries do work in minutes whatused to take a crew of men half a day. Butstill, it’s not enough. Plans are discussed for con-stantly reworking the hard-worked river,including the engineering challenge of mak-ing it deeper to accommodate larger ships.

Fast-forwarding from the past to presentbrings Hamburg to the mega-modern AirbusOperations Center (which hosted the deliv-ery of the first A380 to Lufthansa German Air-lines during 2010’s AIX), the headquarters ofLufthansa Technik and a handful of otheraviation companies that generate €7 billion(US$9.27 billion) in yearly sales. They make

up the Aviation Cluster Hamburg Metro-politan Region, a federally recognized lead-ing edge group of core players that are activelyinvolved in a wide range of aviation disciplines.

“The Cluster is a tight and effective networkof all actors,” said Kristin Rüther, Public Rela-tions Manager for the ACHMR tells PAX Inter-national. “From industry, research and devel-opment community and administration.”

All of the players in the ACHMR arelocated within 40 miles of the Hamburg met-ropolitan region. It is within that tight groupwhere most of the aviation research anddevelopment is taking place. By the end of nextyear, the ACHMR estimates that more than€80 million (US$105 million) will be spenton research projects. The Federal Republic ofGermany will provide half the money. Theresearch covers the entire life cycle of a civilaircraft with a goal of finding ways to makeaviation more economical, ecological, com-fortable, reliable, and more flexible.

Those goals led to three flagship projects,which are being carried out by LufthansaTechnik, Airbus and the German Aerospace

Centre working with Hamburg Airport. TheCabin Technology and Innovative Fuel CellApplications project is focusing on light-weight materials and hydrogen based fuelcells to reduce emissions and fuel consump-tion. A second program focuses on extendedmaintenance, repair and overhaul for futureaircraft generations. The research has a goalof ensuring optimal support through an air-craft’s life cycles. “Airport 2030” seeks todevelop sustainable concepts and solutions toaddress the increase in air traffic.

While all are important, airline passengercomfort is the goal and desire of many at theAIX. Three flagship projects are getting atten-tion. Lufthansa Technik is leading a projecton acoustic concepts for aviation of the future.At Bishop GmbH, research is taking placeon aircraft seat rails. At the German AerospaceCenter, researchers are studying light sensi-tivity and cabin climate.

Under one roofTo do much of the work, eight partners in thecity have established the Center for Applied

Each year thousands descend on Hamburg for the annual Aircraft InteriorsExpo, but the ones who stay behind after the crowds have left arereshaping the future of aviation – particularly in the cabin By Rick Lundstrom

REGIONAL REPORT

A TIGHT cluster

Instruction at the HamburgCentre of Aviation Training



Aeronautical Research (ZAL). “Here the play-ers in the Aviation Cluster can research underone roof, and in the future they will be joinedby supra-regional and international compa-nies,” said Rüther.

Partners in the ZAL include,the City ofHamburg, Airbus Operations GmbH, LufthansaTechnik AG, the Association for the Promotionof Applied Aviation Research, the GermanAerospace Center, the Hamburg University ofTechnology, the University of Applied Sciences,Hamburg and the Helmut-Schmidt-Univer-sity/University of Bundeswehr in Hamburg.

The ZAL operates in two locations: TheBusinessCenter in the city’s Airport Plaza andthe TestCenter at the Lufthansa Technik base.Both are within the ground of Hamburg air-port, which handles approximately 15 millionpassengers per year. Behind the doors, testing,monitoring and certifications occur. Start-ing next year, the TechCenter in Hamburg-Finkenwereder will bring application-ori-

ented research and tech-nology development inHamburg under one roof.

“In the TechCenter, atHamburg Airport, and inthe TechCenter due toopen in 2013 near the Air-bus factory, cabin conceptsand technologies, air con-ditioning systems, fuselageand system integration sys-tems and full cell andhydrogen cell applicationswill be tested,” said Rüther.

The ZAL makes up half of the AviationCluster centers. Just after last year’s AircraftInteriors Expo, the Hamburg Center for Avi-ation Training (HCAT) opened its doors.“Universities, vocational training schools andthe aviation industry itself proactively networkhere to train specialist personnel to meetdemand at Europe’s only such inter-campuscooperative project,” said Rüther.

Again, emphasis is placed on the cabinand cabin systems fields, along with initial andadvanced training in the areas of avionics/elec-tronics and structure.

Officials stress the HCAT project isunique across Europe. Partners in the pro-ject are from government and business.Partners in the HCAT include, the Min-istry of Economics, Transportation andInnovation, the Ministry of Science andResearch, the Ministry of Education andTraining, the State Vocational School forManufacturing and Aircraft Engineering

G15, the University of Applied Sciences inHamburg, along with Lufthansa TechnicalTraining and Airbus.

The HCAT is primarily focused on avion-ics and structure qualifications. However,another part of the center, called HCAT II, isknown as the Cabins and Cabin Systems Lab-oratory (CCS). In March of last year whenwork was completed on the center, the CCSlaboratory was used by the University ofApplied Sciences.

“HCAT is more than just a physical build-ing,” said a description of the facility. “It is asynonym for innovative ways of training spe-cialist personnel.”

After presenting its first progress report in2010, the ACMHR received an additional €10million (US$13.3 million) in funding to jointhe €30 million (US$40 million) to fund theresearch projects it has undertaken.

In September of 2008, the five leadingedge clusters in Germany were chosen. Amongthem were the Biotech cluster in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, the Cool Sili-con – Energy Efficiency Innovation for Sax-ony, the Forum of Organic Electronics fin, theRhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, and theSolar Valley of Central Germany.

“An independent jury selects the leading-edge clusters,” said a release from the ACHMR.“Those clusters which best fulfill the funda-mental ideas of the competition; creating andimplementing a joint strategy, the concept ofwhich aims to develop innovative products,processes and services and establish them inthe market as quickly as possible.”

Delegates and exhibitors at Aircraft Interiors Expowill see the most visible activities of the Avia-tion Cluster Hamburg Metropolitan Region inthe annual Crystal Cabin Awards, which had 58entries this year.

The first Crystal Cabin Awards was launchedat the AIX in 2007. Several new categories jointhe established list. This year, awards will be givenfor Premium Class Products, and VisionaryConcepts. Other categories are PassengerComfort, Industrial Design and Technical Con-cepts, along with Greener Cabin, Health andSafety, and Material Components.

Peter Vink, from Delft University of Technologyin the Netherlands, is chairman of the CrystalCabin Awards Judging Committee. In a Jan-uary 11 release on the awards, Vink said he wasparticularly impressed the efforts by entrants toimprove passenger comfort. Delft University

of Technology recently conducted a studyof aircraft comfort and found that amongthe new aircraft models going into ser-vice, the comfort level has risen from 6.2to 7.8 on a scale of 0 to 10.

“And there are many other submis-sions focusing on, for instance, efficiency,weight reduction and passenger expe-rience,” he said.

Entries range from small, physicaldetails to new wireless inflight entertain-ment systems, integrated air condition-ing, and special features for persons withreduced mobility.

To make it to the competition, entriesmust pass a process where they are evaluatedby a pre-selection committee that picked the58 entries. The finalists were picked at the endof February after 23 experts in the Judging

Panel evaluated each of the accepted entries. The entire process will result in six finalists

being presented with trophies in a ceremony,at the AIX in Hamburg on March 27.

REGIONAL REPORT

In addition to cabin technologies the ZAL-TechCenter will focus on fuel cell technologies,air conditioning and fuselage integration

The Crystal Cabin Awards await handout at last year’sAircraft Interiors Expo

58 entries vie for Crystal Cabin Awards



IFE REPORT

IFE hardwareleaders discussprogress madein 2011, what’son display at AircraftInteriors Expoand what’s in store for 2012By Maryann Simson

digEcor improves internallyAccording to Adam Williams, MarketingDirector at digEcor, Inc., 2011 was a success-ful year for the company. The first and secondquarters, he says, were largely spent finalizingand fulfilling new orders for the L7 portableIFE unit launched at the end of 2010.

digEcor’s largest and one of its oldestcustomers, Alaska Airlines opted to updateits entire program from the digEplayer XTto the L7 last year, as did Pacific Blue Air-lines. Azerbaijan Airlines, the fast-growingflag carrier of the small nation bordering Iran,Armenia, Georgia and Russia, began ser-vice in 2011 offering the L7 to its passengersand using digEcor as a full service contentprovider. The AVOD content set for Azer-baijan includes the standard content setprovided on the digEplayer L7 as well assome additional sports programming, chil-dren’s shows, and general television enter-tainment. The additional content is actually

being viewed on hardware from anotherprovider (the Panasonic eX2 system) foundin executive classes. For digEcor, this marksthe first official foray into serving up con-tent on a system other than its own.

“In 2011, we deployed thousands ofdevices around the world. It was great to seethe confidence from our current customersas well as new customers for this latest gen-eration of devices,” said Adam Williams,Marketing Director at digEcor Inc. “Theother big thing that happened for us in 2011was actually in-house. We took quite a bit oftime reviewing our processes, some of ourorganizational structure, as well as financesand accounting. Today we are much strongerinternally than we were a year ago and thatputs us in a position where we are betterable to support customers and provide bet-ter products and services.”

In April of last year the Springville, Utah-based supplier announced it had completed

embedded ship-set installation of a 737-700belonging to Gulf Air. The aircraft has sincebeen operating from Bahrain to Milan andGeneva, says Williams, adding that digEcorand the carrier continue to monitor opera-tions for reliability, passenger acceptance andfailure rates. EASA certified, the embeddedL7 uses in-seat power, features a PA interrupt,and is seat centric as all content is storedlocally on the device.

“It is going very well,” Williams reveals. “Ithas actually shown to be very reliable and weare currently in discussion with Gulf Air todetermine how we are going to move forwardwith that program.”

The IMS Company: eight isgreat, but more is betterVisitors to the IMS Company’s stand at thisyear’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

In alphabetical order, here is the rundown:

Azerbaijan Airlines began service in2011 offering the L7 to its passengersand using digEcor as a full servicecontent provider

THE

RUNDOWN


Now Playing.

The IMS Company2929 East Imperial Highway

Brea, CA 928211.714.854.8600 www.imsco-us.com

Come visit us at Aircraft Interiors Expo – Booth 6B15



will have a little more elbow room this timearound. On the heels of a banner year, the Brea,California-based IFE solutions providerincreased the size of its trade show floor spaceby one-third in anticipation of successful

meetings and product demonstrations. The expansion is more than warranted, says

Harry Gray, Vice President of Sales and Mar-keting at The IMS Company, by the extraor-dinary forward momentum that the com-pany has gained in recent months. Both of thecompany’s advanced hardware options; RAVE,a passenger centric embedded AVOD IFEsystem and EDGE, a new portable mediaplayer using the Samsung Galaxy Tab andAndroid operating sys-tem, saw first deliveries in2011. The RAVE system

in particular is proving popular as evidencedby the eight airlines that have selected it,including airberlin, Air Transat, Air TahitiNui, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines,Lufthansa German Airlines, SriLankan andanother yet to be announced.

“The success of RAVEcontinues, as airlines con-tinue to see the benefits ofour unique system,” saysJoe Renton, CEO at TheIMS Company. “For acompany like ours, revers-ing decades of workingwith a completely differ-ent system architecture,at a time when airlineswere reducing the amountof money spent on IFEwas a calculated risk. Weare very pleased with thesuccess we have experi-enced so far and expect

this success to continue in 2012.”By mid-2012, Gray expects that The IMS

Company will have close to 30 aircraft flyingwith RAVE globally. The IFE provider has, andcontinues to work with passenger seatingmanufacturers including ACOR, AVIO, B/EAerospace, Contour, Geven, Recaro, Sicma,Sogerma, Thompson and ZIM, thus ensur-ing that airline customers are guaranteedflexibility. AS9100 and ISO 9001 certifica-

tions have been recently obtained by IMSand roughly half a dozen prominent aircrafttypes have been tested or installed, such as theA330, A340, 747, 767 and 777.

“This year will be another exciting year forIMS as we continue to deliver RAVE to ourexisting customers and expand our customerbase with new orders,” Gray says. “We will con-tinue to manage our growth by adding per-sonnel and streamlining our processes bothinternally and with suppliers. We have afocused plan to maintain a high level of qual-ity in all aspects of our operations.”

Lumexis launches wireless deliveryOn January 23, Lumexis CEO and long-timefigure in the IFE sector, Doug Cline, intro-duced his company’s answer to airlinedemand for a single aisle aircraft IFE solu-tion. WiPAX is a stand-alone wireless con-tent delivery system designed for airlineswith smaller aircraft not equipped with in-seat AVOD and IFE monitors.

Derived from the company’s FTTS (fibreto the screen) head end server providing out-put to standard embedded screens, WiPAXenables passengers to access entertainmentusing their own Wi-Fi equipped personalelectronic devices, while allowing airline cus-tomers to save themselves the costs associatedwith aircraft retrofit and related downtimes.

“Successful deployment of any complexIFE system into airline fleet applications

requires integration and managementof broadly diverse elements,”

IFE REPORT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

WiPAX is a stand-alone wireless contentdelivery system designed for airlines withsmaller aircraft not equipped with in-seatAVOD and IFE monitors

The RAVE system is proving popular as evidenced by the eight airlines that have selected it



Contact:SkyMax CompanySiemensstr. 1130916 IsernhagenPhone: +49 511 1659510Fax: +49 511 [email protected]

Developed by Air-Eltec Luftfahrttechnik andSkyMax, the SkyTender is a fully-automated beverage trolley and a must for modern airlines.

Capable preparing up to 20 different drinkssuch as tea and coffee, fruit juices, soft drinks,mixed cocktails, freshly-pulled beer and evenwine; SkyTender provides airlines with clear financial and economical benefits

In recent months SkyTender has been rigorously tested and optimized for enhanced weight savings, waste reduction,space savings and beverage variety.

See the difference. Reap the rewards.

Visit stand 6B62 – Aircraft Interiors Expo Hamburg

said Cline at the time of the product’s intro-duction. “FTTS and WiPAX provide any air-line an unmatched, seamless solution acrossits entire fleet. Whether wide body or narrowbody, long or short-haul, pay-per-view orcustomer amenity, Lumexis systems provideproven, leading-edge solutions with the high-est capacity and reliability.”

WiPAX offers the ability to simultane-ously offer HDTV over fiber to large screens

in premium cabins, while streaming contentwirelessly in another class.

Panasonic: eX marks the spotPAX International recently caught up with NeilJames, Executive Director, Corporate Sales andProduct Management for Panasonic Avion-ics Corporation (Panasonic).

“2011 was an amazing year for Panasonic,”

he revealed in the interview. “We were able toreinforce our market leadership with signif-icant business from existing customers, deliv-ering our vision of the connected aircraft, bol-stering our installed base and developing thenext generation of IFEC solutions.”

That may seem like a tall order, but it isone that is reasonable for Panasonic; a com-pany with widespread success and manyyears experience in the consumer electronic

IFE REPORT

United Continental has selectedPanasonic’s Global CommunicationsSuite Ku-band Wi-Fi solutiononboard more than 300 aircraftbeginning in mid-2012



industry and significant market share in theworld of inflight entertainment to compli-ment it. In 2011 Panasonic witnessed ongo-ing interest in the most advanced of its IFEsolutions, the eX3 launched last September.One of a full suite of X-series IFEC productsthe eX3 system has already been adopted byits first publicly announced customer, theBrazilian airline, TAM.

Also in 2011, the company was pleased toreveal jointly with United/Continental that themajor North American carrier had selectedPanasonic’s Global Communica-tions Suite Ku-band Wi-Fisolution onboard more

than 300 aircraft beginning in mid-2012. Eti-had Airways also announced its selection ofPanasonic for an IFEC installation includingbroadband Internet and live TV, for an entirelong haul fleet of wide body aircraft. Early esti-mates indicate the deal may be valued atmore than US$1 billion.

In addition to contact and delivery news,Panasonic unveiled new products in 2011 aswell. According to James, the company lever-aged its global service and support organi-zation, ability to offer extensive content andwireless integration skill to present eXW tothe airline industry. The eXW is a wirelessIFEC solution, which already has its first air-line customer. Ideal for regional, short haulflights or as a compliment to an embeddedsystem, passengers can access the eXW net-

work with their own wireless devices. TheeXLite was also recently developed andlaunched as a cost-effective and lightweightalternative for the retrofit market.

“Panasonic is a solutions company,” saysJames. “Our job is to align with our cus-tomers’ business goals and provide the tech-nology that makes that real.”

At this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo inHamburg, Panasonic will focus on what theycall the transition of IFEC Systems to “pas-senger-centric business platforms” and will

demonstrate the X-series port-folio designed

to maximize passenger personalization and enjoyment.

Rockwell Collins PAVES the path to successAt the Airline Passenger Experience Associ-ation’s trade show in September 2011, rep-resentatives from Rockwell Collins broughtairline, media and other visitors into a pri-vate room within their orange and whitestand to meet PAVES™ 3. Launched at theevent, PAVES™ 3 is Rockwell Collins’ answerto growing demand for single-aisle in-seat IFEsolutions. Formerly specializing in single-aisle overhead systems (and of course theirindustry leading Airshow series of movingmaps), Rockwell Collins tossed its hat into thering signaling its readiness and capability to

the significant reductions in size, weightand power – their eyes opened to the advan-tages the system brings.”

Its weight, or lack thereof, is an alluring fea-ture of the PAVES™ 3. The total systemweight, which includes 10.1 (baseline) and12.1-inch touch screen HD in-seat solutions,will average less than four pounds per seat.Each in-seat unit will have 128 GB of contentstorage, which airlines customers can upgradeif desired. The content management can behandled independent of Rockwell Collins’involvement, in cooperation with the contentprovider of choice. The monitors also featurean incredibly easy “swap out” design shouldfailure occur. Finally, the use of a new high-

move into new and highly competitive ter-ritory. And, a person knowing anything at allabout the conservatively-managed firm, willtrust Rockwell Collins has rigorously ensuredit will meet customer expectations.

“Before PAVES™ 3 was unveiled at APEX2011, it was in development for about ayear and were partnering with OEMs tomake it offerable. We expect this to happenin 2013,” reveals JD Pauly, Director of Prod-uct Development. “The system was verywell embraced at APEX, especially the archi-tecture. Once potential customers were ableto see the system first-hand and realized

IFE REPORT





reliability operating system, QNX, will driveavailability to standards unseen in the in-seat business to date.

“Each in-seat PAVES™ 3 unit works inde-pendently from each other and the head-end equipment,” says Pauly, adding that thisresults in no single point of failure in this archi-tecture unlike traditional server based systems.“If one in-seat unit fails, no other units willbe affected. Assuming the airline keeps a fewmonitors behind the last row as spares, flightattendants can swap out monitors with a sin-gle tool in less than a minute.”

Aircraft installed with the PAVES™ 3 sys-tem utilize the High Definition Media Server(HDMS) already available for its overhead sys-tem to provide broadcast capability forannouncements and boarding music. This re-use offers airlines flexibility in terms of con-figuration by class, if desired. Passengers willalso be able to connect their personal electronicdevices, such as cameras, laptops and smartphones to their personal PAVES™ 3 monitorto view individual content on its larger screen.Rockwell Collins intends to continue pro-moting the advantages of the PAVES™ 3 sys-

tem at the upcoming Aircraft Interiors Expoin Hamburg and hints at new announce-ments regarding the product

Row 44 going liveWith a number of key agreements penned in2011, Row 44 enters the new calendar year inhot pursuit of new customers, market shareand leading edge technology.

“We signed agreements in 2011 with manymajor studios and networks, in the Americasand overseas, to create an in-flight broad-band entertainment platform that includesboth on-demand video content and livestreaming IPTV television right to passengers’Wi-Fi enabled devices,” explained HowardLefkowitz, Chief Commercial Officer at Row44. “Those agreements included Major LeagueBaseball for live streaming video and audioof thousands of games throughout the sea-son, on-demand movies and TV shows fromDisney, Twentieth Century FOX, NBC Uni-versal and Warner Bros., as well as live IPTVtelevision arrangements with FOX News,CNBC and MSNBC, BBC World News, NBCSports Network and Bloomberg Television.”

A shuffle in top level management started

2012 off for the Satellite-based in-flight broad-band entertainment platform as they revealedin mid-January that John LaValle, the com-pany’s longtime Chief Operating Officer andChief Financial Officer, had become Row44’s CEO. Co-founder and former CEO JohnGuidon had assumed the Chief TechnicalOfficer role and would remain on the com-pany’s board of directors.

The changes, says the company, reflectRow 44’s significant expansion plans, whichbegan in early 2012, and will draw on bothLaValle’s and Guidon’s respective strengths.These plans include launching the afore-mentioned live TV enabled broadband enter-tainment platform.

SiT takes Zodiac Aerospacein new directions A leader in the cabin interior technologiesfor the airline industry, Zodiac Aerospace,with its headquarters in France, has enlargedits seat equipment expertise and offer bydoing something no other seat maker hasattempted thus far. Over the last several years,

IFE REPORT






Zodiac Aerospace has been developing, andeven winning customers for its very own IFEsystem, which it calls SiT (Seat IntegrationTechnology). The project is an ambitious onefor a seat maker and aims to simplify pur-chasing and installation for airlines, whichnow have the option of buying passengerseating and the integrated in-seat IFE together.

According to Zodiac Aerospace, SiT is“lightness and simplicity itself.” Composed ofa Passenger Control Unit (PCU) with gamepad, QWERTY keyboard and credit cardreader, a Smart Display Unit (SDU) with sev-eral display sized and 250GB SSD or HDDstorage, a seat power box, Electrical OpticalModule (EOM) and a SiT Interface Box (SIB),the SiT system is touted by the company forits simple architecture, low cost of ownershipand light weight.

Passengers using the system can enjoy fullAVOD functionality, the ability to play, pause,fast forward and rewind video content, listento music, play 2D and 3D games, catch up onevents with text news, read e-books, input con-tent like photos from a camera and evencharge their own electronic devices through

a USB cable. Cabin crew can benefit from asimplified user interface, passenger announce-ment management, the ability to send andupdate safety videos and can rest assuredthat content is protected.

SiT has been selected by four airlinesthus far including Royal Jordanian, SouthAfrican Airways, Gulf Air and Corsairfly.Two airlines are flying with installed SiTIFE systems. In 2012 the company plans tointroduce the system’s next generation fea-turing a more modern appearance, com-pact size and lighter weight.

Thales pushes onward with AVANTWinning multiple accolades in 2011, includ-ing coveted Avion and the Crystal CabinAwards, was the TopSeries AVANT systemfrom Thales. The system was first selectedby Qatar Airways for their A350 aircraft andis capturing the attention of airlines withfuture Airbus and Boeing fleets, accordingto Lori Krans, VP Communications forThales In-Flight Entertainment and Con-nectivity business.

“There is so much excitement about the

new Thales systems because it is based on aproven platform, scalable to meet most anyairline’s need and is feature-rich.” Kransrevealed in a recent interview with PAX Inter-national. “Using solid state digital servers,the TopSeries AVANT has unmatched redun-dancy within the head-end and up to 256GBlocal storage at the seat.”

With more passengers than ever bringingtheir own consumer electronic devicesonboard, Thales has taken many steps toensure that the AVANT system accommo-date a wide array of consumer electronics. TheSmart Passenger Interface Module (Smart-PIM) is a future-proof solution that enablespassengers to connect their portable devicesto the system so they can listen or view theircontent through the TopSeries system. Theproduct accommodates up to four inter-changeable connectors, such as USB and RCAjacks. As new connectors are introduced, air-line maintenance personnel can easily upgradethe unit bringing something new to the cabinover time. The system can also be config-ured to incorporate the Touch PassengerMedia Unit (TouchPMU) which is a hand-held unit with a 3.8 inch LCD display that can

IFE REPORT

Thales has taken many stepsto ensure that the AVANTsystem continues to grab andhold the attention of airlinesand passengers




host many Android applications found inthe Google Marketplace and support cus-tom airline applications. The Touch PMUcan either stand alone or to compliment thein-seat installation.

According to Krans, working with theAndroid operating system opens upnew opportunities never pursued before.Thales is now working with Android devel-opers on building a Thales App library for boththe TopSeries AVANT system and the TouchPMU, for which they recently launched anactive new web portal allowing those devel-opers to link directly to Thales.

On demonstration at Aircraft Interiors2012, Thales will show new applications andGUI features. The system’s acclaimed TouchPassenger Media Unit will reveal the latestmulti-task functionality for enhanced con-venience at the seat. In partnership withSiemens, Thales adds to the scalability ofTopSeries AVANT with wireless streamingmedia to a wide range of passenger devices.Important to see is TopConnect, the Thalessuite of Connectivity solutions for ground &air communications.

Officially announced at the Airline Pas-senger Experience Association’s confer-ence and trade show (APEX) in September2011, the Cabin Connect Suite from ARINCis garnering much attention. Targeting com-mercial carriers with the goal of realizing arobust suite of connectivity offerings suchas Wi-Fi for passengers and crew, the solu-tion features Internet access via personalelectronic devices and allows the airframeto become part of the carrier’s corporatenetwork, thus great enhancing onboardservice offerings.

“Thanks to developments in Swift-Broadband technology we are now verypleased to offer a strong alternative valueproposition for airlines wishing to pursueconnectivity within the cabin,” said LeeCostin Director of ARINC’s Satellite Solu-tions and Cabin Services in a release. “Weare seeing a large number of both short andlong haul carriers looking at onboard con-

nectivity plans, ARINC is now in a positionto compete head on with the more estab-lished players in the industry and we arelooking forward to the next 12 months,which will be a very exciting time for inflightconnectivity.”

The Crew Connect aspect of the ARINCoffering facilitates quick response to cus-tomer service issues by providing a directlink back to the airline’s headquarters orground operations department. Cabin crewcan book onboard transfers, track lost bag-gage, find a hotel room and can even trou-bleshoot and remedy issues with the air-crafts’ IFE by booking engineers to ensurethey are on hand when the plane arrives atits destination. All these features come inaddition to the revenue generation or brandenhancement opportunities created bypassenger use, which airlines can opt toeither charge for or incorporate as partcomplimentary service.

IFE REPORT

ARINC connects the cabin



he last 12 months have beenbusy ones for Gogo. Move-ment towards significant ser-vice and geographical expan-sion began with a re-brand-

ing initiative that saw the cre-ation of a new logo; brand image

and a name change from Aircell toGogo. Then there was the launch of a

new portal that offers passengers on Gogoequipped aircraft to access destination relatedcontent, news, shopping and travel infor-mation. The company also debuted GogoVision, a video on demand service that enablespassengers to stream movies and televisionprograms to their own Wi-Fi enabled devices.Several more announcements involving thecreation of an international team, a potentialsatellite partnership with Inmarsat to dis-tribute their Global Xpress service and anequipment deal with Air China rounded outwhat has shaped up to be a busy year for theItasca, Illinois-based company.

Home frontWith a fleet already equipped and offering thecompany’s popular Wi-Fi service, Delta AirLines jumped at the opportunity to offer itspassengers more content wirelessly with Gogoin the summer of 2011. After a softwareupgrade to each jet, Delta became the first car-rier to offer Gogo’s multimedia platform andthe second carrier to launch Gogo Vision.Delta is now joined by American Airlines asthe two domestic carriers who currently haveGogo Vision up and running in the air.

“We definitely believe this is a game-changer in the world of in-flight entertain-ment,” said Ash ElDifrawi, Gogo’s chief mar-keting officer in August when the AmericanAirlines launch was announced. “Gogo Visionis a low-cost, light-weight, easy-to-installsolution that’s very different from traditional

IFE. The result is the airlines now have bothchoice and flexibility on a per fleet basis.”

Top brass at American Airlines have alsotaken advantage of the new offering and theopportunity it provided to increase passengersatisfaction, while enhancing the airline’s brand.

“We’ve been deeply involved in develop-ing the concept of streaming video withGogo, as part of our vision of continuing toelevate the travel experience by pushing theenvelope with our inflight entertainmentofferings,” said Rob Friedman, American’sVice President of Marketing. “We continue toexecute this strategy and lead in this space bymaking prudent investments in innovative,cutting-edge technologies.”

Before the launch of Gogo Vision and theadditional platform offerings, Gogo had beenlargely categorized by many in the industryas an air-to-ground Wi-Fi specialist in the U.S.Though the company has always maintainedthat it is willing to make use of various satel-lite networks and has stressed its interna-tional ambitions, that pesky notion had stuck.By the fourth quar-ter 2011, Gogo hadbegun to change thisperception publiclywith their Inmarsatand Air Chinaannouncements.

EasternpassageIn the fall of 2011,Gogo and Air Chinareached an agreementfor Gogo to provide atrial of its wireless IFEsystem onboard four air-craft types. On November15, all eyes were on Gogo asthe first trial flight, a 737,

departed Beijing en route to Chengdu. Theagreement is a first for Air China, a carrierwith a very large fleet and no IFE or con-nectivity option before now. It was also avery important announcement for Gogo, asit marked the first project with a carrier out-side of North America. Trials are expected tocontinue on the other aircraft types; the 737-800, 777, A321 and A330, with completionexpected in 2012.

“Gogo has a proven track record of pro-viding wireless solutions to the aviationindustry and currently is the only companyto have a wireless IFE solution in marketand available to consumers,” said ZhangYang, Air China Assistant President in aNovember 18 release. “We look forward toworking with them as we become thefirst Chinese air carrier to leverage theirequipment to bring a wireless entertainmentoption to our passengers.”

Should these trials please Air China and itspassengers, it’s possible the carrier will con-sider expansion of the wireless in-flight enter-

IFE AND CONNECTIVITY

Gogo, the company that successfully created an ATG networkservicing the Continental U.S. and Alaska and brought broadbandIFE access to the cabin, positions itself for expansion globally By Maryann Simson

Go-going Global



tainment to the entire Air China fleet. Currently,the wireless Gogo Vision IFE system onboard AirChina is not connected outside the aircraft, butrather is based on an intranet-like arrangementwhere content is pre-loaded and streams from ahead-end server.

Eyes to the skyLess than two weeks after the Air China announce-ment, the company made headlines yet again. OnNovember 29 the wireless cabin solutions providerand Inmarsat, a leading global mobile satellitecommunications services provider, jointly dis-closed that Gogo had been selected as one ofonly two service providers to help bring Inmarsat’shighly anticipated Global Xpress satellite serviceto the commercial airline market, which isexpected after mid-2013. In the release detailingthe agreement, Inmarsat’s Managing Directorfor Global Express, Ian Mondale, touted Gogo’sperformance, bandwidth management expertiseand its ability to drive customer adoption as rea-sons for the selection.

“We believe that this is truly a game changerfor our industry in that it’s the first scalableglobal solution in the market. Inmarsat hasassembled an incredible team and we are highlyconfident in the execution plan we’ve put inplace,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president andCEO in the joint release. “One of our goals is tobe able to provide technology solutions thatenable us to service the full-fleet needs of our cur-rent and future airline partners; regardless ofaircraft size or mission. By partnering withInmarsat, we are able to add an important pieceto our technology puzzle.”

IFE AND CONNECTIVITY

It is difficult to cultivate an international coup without key strategists. Adding theright management into the mix was a task that Gogo recently embarked upon. Thecompany announced its newest team members on January 4. International oper-ations are to be based in London and will facilitate future international developmentsof the commercial aviation market, in addition to supporting the existing global sales,support and marketing infrastructure in the business aviation market.

David Russell, Senior VicePresident and GeneralManager CommercialAviation, Europe and the Middle EastRussell will be challengedwith growing and managingGogo’s international busi-ness as the company beginsto distribute Inmarsat’s GlobalXpress satellite connectivity service and expand Gogo’s wireless in-flight entertainmentsolution globally. Pursuant to its memorandum of understanding with Inmarsat, Gogoexpects to begin in-flight testing of the Global Xpress aeronautical services after thelaunch of the first Inmarsat-5 satellite, which is scheduled for mid-2013.

Niels Steenstrup, Vice PresidentInternational OperationsHe has been at the forefrontof in-fl ight connectivitythrough his experience atConnexion by Boeing andhe’s played an instrumentalrole in getting Gogo’s ser-vices up and running.

Russell brings to Gogomore than 20 years ofmanagement experienceat leading aviation ITservices andtelecommunicationscompanies and mostrecently served as vicepresident of strategicprogrammes for SITAGroup in London. Beforethat, he served as COOof OnAir

Steenstrup has extensiveglobal product,marketing and salesexperience in the aviationindustry including hisexperience at Connexionby Boeing where he ledmarketing and salesactivities for Europe, theMiddle East and theAmericas

Navigating the waters



Like last year, when its new Hybritetrolley was introduced to theindustry, product development atDriessen-Zodiac Aerospace is con-

tinuing its movement toward a design philos-ophy that produces a softer-edged, smoothcabin product for an environment whereindustrial looks are giving way more eachyear to aesthetic demands by the airlines.

While its newest development, the Hybritecontainer is considerably less mobile thanits line of full and half sized trolleys under thesame name, company officials say cabin crewwill notice similarities in the design; and willfeel the difference from traditional aluminumfixtures every time they touch it.

Like the trolleys, the company’s Hybritecomposite/aluminum container is a speciesdesigned to adapt to the demands of air-lines for lightweight cabin equipment with-out the cost associated with products madecompletely of high-tech composites. TheHybrite container, developed in 2011, weighsup to 2.6 kilograms less than a similar alu-minum product, approximately a 10% reduc-tion in weight from a standard container,say company officials.

Development of the new Hybrite con-tainer had several priorities. “The appear-ance of the Hybrite container has signifi-cantly improved, compared to the looks of theclassic aluminum container,” says MichielMaris, Sales and Marketing Director GalleyEquipment at Driessen-Zodiac Aerospace.“The corners are rounded and it has a new

lock design. Similar to the Hybrite trolleys,the front panel of the Hybrite container canbe sublimated with colors and illustrations.”

Driessen plans to offer the Hybrite con-tainer in a universal Standard Atlas configu-ration; however, the company also has the abil-ity to adapt the Hybrite container to meet cus-tomer requests for a non-Atlas size.

A number of other fea-tures have been built intothe containers. The softeredges and smooth surfacewill improve hygiene, saysthe company. Flight atten-dants will notice thechange from aluminum tocomposite material whenthey handle the containersand open the doors, whichhave a considerablywarmer surface tempera-ture than their aluminumcounterparts. The lockingmechanism featured in theHybrite container can be triggered or openedwith one finger.

“For the Hybrite container, the new slamlatch was developed in close cooperationwith the crew of KLM,” say Maris. “The mainaims were ease of opening and closing.”

Production of the first Hybrite containersis slated for April of this year.

It has been a busy year for Driessen.Designers are hard at work developing amodular galley system for the A320, a new

lower deck mobile crew rest compartmentfor the A330, the Hybrite container and anew Hybrite folding trolley that will also beintroduced at the Aircraft Interiors Expo inHamburg.

In the second half of this year, Driessen willroll out the first of its modular SFE galleys. Withthe introduction, the company says the new

galley’s “plug and play” design allows itto be installed as a complete module,

capable of being moved into posi-tion in the aircraft cabin and

connected at attachmentspoints, water outlets and

electrical systems. Onceinstalled, the companysays its “less split” line con-nection mean fewer inter-faces, a lesser risk of leak-age and improved systemconnections.

Driessen employs whatthe company calls a MaxFlex design to meet the

shorter lead times requested by Airbus Indus-trie and the desire by customers for specificfeatures in their galleys.

“The galley module will be delivered withall the inserts pre-certified and tested,” saidAbraham Sarraf, Sales and Marketing Direc-tor Galleys. “The total galley module will betested as a complete functioning installationduring the acceptance test procedures foreach unit before it’s delivered to the finalassembly line.”

COMPANY NEWS

Driessen has developed amodular galley for the A320

The new Hybritecontainer will be put

in service in April

The Hybrite concept takes on a new shape as Driessen-Zodiac Aerospace prepares for this year’s Aircraft Interiors ExpoBy Rick Lundstrom

CONTAINMENTComposite


INTRODUCING THE ALL-NEW SYMPHONY

TM

SUITE OF INNOVATIVE GALLEY INSERTS FROM MONOGRAM SYSTEMS.

It’s a debut on a grand scale, an all-new culinary composition that raises in-flight foodservice to unparal-

leled heights. Celebrate totally integrated galley performance with an SFE solution that reduces galley

weight, minimizes power consumption and accelerates the serving process. Offering a whole new level

of reliability, consistency and ease of operation, Symphony delivers a virtuoso performance.

To learn more, contact us at: +1-310-884-7036 or email [email protected].

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G a l l e y I n s e r t s

Our latest masterpiece

takes fl ight.



In the past year, Sell GmbH has reachedmilestones in sales and companylongevity. Under the direction of a newCEO, who took over in July of last year,Sell is now poised to maintain its stand-

ing atop the twin aisle galley market with anew set of inserts set for debut at this year’sAircraft Interiors Expo.

The milestones started in May of last year,when the company noted the sale of its30,000th convection oven, this one installedon a Lufthansa German Airlines A321. The salewas noted with a ceremony in the German cityof Burg where Sell has its galley inserts facil-ity. In mid-summer the company celebratedits 40th year as a design organization.

Shortly thereafter, Sell received new lead-ership with the addition of Axel Rodenberg,a former Airbus engineer and plant man-ager, as the company’s Chief Executive Offi-cer. Rodenberg is now working closely withthe Sell’s parent company, Zodiac Aerospaceto position the consortium for the future.

“Several investments improving compet-itiveness and infrastructure are planned forthe future, and Zodiac Aerospace is a strate-gic partner who is interested in investing inSell and with whom we can realize our strate-gic projects,” said Sonja Naumann, ManagerMarketing and Public Relations at Sell GmbH.“Always focusing on the market and cus-tomer needs to lead future innovations.”

The industry will see a fewof the company’s latest effortsat innovation at this year’s Air-craft Interiors Expo. At theZodiac Aerospace stand 7D50will be the company’s new seriesof galley inserts. With the line,Sell has sought to meet theneeds of airlines seeking prod-ucts that blend in well with thetoday’s aircraft interiors. Inaddition to the smoother linesand aesthetic improvements,the products are designed totrim up to 75 kilograms in weight on a typ-ical wide-body configuration.

Other changes are structural and opera-tional. “An insulated serving pot, a steamoven without internal overpressure and anoven door, the double safety latching of whichcan be operated using just one hand – theseare just some of the advantages of our newinserts,” said Jürgen Just, Vice President of Mar-keting and Sales at Sell. The company hasadded new closing mechanisms and productsthat are cool to the touch. Among the line ofgalley inserts that will be shown at AIX areovens, coffeemakers, beverage makers, waterboilers and bun warmers.

“Elliptical and curved forms, as well asthe integration of lighting configurations areonly two examples of the increasing cus-

tomization in this sector,” saidJust. “Airlines today want tointegrate their corporate imageand brand values into thedesign and styling of the galley,through the implementationof illuminated logos, invisiblerevolving catches installedbehind the trolley doors or theuse of roller blinds with thelogo applications.”

Sell is also facing the chal-lenge to innovate with its com-manding market share for gal-

leys on the A380. The company claims a 70percent share of the big jet’s galley market.Thus, say officials they are often called onto make products that will enhance what isthe pride of any airline’s fleet. With theadditional cabin space afforded operators ofthe A380, the company sees a future ofincreasing demand for public spaces withinthe aircraft that include both bar and gal-ley areas — sometimes separate and some-times together.

“Since the inception of commercial air-craft galleys, the steadily changing needs ofcustomers and stringent industry require-ments have and will continually set newchallenges for aircraft interior suppliers,”said Just. The industry will not stand still –quite the contrary.”

COMPANY NEWS

FORM and FUNCTIONAfter 55 years and the sale of tens of thousands of products, Sell GmbHcomes to AIX with a new line of galley inserts designed for anincreasingly discriminating group of airline customers By Rick Lundstrom

Axel Rodenberg, CEO of SellGmbH

Sell GmbH’s newselection of galley insertswill be highlighted at theAircraft Interiors Expo



Based in Carson, California, Mono-gram Systems has been serving thecommercial aviation sector for morethan 60 years. The company, now partof the Zodiac Aerospace Group, has

brought to market many of the innovativeproducts that flight crew now find indis-pensable. Monogram developed the firstaircraft vacuum toilet, the first aircraft trashcompactor, the first aircraft recycling com-pactor and even the very first 16G pilot seatwith a three-point tie down.

This year, the company with new officesin Everett, Washington and Provo, Utah, is setto launch an all-new range of galley insertsdesigned to simplify the work of flight crew,save weight, reduce power consumption andcook times, and improve safety. Symphony isa totally integrated suite of galley insert prod-ucts, created as supplier furnished equip-ment (SFE) for commercial aircraft. It includesa steam oven, convection oven, beveragechiller, coffee maker, trash compactor andwater heater. The collection of inserts hasbeen developed such that each componentworks in harmony with its counterparts in anintegrated system, with a simple and uni-

form control panel arrangement that users willfind easy to master.

“Visionary engineering has helped to cre-ate this suite of galley insert products thatbreaks new ground,” says Thomas Lee, Direc-tor of Business Development at MonogramSystems. “Each component has new innova-tions that either improve the quality of thefood or coffee, or more efficiently cools orheats. Even aesthetically, there are imagina-tive new ideas such as colorful and inter-changeable equipment panel graphics that canbe customized with the product user’s logo,theme or specific decor.”

In addition to improving workplace effi-ciency for flight crews, Monogram Systemsalso promises that the Symphony suite ofinserts will please the palates of passengers,without testing their patience. According tothe company, its new un-pressurized ovenconcept improves upon standard cook timesby more than 2.5 minutes over the currentindustry standard, circulating air at 250 cubicfeet per minute. This means less time spentwaiting for a meal as its aroma fills the cabin.The oven also ensuresmore consistent

cooking results. The beverage chiller is set toimpress, with a rapid cool-down mecha-nism and under-bottle perforation plate tohelp air circulate more evenly, while a newbrew piston coffee maker offers maximumextracted solids for each brew, regardless ofother variables.

According to Lee, the uniquely “specialist”approach his company adopted throughoutthe development of the Symphony range hascontributed greatly to its success. “Ratherthan putting an entire engineering team towork on all components of the system, Mono-gram appointed a dedicated team of engineersto each product within the suite,” he tellsPAX International. “This has made it possi-ble to capitalize on specialized skills and cre-ate a more sophisticated system that strate-gically integrates every element. “Also keep inmind that Monogram Systems has been asignificant BFE and SFE supplier to the avi-ation industry for many years. By introduc-ing an airframe lever SFE design philosophy,Monogram’s Symphony suite raises the barof historic BFE galley insert equipment to

airframe level robustnessand reliability.

COMPANY NEWS

ConductingTHE SYMPHONY

Monogram Systemspresents its latest rangeof “instruments” to theaviation communityBy Maryann Simson



FULL PAGE AD



When Earl Diamond, ExecutiveVice President and COO ofAvianor in Montreal, pulls

himself out from under a pile of cables andcomponents in an entertaining YouTubevideo, he makes a point that airlines thatseek out new inflight entertainment sys-tems are often left with a lot of wires andtechnology on their hands, not to mentionthe monumental effort of getting itinstalled and working consistently.

Across the ocean, 60 shipsets of airlineseat frames sit in a 25,000 square foot facil-ity, designed for customers that either do nothave the time, resources or the inclination towait weeks and sometimes months for aninstallation of new seats from one of themajor suppliers.

And in the south Pacific, a crew of engi-neers and high-tech artisans are busy reshap-ing aircraft interiors, on some of the world’smost service oriented airlines, into pieces offlying artwork with cutting edge looks, by acompany that has been in on the groundfloor of some of the most celebrated interiordesigns in recent years.

Those three companies, and many moreare part of this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo.Out of stylish stands, they tout their abilitieswhile others work the massive rooms to catchup with clients and suppliers in a chase, whichmakes the massive event tick year after year.

Avianor, based in Montreal, is at the heartof one of the aviation industry hubs of NorthAmerica. Outside of Seattle, few would arguethat the city is the most vital aviation centeron the continent, with anywhere from 60,000

to 70,000 people employed in the industry. However, Avianor’s most important part-

ner last year is not based in Quebec, but Ire-land, and is manufacturing an in-flight enter-tainment system that is part of a “pit stop” ser-vice, which Avianor will be offering cus-tomers as early as this spring.

The partnership with Avianor and Air-vod, the Irish company, was announced in Sep-tember of last year, at approximately the sametime as the IFE maker announced its firstcustomer, Omni Air for its Seatcentric™inflight entertainment system. The airlineselected the system for its fleet of 777-200s.

The Airvod Seatcentric™ has the look of ahigh-powered, high resolution Apple iPad,with a touch screen interface and fast wirelesstechnology that does not rely on head-endservers. Each unit operates independently,

eliminating the possibility of a full system fail-ure. The system has a large storage capacity, withup to 300 movies available due to its up to eight128 gigabyte eMMC memory chips.

Airvod is also the first company to use5.8 GHz frequency for its wireless network,which gives its system the ability to operatewithout interference from personal electronicdevices being used by passengers on board.

Avianor is looking to add simplicity ofinstallation to the Airvod Seatcentric’s™ sim-plicity of operation. In Montreal, the companywill be offering airline customers a “pit stop”service. Installation projects, which couldtake up to a year for airlines taking on the task,can be done at the Avianor plant in anywherefrom three to six months.

“Airlines are in the business of flying peo-ple from A to B,” said Diamond. “They are not

RETROFIT REPORT

The Airvod Seatcentric™ video system will debut on Omni Air

The Avianor hangar in Montreal

Blazing new trailsFrom plush interiors, to seat installation, to “pit stop” IFE exchanges, retrofitcompanies on three continents are diving headlong into new services, somewhich hold the possibility of changing the way aircraft are modified By Rick Lundstrom



in the business to be project managers.”The Avianor “pit stop” will cover engi-

neering, certification and physical installationof the Airvod Seatcentric™ system. The com-pany also promises sales, repair station andspares service to the Americas.

“We are actively putting all the supportpieces in place and are preparing for our firstinstallation later this spring,” said Diamond.

Leki’s latest ventureIn the past year, 25+ Repair Center UK (ownedby Leki Aviation) has added more than 1,000new part numbers to its capabilities. Seventymiles south of London, a new chapter in thecompany’s history is being written at a stor-age installation facility that is now filled with60 shipsets of airline seat frames, awaiting anew home aboard one of the world’s aircraft.

The first steps to establishing the company’s25 Repair Centre took place in April of 2009when Leki Aviation purchased two shipsetsseats for an A320. The next month, the com-pany purchased a 737-300 operated by BritishAirways, with all of its components and inte-rior parts. Leki received its CAA approval tooperate its 25+ Repair Centre in August 2009.It is located in the city of Chichester.

Like the Avianor project, Leki’s 25+ RepairCentre facility was opened two years ago tofill the need of airlines without time to spare.A crew of seven people mans the 25,000square foot facility where seats are purchasedand stripped down to their frames. They arekept in inventory until they are sold. SICMA,Recaro, Weber and other seat suppliers are allamong the inventory of products.

Typical installations can take three to fourweeks, said Anne Kalman, director of busi-ness development at Leki Aviation.

“The difference between an overhauled seatand buying new ones is quite significant,”said Kalman. “Plus the delivery time for newseats is quite long.”

Among the new customers for Leki’s retro-fit program is a five-jet installation for Dan-ish carrier, Jet Time. In the past year, Kalmansaid that Leki Aviation has outfitted 25 air-craft out of the U.K. facility.

First Class outfittingIn the past year, Altitude Aerospace InteriorsLimited (Altitude) has been busy not only inthe first class cabin of some of the most inno-vative airlines in the world, but cultivating themarket for VIP jets and Boeing Business Jet

interiors. Since the company opened in 2008,the organization has doubled in size to justunder 100 people, said Heidi-Anna Gordon,Business Development Manager - Airlinesat Altitude.

Altitude has done cutting edge front-cabininstallations on aircraft for ANZ and VirginAustralia. Engineers and designers were in onthe initial design for what is the now-famousSky Couch that Air New Zealand installed inits economy class cabin. The award winningdesign makes the airline the first to offersleeper seats for passengers paying full-fareeconomy class tickets.

Some of the company’s most recent notablework can be found in the front cabins of Vir-gin Australia and Air New Zealand. In years past,Altitude showed visitors in attendance at theAircraft Interiors Expo the stylish customizedbar installation on Virgin Australia. The instal-lation was done on the airline’s 777-300. Pas-sengers settle in on the sliding barstools amidglassware and bottle display with mirroredback. Amid the ice wells and bottle racks is roomfor two full galley carts. Altitude also developeda stylish partition in blue-tinted, framelesswindow that separates first class and econ-omy class on the airline’s 737-800.

The company also combined bar and gal-ley and an LCD monitor to the cabin spaceof a 777-300, operated by Air New Zealand.It is now involved in installing first classmonuments for an international airline oper-ator of the 747-8i.

Much of the company’s capability is of amore practical nature. Altitude specializesin making good use of the cabin space withcustomized closets and partitions

The company has also brought aboard anumber of engineers in various disciplines,adding support services, authorizations andresearch and development.

“We realize that airlines want to mini-mize the number of suppliers they have ontheir programs, therefore we aim to providea complete solution” said Gordon.

RETROFIT REPORT

A crew of seven works at the Leki Aviation’s 25+ Repair Centre in the United Kingdom

This divider between first class and wasdesigned by Altitude for Virgin Australia

Altitude Aerospace Interiors Ltd. galley systems,like this one for the 777 on Air New Zealand



SEATING

A technician checksseats for SouthwestAirlines’ new Evolve

interiors

What’s in aWhat’s in a seat?

PAX International explores the fills and the fibersthat go into today’s airline seats By Rick Lundstrom

In March of this year, Southwest Airlinesplans to roll out the first version of a newairline cabin, outfitted front to back fordecreased weight, with eco-friendlymaterials and additional seating that the

airline says will lay the groundwork for thenext 40 years of profitable, economical andmore environmentally friendly operation.

One of the main features of Evolve: TheNew Southwest Interior on 737-800 and thelater 737 MAX (which will join the Southwestfleet in 2017) will be a bold colored seat witha frame made by B/E Aerospace. However, theInnovator II seat made by B/E Aerospace iscurrently part of the aircraft’s interior, and willremain there.

“By using existing seat frames, we avoidspending an additional $50 million to refresh

the cabin,” said a January 17 release fromSouthwest Airlines.

Where the change will take place, is in theconstruction of the fill and the seat covers.There, Southwest has selected two suppli-ers. Franklin Products for the fill and IrvinAutomotive of Pontiac, Michigan, for aproduct called eLeather, made from a treatednatural leather fiber mixed with a resin,coated and imprinted with a grain. Alto-gether, Southwest says the newly designedseat will allow it to increase its passengercount on the 737 from 137 to 143, while atthe same time cutting the weight by 635pounds generating US$10 million per yearin cost savings.

Programs, like Evolve: The New SouthwestInterior, and fabrics such as eLeather catch the

interest of people like Robin Butler, Presidentof Spectra Interior Products in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Butler studied textiletechnology at North Carolina State Univer-sity. At trade shows and events, he takes vis-itors through a short history of airline seat fab-ric which starts with nylon covers in the 60sand 70s and on up to wool blends and fur-ther on to leather, which quickly gained pop-ularity for its ease of maintenance and per-ception of luxury by travelers.

“People were a little reluctant to get ina small jet,” he said. “But they get on andthere’s a leather cover they were sitting onand they have the perception of first class.‘Oh, this airplane must be OK,’” he said. “Andthat sort of morphed over into the majorcommercial carriers.”



The leather-as-luxury theme continuesto this day on JetBlue Airways.

“From a customer perspective, it is a muchnicer experience than the cloth seats that getmore easily worn,” said Allison Steinberg, aspokesperson for JetBlue. “We talk about our‘comfy leather seats’ in all of our marketingmaterial and it is a core part of the JetBlueexperience. We still believe that it is a highlydesirable product feature and strong productdifferentiator.”

Visitors to this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expowill have the opportunity to sample a numberof fabrics. Faux leathers designed to stand upto the rigors of the cabin while cutting weightand offering ease of maintenance will be foundthroughout the event. Sturdy wools, the choiceof airlines for long-haul flights have beenadapted and shaped with new technology.

In addition to its line of products, whichincludes leather seating, Spectra Interior

Products is the exclusive distributor for IzitLeather. While not currently on a commer-cial airliner in the United States, Izit Leatheris widely used in the business jet market andon some overseas carriers. Gulfstream jetsrolling out of the assembly in Savannah,Georgia, have Izit Leather on the headlinersand sidewalls. “We sell a lot to Cessna, toDessault, to Hawker and Beech and mod

centers around the world,” said Butler. Hesaid furnishings at the Bellagio casino in LasVegas have been outfitted with Izit Leathersince 1999 without a replacement. The prod-uct is U.S. Coast Guard approved, and is partof the interiors on several cruise ships

Izit Leather is made in Japan – a countrywhere Butler says manufacturers have thegreatest expertise in the urethane-coated,polyester based fabrics that make up IzitLeather. Inherently flame-resistant, Izit Leatherweighs in at 11 ounces per square yard, com-pared to 24 ounces per square yard for manyleathers. “What that translates to in a typicalcoach seat is a savings of two pounds perpassenger place,” he said.

Izit Leather is treated with a top coatingthat makes it highly stain resistant. The prod-uct has stood up to some of the messiestsubstances that find their way onto an airlinecabin. Ink, red wine, mustard and lipstick

left on the seats for long periods have beenwashed away with mild detergents.

Sales of Izit Leather products continues tobe strong in the business jet market, and But-ler said the company plans to staff up tomake up for the growth. On the commercialside, he said that it could be only a matter oftime and increased awareness before an air-line selects the product for seating.

Natural wool withnano-technologyWhile leather may continue to be an impor-tant part of the airline cabin for years tocome, combinations of wool and nylon weavesare predominantly found in the cabin oflong-haul aircraft. Breathable and more com-fortable over long periods, wool has otherproperties that has made it part of the airlinecabin for decades. The material is also inher-ently fire resistant. It can be woven into intri-cate patterns and, at its lightest can be as lit-tle as 10 ounces per square yard.

Thirty miles south of Edinburgh, Scotland,Replin Fabrics is located in an area calledThe Scottish Borders near the River Tweed.Though nestled in a region well known forits sheep production, the wool that finds itsway thought the hills and forests to the com-pany’s plant in Peebles is from a farawaysource, said Ian Taylor, a consultant for the

company, who has spent more than25 years selling seat covers to the air-lines, most often working with con-tracted designers or finishing cen-ters for Boeing and Airbus.

“Most of what we use is NewZealand wool,” Taylor tells PAXInternational. “The Scottish wooltends to be coarse, and ends up incarpets.”

While the company started outmaking coverings for furniture,Replin is exclusively a transportationsupplier. Its coverings can be foundon the Heathrow Express, trains inSouth Africa and the shuttle betweenKuala Lumpur International air-port and the city’s downtown. Replinfabrics are found on several Britishcarriers, United Airlines, Skywestand Continental Airlines in theUnited States and Lan Chile andTAM in South America among oth-ers around the world.

Wool seat covers require regularmaintenance. Dry-cleaning andtreatments are needed to keep theproduct stain free and fresh smelling.Attrition is common as the product

becomes too stained or dirty. At this year’s Air-craft Interiors Expo, Replin will be bringinga new wool product that Taylor says willshow visitors fabric with a new treatmentprocess that coats individual woolen fibers.With the process, Taylor said stain produc-ers like red wine dry to a crust over a shortperiod of time and a product that often needsto be replaced after two years now could stay

SEATING

The breathable Bolero line of seat fabrics from Tapis Corporation



in service for five years or more. “With this system the attrition rate will be

almost zero,” he said.

A quiet cabin through fabricArmonk, New York-based Tapis Corpora-tion, manufacturers polyurethane basedfaux leather products Ultraleather™ andTapiSuede™. The company will be bringinga new version of the former product to thisyear’s Aircraft Interiors Expo. “It’s a breath-able product and it’s very unique,” saidJason Estes, Sales Manager for Tapis Corp.Recently, the company found that its newfaux Ultraleather™ Bolero product has beenuseful to designers looking to create a qui-eter airline cabin.

Tapis products can be found on more than

50 airlines around the world. Five of its cus-tom-made products were used on interior ofthe A380 delivered to Lufthansa in 2010. Witha reputation for ease in cleaning and mainte-nance, Tapis products are part of the interiorson a majority of Embraer jets coming off theproduction line.

When Tapis products were combined withpanels of sound absorbing foam made by acompany called Pelzer Acoustic Products inSwitzerland, the breathable properties of theBolero brand coverings allowed sound totravel easily into the absorbing foam. Estes saidthe sound absorbing qualities make the com-

pany’s products ideal for areas of the aircraftsuch as first class cabins, where airlines seekto create a relaxing and soothing atmospherefor high end travelers.

The company was showing the soundabsorption qualities of its new Bolero atthis year’s Business Jet Interiors World Expoin Cannes.

“Basically…there’s less mental and phys-ical fatigue due to the noise as well as moreprivacy for the passengers and crew,” Estes said.

Trimming the weightLeather will remain a competitive product inthe seat covering market as long as airlines areinterested in giving an image of luxury totheir passengers. Companies are also steppingup to remind prospective customers that in

addition to cache, they are also able to bringlightweight products into the cabin.

Boxmark Leather GmbH will be bringingits X-Air-Light-Weight leather to this year’sAircraft Interiors Expo. Weighing in at 700grams (24.7 ounces) per square meter X-Air-Light-Weight is also ready laminated andgiving it special stain and liquid resistance. Thetough hide also promises long life, said EduardKettner of the General Executive Center ofBoxmark in Germany.

“The lifetime of a high-class leather seatis around five times longer than a fabric seat,”said Kettner. “And with the right stain treat-

ment it can be 10 times longer.”With the right treatment and manufac-

turing, leather seating can also boast a lowercarbon footprint, according to Scottish Leathermanufacturer Andrew Muirhead & Son, Ltd.Last spring, the company announced thatGulf Air had selected its leather covers for itsA330 program while its leather product willalso be part of the 787 Dreamliner operatedby Lan Chile. Further orders have been fromMalaysia Airlines for its Boeing program andfrom Air China.

Yarwood Leather has also answered thecall with a new “aviation leather” called YarwoodNT. The Material weighs in a 390 grams (13.7ounces) per square meter. The company saysits seat covering is actually an advanced com-posite “which combines the unparalleled aes-

thetic and performance qualities of leatherwith the engineerability of a textile product.”

Yarwood uses a manufacturing processthat makes NT not only fire retardant but alsoable to be composted at the end of its lifetime.The reinforcing textile combined with theleather is made from recycled drink bottles.

“The environmental credentials of theproduct supports leading airlines commitmentto green technologies, whilst hugely reducingcost of ownership through reduced fuel usage,”said a release from Yarwood. “With on singleproduct we have made the industry’s mostadvanced upholstery material.”

SEATING

Boxmark Leather’s X-Air-Light-Weight is approximately 24.7 ounces per square yard


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PAX International: As a boy, what was

it about aviation that captured your

imagination?

Tom Lee: First, I was fortunate to grow up dur-ing the space race to the moon. I built minia-ture rockets and dreamed of space travel.Then, in January of 1970, my parents tookmy family on the inaugural flight of the 747from New York to London. I became fascinatedwith aircraft and decided to enter engineering.PAX: Tell me about your career path and

how your passion led you to where you

are today.

Lee: After completing an engineering degreeat Tulane University in New Orleans, I workedfor several companies, but eventually wasworking at an office complex with sharedoffice space. Outside one of these offices wasa prototype of a trash compactor for com-mercial aircraft. I was able to secure the fund-ing to start a new company to develop in-flighttrash compactors. This presented one of themost interesting challenges possible, devel-oping a brand new product that had neverbeen on commercial aircraft inside a brandnew, start-up company with no experience.We successfully grew that company, which wasultimately acquired by Monogram Sanita-tion who was in turn acquired by ZodiacAerospace, where I am today. PAX: You are the only person to have

been onboard the inaugural commercial

flights of all three of the industry’s land-

mark commercial airliners, the Boeing

747, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787.

Was that luck?

Lee: Certainly there has been a bit of luck

involved with these inaugural flights. Myfather was the equivalent of a frequent flyer,although no official airline frequent flyerprograms had been established in 1970. As myfather most often flew Pan Am, it was serendip-itous that they were the first in line to oper-ate the 747’s. My father was invited by Pan Amto take my family on the amazing inaugural747 flight in January 1970. It was certainlylucky that Singapore Airlines invited me tobe their guest on the inaugural A380 flightfrom Singapore to Sydney in October of 2007.It continued to be my good fortune that AllNippon Airways offered me the opportunityto be on the first 787 flight from Tokyo toHong Kong in October, 2010, setting theworld record for the most inaugural flightson new aircraft types.PAX: Tell us something about each flight

that you will never forget.

Lee: The most memorable event regarding thefirst 747 flight was the flame out in one of theengines during take off. That departure wasaborted. Pan Am had to occupy our time whilethey rolled their back-up 747 out of the hangarand prepared it for this maiden voyage. Thatsecond plane, Clipper Victor had only beendelivered by Boeing the day before. The flightfinally took off about 7 hours later after the ini-tial flight would have landed in London.

The A380 was memorable in many ways.I think what impressed me the most was howquiet the interior of the aircraft is duringtake off, cruise and landing. One can literallysit by a window and have a conversation withsomeone sitting across the cabin at an oppo-site window without raising one’s voice.

On the 787 inaugural, I also was sittingby a window above the left wing. When theplane took off, I watched the wing riseupward above the top of the fuselage. Thatgave me the real sense of a composite aircraftwhere the wings reminded me of a bird tak-ing flight.

PAX: You have started several aviation-

related companies and been honored

with the President’s Award for aviation

innovation. How does that feel?

Lee: I feel fortunate to have been involved withstart-up companies that have successfullyintroduced new technologies to the com-mercial aircraft industry. Winning and accept-ing the President’s Award for innovation wasa lifetime peak experience. It feels terrific.PAX: Please tell us about some of the

unique Monogram/Zodiac innovations

that were featured on the inaugural

flight of the 787.

Lee: Monogram Systems designed and manu-factured the entire waste and water systems forthe 787. One of the innovations is the lid downflush technology that lowers the toilet seat andlid prior to the initiation of the flush cycle. Thisdesign has two major advantages, including lowernoise during the flush process and significantlyless water being consumed each flush cycle.

Zodiac Aerospace designed and built theBusiness Class and Economy Class seats forthe inaugural ANA 787. Zodiac also developedthe primary electrical distribution system aswell as the structural frames for the interiorand the escape slides for the 787.PAX: What Monogram and Zodiac pro-

jects are you currently involved with and

how did your past experiences on those

historic flights affect your work today?

Lee: Currently, I am in a Business Develop-ment capacity, developing new products thatinclude galley inserts, waste managementsolutions and IFE systems. Each time I havethe opportunity of flying on inaugural flightsof brand new airframe types, I am remindedhow many innovations are born in each newplane. This inspires me to keep working to findsolutions to historic in-flight problems andto help create wholly new technologies withan extraordinary team of innovators at Mono-gram and Zodiac worldwide.

Good fortune and hard work have taken Monogram System’sTom Lee to some very interestingplaces. PAX International’sMaryann Simson recently caught up with him to discuss the many ways in which aviationhas enriched his lifeBy Maryann Simson

INDUSTRY Q&A

INFLIGHTEXPERIENCE

A singularThomas Lee in his office atMonogram Systems. Photo

by Dan Krauss, courtesyThe Wall Street Journal


www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com/paxExclusively Aircraft Interiors

Organised by: Co-located with: In co-operation with:

Exhibition 27 – 29 March 2012

www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com/visiting

Conference 26 March 2012

www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com/conference

World Travel Catering& Onboard Services

27-29 March 2012Hamburg Messe , Germany


p r o m p t e dhim to study the

reason for his survival andto devote his life to improving

crash safety in planes and automobiles. Before his death in 1980, DeHaven con-

tributed greatly to the safety of aviationthrough the establishment of Aviation Safetyand Research Facility at Cornell Univer-

sity, the development of a three-pointseatbelt, the creation of the inertial

reel and the concept of a “de-lethalized” instrument panel.Some have gone so far as todub him the “Father of CrashSurvivability.”

While no one likes todwell upon worst-case

scenarios, accidents dohappen and today thereare companies likeAmSafe Aviationbased in the UnitedStates, and ScrothSafety Products inGermany who carryon the tradition ofhelping airlinesimprove crash sur-vivability.

Scroth SafetyProducts was estab-lished in 1947 and forquite some time wasactually the only maker

of seatbelts in Germany. Upuntil the early 1990’s, Scroth mainly

manufactured aftermarket automobilerestraints for high-end applications and lux-ury vehicles. In the mid 1990’s Airbus cameto Scroth requesting that the company helpthe OEM develop a restraint for 16G crew seatson the new A330 and A340 aircraft.

“That was really our first step into theaviation world,” explains Martin Nadol, Headof Programs at Scroth Safety Products. “Wehave been a partner of Airbus ever since then.We are certified to place our equipment onmany or most aircraft types. From there wewent onwards, developing other restraintapplications for helicopters, the general avi-ation market and then the military aviationmarket as well.”

In 2006 Scroth was acquired by one of itsU.S.-based customers, Armour Holding; amanufacturer of helicopter and commercialaviation seats. Just nine months later, ArmourHolding was purchased by BAE Systems: aglobal defense and security company withmore than 100,000 employees worldwide.Throughout these changes, Scroth remainedfocused on developing the most advancedrestraints possible.

“Our real success story is our crewrestraints. They are one of our first productsfor aviation and we have now supplied themfor the entire Airbus fleet,” says Nadol. “Andnow in the last 2-3 years we started to lookat the passenger belt market because our cus-tomers have asked us to bring them some. It’sa different business of course, but we were ableto develop a new product called the AirLite,an ultra light passenger lap belt.”

HEALTH AND SAFETY


In 1895 a man named Hugh DeHaven wasborn in Brooklyn, New York. The son of asteelworker and inventor, DeHaven wenton to attend both Cornell and ColumbiaUniversities, and in 1916 attempted to join

the U.S. Army Air Corps. After being rejectedby the Air Corps he moved to Toronto andbecame a pilot for the Royal Canadian FlyingCorps. During World War One, he survived acrash involving another plane, which

Many children’s car seats aremade using buckles and strapsfrom AmSafe

AirLite is the new

ultra-light lap belt from Scroth safety products


PAX International talkspassenger safety withtwo key producers oflap belts and otherrestraintsBy Maryann Simson

THESkinnyON SAFETY


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AirLite has been on the market for aboutone year and has already won some prestigiouscustomers like Qantas, airberlin, and Air-Transat. While both crew restraints and pas-senger lap belts meet all industry regulationsand are selling well for Scroth, Nadol stressesthe importance of using them correctly foroptimal safety. He also feels that small chil-dren and babies are often at risk in the cabindue to insufficient use of proper child-restraintsolutions.

“What happens, of course, is that manypeople do not adjust their seatbelts properly.They don’t pull them very tight for comfortreasons. This means that the restraint systemcannot perform as intended and will notprovide the appropriate level of protection inthe event of a crash,” he tells PAX International,also voicing his concern for babies in thecabin. “There is a loop belt currently in usein certain regions that attaches the baby to themother or father’s lap belt. I thinkthere is some benefit in tur-bulence for example,but in a crash itdoesn’t help at

all and couldeven be more danger-

ous. The best solution isthat people start buying a

separate seat for children and puta proper child seat or restraint on that seat.”

With innovations under its “belt” like theworld’s first aviation seatbelt airbag, AmSafeis big player in the restraints industry. Theytoo offer solutions other several applicationsoutside of their core business of proving lightand effective passenger, crew and cargorestraints for commercial aviation. Manychildren’s car seats, in fact, are made usingbuckles and harnesses from the company.

“Our seatbelts, restraints and cabin inte-riors products can be found on virtuallyevery commercial aircraft worldwide,” saysCarlotta Soares, Director, Corporate Com-

munications at AmSafe. “Below deck, wemanufacture cargo, airframe and barriernets, along with thermal and fire protectionsystem that improves the safe transporta-tion of cargo. You will also find AmSafeproducts being used in on-road and off-road utility vehicles.”

According to Soares, AmSafe’s originallap belt and a 2001 invention, the SeatbeltAirbag, are two of the best sellers for com-mercial aviation. Last year, AmSafe unveiledupgrades to both designs. The new SeatbeltAirbag has a sleeker appearance, less weightand has been optimized to support easy retro-fitting and diagnostics. The traditional lap beltfrom AmSafe was also re-engineered usinghigh-performance materials and techniquesto significantly reduce weight.

Allegiant Air was the first carrier to orderAmSafe’s 25% lighter Lightweight PassengerSeatbelt in April of 2011. The regional car-rier opted to equip its MD-80 air-craft with the belts to com-

pliment its light-

weight seating.“As carriers once again

face the challenge of extremely highfuel costs, they continue to look for innova-tive ways to reduce cabin weight,” said HerbMardany, Senior Vice President of AmSafeIndustries in a recent release. “Out light-weight seatbelt, which retains the iconicteardrop buckle design familiar to passengersaround the world, is an important componentof any weight-reduction plan geared towardsfuel efficiency.”

In addition to improving its passengercabin offerings, AmSafe has also been hard atwork engineering better restraints and fire con-tainment products for cargo airplanes. TheAmSafe fire containment cover operates as apassive system, which keeps a fire isolatedfrom other cargo being transported on an air-craft. Designed for palletized loads, the coveris composed of a patented fire retardant fab-ric with a detachable QuickZip pallet net. Itcan contain a fire with temperatures of up to1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Franke Aquarottersoon to launchnew website forMobile SanitarySystemsFranke Aquarotter, a leading Germanspecialist for sanitary system solu-tions, has announced plans to launcha new website, slated to go online atthe end of February, 2012.

The website will contain detailedinformation about the complete rangeof products available and will virtu-ally showcase products to all marketparticipants.

Technical data sheets and CMMs onrequest, contact addresses of theheadquarters and the worldwide rep-resentative’s partners will also be avail-able online.

EAM Worldwidecelebratesbanner yearEAM Worldwide has branded 2011 asuccessful year thanks to new productinnovation, expansion and certificationin the aviation industry. The company wasawarded an exclusive patent for itsfloatation assembly and application ofRFID technology in a life vest. In addi-tion, the company received the presti-gious certifications for excellence inprocess management including ISO9001:2008 certification for general recog-nition and AS9100:C for distinction in theaerospace industry. Also, EAM officiallylaunched the new, competitively pricedEAM-T56 life raft, which is the largest-capacity raft that EAM has manufac-tured to-date.

EAM will present live demonstrationsin Hall B7 Booth 7D60 of Tag the Craft™,the innovative, scalable solution thatallows clients to specifically choose whichassets to tag and track in the aircraft inte-rior. Celebrating almost 60 successfulyears in business, EAM is headquar-tered in Miami, Florida, and has a newlyexpanded global sales office in Dubai.

HEALTH AND SAFETY


Allegiant Airwas the first

carrier to orderAmsafe’s 25%

lighterLightweightPassengerSeatbelt in

April of 2011



Celeste launches color-coded hygiene programCeleste Industries has recently introduced a new color-codedhygiene program, which aims to help create the best environmentpossible for passengers and crewmembers in a high traffic air-craft environment.

Celeste’s high performance products use targeted technologyto meet the specific cleaning and odor control demands of theindustry today.

The new color-coded program offers the necessary prod-ucts, as well as the methods and tools, needed to clean, disin-fect and deodorize in three easy steps.

IWG acquires water-heaters, urges airlinesto purify waterInternational Waterguard(IWG) is a Vancouver-basedmanufacturer of compactwater purification systemsfound onboard many of theworld’s business and VIPjets. Through advancedtechnology, the IWG familyof water purifiers are ableto remove nearly 100% ofcontaminants from an air-craft’s water supply. In July 2011, IWG announced an agreement in which itwould acquire the Aviation Water Heater product line of Keltech, Inc. of Del-ton, Michigan, to round out its water treatment offing.

“Our customers are the major air framers in the corporate aviation indus-try. We do a lot of water systems in VIP completions and quite often are calledin when commercial aircraft are purchased and transformed to VIP or corporateapplications,” says David Fox, President of International Waterguard. “All of themajor completions worldwide tend to work with us and use our equipment.”

Despite a brand new self-monitoring water purifier (the A6) soon to be readyfor flight and long-time success in the private aviation world, IWG has yet tosee any adoption by commercial carriers.

“In the eyes of the regulators, all the water on the airplane has to be potable.A commercial airplane carries enough passengers for it to be considered a‘small community’ water system,” Fox reveals. “Any small community shouldmeet public health and safety standards and that means available potablewater everywhere. So actually when you see that little sign in the washroomsaying don’t drink the water, this is not what the regulators would want. Evenif all disinfecting requirements are followed in sourcing and delivery, thereis nothing on commercial airliners actively ensuring the quality of the wateronce it is onboard.”

Celeste’s new hygieneprogram will clean,

disinfect and deodorizein three easy steps

Lufthansa Technik develops Aerokid

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Expecting a change in regulations in the nearfuture, Lufthansa Technik has developed Aerokid,the first passenger seat to offer seating com-fort and safety for passengers of all ages. Theintegrated seating system can be quickly con-figured for babies and infants up to two yearsor as a child seat.

According to Lufthansa Technik, many of thededicated child seats used in the past were ini-tially designed for cars and are therefore not com-patible with commercial aircraft seats. Theother current alternative – a lap belt for eachinfant, which is connected to the adult’s seat-belt – likewise provides restricted safety only.Aerokid, says the company, is a seating sys-tem that eliminates all disadvantages of the com-promised solutions from the past. The systemis an integrated part of the manufactured seat,so no carry-on equipment is required.

The seating system offers three differentmodes. In the cradle-mode the seat offers asemi-reclining position for babies and infantsup to the age of two years. This mode can alsobe switched into a full-flat position, optimal forsleeping. A fold-out canopy offers additionalprotection. For children over two, the seatdepth and foot rests and armrests. A detach-able shoulder harness offers maximumsafety and both seat versions can be quicklyconfigured without any tools.

Despite its advanced design, As of printtime, Aerokid is not yet a finalized productavailable to airlines. Until the interna-tional aviation authorities can find acommon approach regarding on-boardsafety rules for children, the project remainson “hold” by the Lufthansa Technik Innova-tion Center.

Aerokid is a seatingsystem thateliminates alldisadvantages ofthe compromisedsolutions from the past

The A6 is IWG’s newest model of self-monitoring aviation water purifier



While they vary of course byregion, size and method of foodpreparation, most cateringkitchens have the same kinds ofheavy equipment to make the

enormous task of feeding thousands of pas-sengers daily possible.

But the trip from the catering unit is onlythe beginning. Once on the move, the ediblecargo makes its way through a maze of auto-mated and vital systems. One misstep alongthe way can stop the hours of preparation andplanning dead in its tracks. PAX Interna-tional followed the process with several com-panies whose equipment helps make surethat never happens.

Companies like Elro Werke in Switzerlandmanufacture much of the equipment foundwithin the airline-catering kitchen. With acomplete range of full size appliances, worksurfaces, drawer units, extractor hoods andsmaller items such as pans, kettles and steam-ers used in the mass manufacturing of inflightmeals, Elro Werke is an industry leader.

The packagingAfter food is cooked, using equipment fromElro or one if its competitors like HobartTraulsen in Germany or PKL Group in theUnited Kingdom, it is time to place that mealin a vessel that it will likely stay in until itreaches the tray table of a hungry passenger.Many different materials have been used forairline food packaging over the decades, butone that is becoming more and more pop-ular, according to Klaus Englisch, Man-aging Director at D|F MarketingGmbH, is C-PET.

“D|F is a supplier to a num-ber of international airlines andother customers for customizedC-Pet dishes and the respective heat-able sealing foil,” says Englisch. “Thesehigh barrier films can be either transparent, withor without antifog, or printed individually toour customers’ needs.”

D|F Marketing GmbH is a business with

two focuses, one is creating customer food solu-tions for airlines on flights departing Europe,and the other is supplying packaging solutionsfor both inflight and retail applications.

“Presenting a hot meal in C-PET givesa fresh and innovative appearance as C-PET does not bend like aluminum foildoes,” Englisch says.

“Additionally, C-PET can be fully sealed, giv-ing the passenger the assurance that themeal is safe. As prices for aluminum con-tinue to increase and people note it’s incred-ibly eco unfriendly production process;C-PET is becoming more popular and areal alternative.”

The inherent resilience to heat and cold isanother perk for those airlines choosing C-PETover aluminum and other packaging options.The material can sustain temperatures rang-ing from -40° to plus 240° without losing itsintegrity. This means that flash freezing is noproblem for meals in these containers, and theywill also not warp or melt in the heat of thespecial ovens onboard.

The trolleyMany times has PAX International featured cov-erage of the airline trolley. This versatile pieceof equipment is essential to airline catering andonboard service. The airline trolley performsseveral important jobs as part of the longchain of equipment that food must interactwith on its way to the cabin.

EQUIPMENT

PAX International investigates just what kinds of specialized equipmentcome into play when food takes flight By Maryann Simson

EQUIPPED FOR takeoffC-PET can sustaintemperatures ranging from -40°to plus 240° without losing itsintegrity

Trolley insulationis critical to

maintaining thesafe cold

temperature ofboth fresh and

frozen food itemsen route to the

passenger



Most hot airline meals, particularly foreconomy class service, leave the cateringkitchen frozen when they are loaded ontotrolleys for their journey to the tarmac andeventually the aircraft.

“Meals are prepared in a climate con-trolled environment,” says Patrick Phillips,Director of Business Development for Nor-duyn, a Canadian producer of airline cater-ing equipment including the world’s lightestcertified trolley, the Quantum. “The trolleysthat have been previously washed and cleanedare loaded up with meals to be served on anupcoming flight and then placed in a refrig-erator until they are ready to be moved to thedesignated aircraft at the gate.”

Trolley insulation, says Phillips, is criticalto maintaining the safe cold temperature ofboth fresh and frozen food items en route tothe passenger. Not all catering trucks are refrig-erated, and the same goes for some galleysonboard. This means that airlines and cater-ers often rely on the insulation of the trolleyto keep contents within an acceptable tem-perature range.

“Even when galleys are refrigerated, thetrolleys must offer decent insulation proper-ties as it can take a while before the galleys arerunning to their optimal temperatures fol-lowing the aircraft’s power is turned on,” saysPhillips, “Switching to a concept made entirelyof composites like Norduyn’s trolley, bringswith it many new advantages. They are lighterfor onboard personnel to push around, we canwork much more with the shapes to improveergonomics, insulation properties are opti-mized and we can ensure a product that willremain aesthetically pleasing in the cabin fora longer time than traditional aluminum.”

The iceGood insulation is one thing that keeps airlinemeals cool before it’s time to eat, but in somecases that is just not enough. Many trolleys areequipped with a tray for holding dry ice tokeep contents cool or frozen. In a traditional sce-nario, an airline caterer using dry ice as part of

its cold chain operations will order inadvance from a dry ice sup-plier. However, orderingthe right amount so asnot to have waste, or runout, is often a challenge.

After receiving anorder from a caterer,the dry ice supplier willthen make, cut andship the ice in insulatedcontainers. But because dryice sublimates at a rate of 5-10% a day, even when refrig-erated, a considerable amountcan be gone before it evenreaches the catering facility.

“Fortunately, for organi-zations where dry ice is an inte-gral part of the cold chain, technology hasmade it possible to produce high-quality,freshly made dry ice on site,” says Wim Eeck-elaers, Dry Ice Manufacturing Systems SeniorVice President for Cold Jet, a privately heldworld leader in dry ice blasting and dry iceproduction technology. “Just-in-time man-ufacturing eliminates the middleman andchanges how a company receives and uses dryice.”

An on-site cold chain system, says Eecke-laers, can help reduce waste, improve qualityof dry ice through elimination of transport andensure supply when there is demand. Recently,LSG Sky Chefs Belgium NV- Zaventem saidthat having a dry-ice machine on premisehelped them achieve annual cost savings of 20%through waste reductions alone. LSG SkyChefs Belgium saved an additional 5% in thecost per pound of dry ice and improved oper-ational efficiency.

Several models of dry ice production sys-tems from Cold Jet are well suited to an air-line-catering environment. The PR750Reformer, for example, is designed to meetmutli-form dry ice demands by producingslices, pellets and nuggets. The smallest ofits series, the PR750 is capable of producing

up to 300 slices of dry ice per hour, or 600pounds (273 kilograms) of pellets or nuggetsin the same time span.

The truckThe catering truck is an irreplaceable link inthe airline catering chain. By far the largest pieceof equipment in the catering process, itsimportance and proper operation cannot beunderstated. Mallaghan, headquartered inDungannon, Ireland, has produced passengerstairs, medical lifts, toilet/water service units,maintenance platform and of course, cater-ing trucks, exclusively since 1990.

PAX International recently caught up withOwen McKenna, Sales Director at Mallaghan,who talked about what is new at his company.He revealed that customization is king in hisbusiness, with every order being differentfrom the last. While the six meter lift is themost commonly used (works well with wide-body and larger single-aisle aircraft), Mal-laghan also produces options at the fourmeter height bracket and is a leading supplierof A380 capable lifts as that aircraft typebecome more prevalent for major long-haulroutes. Mallaghan works with several auto-motive leaders to offer a range of chassistypes and container sizes can also vary byseveral feet.

“Everything is designed to the customer’sspecifications,” says McKenna. “Some truckshave a six meter body and others could haveone that is eight. Of course, the longer thebody, the heavier the truck, so an extra-long

The smallest of its series, the PR750 is capable of producing up to 300 slices of dry ice per hour, or 600 pounds(273 kilograms) of pellets or nuggets in the sametime span

EQUIPMENT

Two Mallaghan standard six meter lifttrucks service a aircraft in Addis Ababa


50 | PAX INTERNATIONAL | FEBRUARY/MARCH 201250 | PAX INTERNATIONAL | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012

body could actually reduce payload rather thanincreasing it. When it comes to refrigerationunits, it’s the same. A number of things dic-tate what type of cooling unit is required, likeoutside temperature. In places like the Mid-dle and Far East, outside temperatures canreach 40°-50° Centigrade so they will tend togo for a large or very strong cooling unit toensure an unbroken cold chain. In the UK andother cooler places, some don’t put a refrig-eration unit in at all.”

Recently, in a bid to further expand itsglobal reach, Mallaghan opened its first assem-bly plant in the United States. Louisville,Kentucky is now home to Mallaghan INC,where truck parts made in Ireland are assem-bled on North American-made chassis. Atpress time, the U.S. location was near com-pletion of its first custom-made hi-lift cater-ing truck on a chassis from InternationalTrucks and destined for use, at an undis-closed location, by LSG Sky Chefs.

The insertAssuming all goes well in the first steps of thecatering process, an aircraft takes to the skystocked with food and beverage that is oftenstill a step or two away from being ready toserve. This is where products from B/E Aero-space come into play.

“Even before push back B/E galley insertswould be hard at work,” reveals Dede Potter,Director of Corporate Marketing at B/E Aero-space. “From heating towels for that specialtouch before meal service, to chilling champagneand wine for a relaxing pre-takeoff drink, tobrewing a hot and delicious cup of coffee.”

Each galley insert onboard an aircrafthelps flight crew deliver a superior passengerexperience and has been carefully engineered.A galley completely outfitted with B/E equip-ment would boast a steam oven, convectionoven, bun warmer, refrigerator, freezer, winechiller, multi-function chiller, beverage maker,

espresso maker and water heater. Lesser-usedaccessory products are also available.

“B/E has a long, rich heritage of develop-ing and delivering galley inserts, which datesback more than 100 years with Royal Inven-tum - the oven company that B/E purchasedin 1993,” Potter says. “B/E has made a majorinvestment over the last several years in ournew Essence Inserts Collection. The newproduct is targeted for the A350, but will beavailable on all advanced airframe platformsgoing forward.”

Recently launched at the third annualAircraft Interiors Middle East, B/E hopesthe Essence Collection will impress airlineswith intuitive features, reduced weight, supe-rior reliability (MTBF) and power improve-ments. The bun warmer, for instance, heatsin half the time (five minutes) of the indus-try standard (10 minutes). The pull-downtime of the Essence line’s beverage chillerhas been reduced from 42 to 40 minutesand the beverage maker brew cycle timereduces waiting from three minutes to twominutes, forty-five seconds.

“The intuitive features and technologyenhancements make the entire collection easyto use,” says Potter. “A keen focus on aesthet-ics and human factors development was a keyobjective and has created a modern look more

appropriate for a high-endkitchen space, providing an excep-tional onboard experience.”

The box thatchallenged theinsertAccording to Christine Walter,Head of Marketing and Sales atB&W Engineering, many airlinestoday are beginning to see that itis possible to cater a flight withhot, warm, ambient or cold foodand beverage without having gal-ley inserts onboard at all. The A-LogEqu container was launched

several years ago by the German engineeringfirm and has since been impressed countlessdelegates with its insulation properties at manyindustry conventions and exhibitions.

“We offer two product ranges,” explainsWalter. “Inside the Magic-Boxes, hot stayshot, and cold stays cold. The Cold-Boxes sup-port the storage of chilled and frozen food andbeverages according to HACCP standards.Both kinds of boxes can be stored in trolleysand carriers and both are equally compatiblewith ATLAS and KSSU.”

Goods can be stored in an A-LogEqu con-tainer at as low as -90°C all the way up to+120°C, with extreme temperatures main-tained for two hours or more, and moremoderate temperatures held for more than20 hours. Since the food or drink is placed intothe container already at its ideal service tem-perature, there is no need for heating or cool-ing once the catering arrives onboard. Thework has already been done on the ground,thus saving time and energy. Also, says Wal-ter, equipment failure is virtually impossible.

“The A-LogEqu containers are the world’sbest passive system,” she says. “Of course ourinsulated boxes are a competition to electri-cal galley inserts, but we believe they are aninvestment in the future, not just aworkaround solution.”

EQUIPMENT

B/E has made a majorinvestment over the last severalyears in its new Essence InsertsCollection

The A-LogEqufamily ofequipment


> Specialists in VIP conversions

> Full service design for any aircraft

> Maintenance and support

> Extensive in-house manufacturing capability

+49 8153 88111 2512 www.328support.de

Visit us at

Stand 6G58


The city of Mexicali is considered tobe one of the most prosperous inall of Mexico. Like Tijuana,(another well known site of indus-

try in the Latin nation), it lies beside theUnited States border, within the north-western state of Baja California. Furthereast along the border than Tijuana, Mexicaliis in close proximity to southern Californiaas well as Arizona.

Once an economy reliant on cotton pro-duction for export, the city of Mexicali nowboasts hundreds of in-bond and assemblyplants, dozens of which serve the high mix/lowvolume aerospace industry. Overall, the rel-atively small state of Baja California has morethan 50 aerospace and defence companies,making up 35% of such companies in all ofMexico. A cluster strategy promoted by theMexican government and private sector con-tinues to attract more businesses to the area.

“Mexicali is a very competitive market ina border region with the United States andhome to companies such as Honeywell Inter-national, Goodrich Aerospace, GulfstreamAerospace and Rockwell Collins, among oth-ers,” explains Roberto Corral, Director ofSales and Marketing at Volare Engineering, aMexicali-based provider of consultancy, designand engineering services to the aerospace sec-tor. “It is a developed state capitalwith a population of one

million and has five universities that deliverquality graduate engineers every semester.”

Volare Engineering started off as a smallproject spearheaded by three former employ-ees of Driessen Aircraft Interiors Systems.In 2002, Sergio Segura, Edgar Paz and the lateOscar Jimenez set up their new companywith a pool of 11 experienced engineers.Their objective was to show the world of avi-ation that it was indeed possible to reduce leadtimes, weight and costs associated with cabinproduct engineering from Mexico.

Today, Volare Engineering is an ISO9000:2008 certified company, with 15 employ-ees and an additional pool of 20 engineers.They have a client list that includes projectscompleted for customers such as ZodiacAerospace Group (USA and Europe), Bom-bardier Transportation, Aviacsa Airlines, VivaAerobus, Aeromexico, Rockwell Collins andNorduyn in Canada. Each of these projectshas been in relation to Volare’s core offeringof aircraft interiors and equipment design. Thefirm will happily tackle any monument foundin the passenger cabin be it a partitions, bulk-heads, stowages, equipment racks, dog-houses, or even trolleys andother insert-type

items. An AS9100 certification is also expectedto come through by the middle of the secondquarter 2012, which will guarantee addi-tional compliance more specific to the aero-space and defence industry.

“Our core engineering staff has workedextensively with Boeing, Airbus, McDonnellDouglas and Fokker aircrafts, developing dryand wet units. We support manufacturing inte-gration and installations through liaison engi-neering and technical publications such asCMM/IPL, on site technical support and ser-vice bulletins,” says Corral, adding that since 2010all of Volare’s processes have been measured care-fully. “We have driven significant and contin-uous improvement efforts and achieved sig-nificant reductions in incidences of reworkand creation of waste. Lead times have been keptlean and in terms of weight, we have been ableto make materials recommendations that haveoffered significant reductions.”

Although Volare Engineering does notactually manufacture the products that itdesigns and certifies, the Baja California Aero-space Cluster initiative has lead to the estab-lishment of numerous firms in the area withthe capacity to do so at a low cost. Volarehas close relationships with many of them.

“One of Baja’s Aerospace Cluster objectivesis to increase the number of aerospace cer-tified companies in the region with interna-tional standards qualifications, as regardsmatters of global competitiveness,” says theorganization’s official web page.

Currently the sector employs more than6500 operators and technicians and projectsa 2012 growth of 10-15% based on the expan-sion of successful companies like Volare Engi-neering already located in the region, theattraction of new interests and by helpingall these companies coordinate efforts toaccess resources that will increaseproductivity.

COMPANY PROFILE

Volare Engineering, a growing firm in city ofMexicali, Baja California, positions itself tochallenge international competitors and changethe way that the industry looks at doing businesssouth of the U.S. border By Maryann Simson


DueSouth


ISO 9001:2008 ISO 9001:2008

[email protected] 52.686.567.4998US/Canada 1.760.802.1327



The area of Nottinghamshire in theUnited Kingdom is noted for its finedomestic furniture making for the homemarket, but in the 1980s, one companyreceived a request of a royal order that

would have been difficult to pass up. At that time, Jeff Bell and Phil Maloney

were working for a domestic furniture com-pany in Nottingham that was called to sup-ply part of the interior for a British AerospaceBAe 146 jet, which was part The QueensFlight that transported members of the RoyalFamily. The work proved successful, but thefurniture company decided to drop out of theVIP aircraft interiors market.

However Jeff Bell did not, and Maloneylater joined him in the early 1990s to helpform what was to become Bell Bespoke Inte-riors Ltd.

It has been more than 20 years since therelationship was first formed, and Maloneysays they are still hopeful of again getting aninterior furnishing contract for The QueensFlight. With 20 additional years in VIP inte-riors experience under their belt, and one ofthe few bespoke service companies left in the

VIP interiors business in the United Kingdom,it would seem like a natural fit.

Despite the company’s obvious abilities,it is headquartered in a nation struggling,like many, with an economic downturn, anda segment of the public casting a jaundiced

eye on extravagant behavior of people inhigh places. Until another chance for theQueens Flight again comes their way, thecompany continues to find business fromthose needing to fill an enclosed space withhardwood trims, fine veneers and luxuriousmarble; and it does not matter whether thatinterior flies, floats or rolls on rubber tires.

“We have to be like that to survive,” said Mal-oney. “Because we do find in all these indus-tries there are peaks and troughs and thereseems to be no way of leveling out the peakswithout multi-disciplines and multi-markets.”

One of the markets is VIP and VVIP air-craft interiors. The company brings someexamples of its elegant work in the sector tothe Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. WhatBell Bespoke Interiors has been selling latelyin the aircraft sector is its refurbishment capa-bilities that are very much steeped in the tra-dition of craftsmanship and the ability toquickly turn around projects and handle smalljobs. The company relies on subcontractors forseveral tasks, including gold plating and leathertrimming. It maintains a regular staff of eightprofessionals, and calls in others as need be.

VIP INTERIORS

A projectmockup byBell BespokeInteriors

The Bell Bespoke Interiorsstand at AIX, Hamburg

Luxury for a volume market can be found in many places at this year’sAircraft Interiors Expo, but one British company still creates elegantinteriors one client at a time By Rick Lundstrom

Fit for a VIP



The crew of the company goes to workwhen the new owner of an aircraft wants tochange interior or give the business jet a new,fresher look before putting it up for sale.Much of the Bell Bespoke Interiors businessis with United Kingdom or European own-ers. The company is also getting businessfrom the Middle East when an aircraft isflown in for extended maintenance on the air-frame or engines. Increasingly, Maloney saysthe company has been seeing Russian-ownedaircraft in for refurbishment.

In addition to a growing group of cus-tomers from the CIS, Maloney has been see-ing other trends in the business. In recent years,he said he has seen a fall off in the company’sbusiness in the fractional ownership mar-ket. Aircraft, that are normally the work-horses of a company’s fleet routinely sufferbumps, knocks and general casualty dam-age that the company can turn around quicklyto have them back in service.

“That sort of work can keep you goingquite nicely,” Maloney said. “And what weare seeing is that go very, very quiet. So, to me,it seems that they are either not using the air-craft as much or making them work harderand longer before they actually look at anyrepair schemes.”

In his interactions with designers in theboating industry, Maloney says that he hasseen a number take an interest in the VIPbusiness jet market. Bell Bespoke Interiorsdoes a limited amount of business in yachts,generally adding custom pieces of furnitureand various other products short of a fullrefurbishment. The company’s interior woodveneer and hardwood trim work can also befound in limited edition runs of luxuryautomobiles.

“Middle Eastern customers will buy avehicle, but it will not be standard,” said Mal-oney. “The whole vehicle can be bespoke.”

The company’s turnover is approximately£500,000 (US$795,000) per year. “It is quiteclose to a cottage industry in some ways,”said Maloney. “Caring, flexible and reactive.”

With abilities as craftsmen, the companyhas less need for automation and computer-aided equipment used in volume produc-tion. Companies with similar abilities as Bell,have gone by the wayside or been swallowedup by larger firms in recent years. But Mal-oney said there appears to be little need tochange what potential customers seek in BellBespoke Interiors.

“It is really the ethos of the owner of thecompany,” he said. “We are not going togrow and lose our personality and lose ourpersonal touch.”

VIP INTERIORS

December of last year marked the 20th year since Dornier 328 jet made its maiden flightin Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Though the production line is down, a company exhibit-ing at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg is writing a second chapter for theregional aircraft, as a business jet.

The company, 328 Support Services GmbH, located near Munich, is exhibiting forthe second year at the AIX. The firm has been making the rounds at events around theworld, showing its capabilities as a completion center for its 328DBJ program that con-verts the aircraft into a VIP configuration.

Approximately 200 of the aircraft were made during its production run, and 160 to170 are still flying, said Kim Fuller, Sales Support Manager for the company. The air-craft, famous for the short takeoff and landing capabilities has been popular for airlinesoperating in hot climates. According to the company, the Dornier 328 is in service with57 operators in 28 countries.

Many of the aircraft available on the market are low timed can be easily modified tolook like new. According to the company, a 328 is available for purchase at a price betweenUS$3 million and US$6 million, and can be refurbished at a cost of between US$4 mil-lion and US$6 million depending on customer requirements.

For the company’s 328DBJ modifications, Fuller said workers close off one of theaircraft’s emergency exits, which is not needed in a business jet configuration. A for-ward galley is modified for more efficient use. Once completed, the stretched interiorcan accommodate a lounge and conference area. The modified cabin on the 328 is 10meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 1.8 meters high.

The company has been touring a version of the aircraft outfitted with a businessinterior and 32-inch monitor that deploys from a credenza. The entertainment systemcan hold films and Playstation games and can also be outfitted with a wireless Inter-net/phone system.

The company has had some successful conversions of the aircraft and is in now shop-ping around for new hangar space to accommodate the 328 and larger jets. Continuedsuccess of the venture could be achieved, said the company, with the help aircraft oper-ators, suppliers and industrial partners.

Modifications at the328 Support

Services facility inOberpfaffenhofen,

Germany

German firm brings 328conversion capabilities to AIX



High-DefinitionmonitorCompany Name: PGA AvionicsCompany Location:Montierchaume, FranceDescription: PGA isintroducing an all new64”full HD monitor - thelargest display available

on the avionic market. The motioninterpolation rate at 100 Hz and the full HDresolution allows passengers to enjoy allhigh-definition content with the highestfluidity. The monitor is available in a variety ofdifferent sizes (from 10”4HD to 64”Full HD).Visit PGA at AIX: Stand #6B56

WHAT’S HOT! AT AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

WHAT’SHOT!

Wireless IFEC solutionCompany Name: Panasonic Avionics Corp.Company Location: Lake Forest, CA Description: Panasonic’s new eXW wireless IFEC solution lets passenger’s access on-board movies, music, news, in-cabin services, and more using an airline brandedportal paired with any Wi-Fi-enabled personal device. eXW is capable of storing amassive library of full-length multi-language movies, audio CDs; electronicnewspapers, digital magazines, and more. When combined with Panasonic’seXConnect, eXW offers broadband-enhanced applications such as high speedInternet access, social media services, email, and even live television content.Visit Panasonic Avionics at AIX: Stand #6F15

Noise cancellation headphonesCompany Name: AVID Airline Products

Company Location: Middletown, Rhode IslandDescription: AVID Airline Products presents a sleek new line of premium noise cancellation

headsets. Perfect for in-flight entertainment, the NC-2012 has numerous features,including a mute audio button, volume control, and the delivery of crisp sound. The

headphones also have a comfort fit headband and plush leatherette ear pads. Visit AVID at WTCE: Stand #4B02

New generation of galley insertsCompany Name: Sell – Zodiac AerospaceCompany Location: Herborn, GermanyDescription: Sell introduces a newGeneration of Inserts with a fullproduct range, including an oven,coffee maker, beverage maker, waterboiler and bun warmer. Combiningform and function, the new productline will deliver an attractive andelegant outer appearance. A clearfocus has also been given to weightreduction, which naturally leads tosavings in fuel costs for operators.Visit Sell – Zodiac Aerospace at AIX: Stand #7D50

Castor Alignment SystemCompany Name: Onboard LogisticsCompany Location: Dunshaughlin,Co. Meath, IrelandDescription: Onboard Logistics presents their all new CastorAlignment System on Korita carts. The revolutionarysystem allows operator and crew members to maneuvertrolleys with ease. The system is also carefully designed,to avoid back strain injury to the operator or seat damage.Visit Onboard Logistics at WTCE: Stand #3C25



WHAT’S HOT! AT AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

Convenient equipmentCompany Name: Zodiac AerospaceCompany Location: Hamburg, GermanyDescription: Driessen-Zodiac Aerospaceintroduces a new line of Hybrite containersand foldable trolleys. The Hybrite containeris a stylish ‘design container’ for mobilestorage of food, beverages and condimentsin the galleys and on-board catering. A 10%weight reduction makes the container thelightest in the industry (2,6 kg). The Hybritecontainer offers improved stackability andeven more crew appreciation.Visit Zodiac Aerospace at AIX: Stand #7D50.

Brand awareness across the cabinCompany Name: Aviation Business ConsultantsInternationalCompany Location: Naples, ItalyDescription: ABC International presentsDecorative Crests, a new productwhich allows operators to showtheir corporate brand logothroughout the cabin. Made oflightweight materials to replicate anytype of company logo, the crests can beinstalled on partitions, bulkheads, galleys orlavatories. They are also available in severaldifferent designs, styles, shapes and finishing’s.

Monogram Systems Symphony SuiteCompany Name: Monogram SystemsCompany Location: CaliforniaDescription: Monogram Systems, a division of Zodiac Aerospace, introducesthe all-new Symphony suite of in-flight galley equipment. Allcomponents of the suite work in perfect harmony to create an integratedfoodservice system. The suite includes a steam and convection oven,microwave oven, beverage chiller, coffeemaker, water heater and trashcompactor. Each one is designed for fluid motion and optimumefficiency. Visit Monogram Systems at AIX: Stand # 7D50

Innovative tablet holderCompany Name: Asian PioneerCompany Location: Madrid, Yiwu City,Zhuhai, Azuchi-MachiDescription: Asian Pioneerintroduces a new userfriendly tablet holder,suitable for a wide range ofexternal devices. Offering atwo-in-one solution forpassengers, the holder is strong, durable and made of durable leathermaterial. Complete with a unique design, this is perfect for any multitaskingpassenger looking to enjoy entertainment while on board. Visit Asian Pioneer at WTCE: Stand #2B35

Ultra-lightweight life vest stowageCompany Name: Servecorp Ltd.Company Location: West Sussex, UKDescription: Servecorp now offers a new range of lightweight and secureServestow Life Vest Stowage’s. The LVS99 is practical and uniquelydesigned, with a ‘sealable’ front closure. This stowage also offers asignificant weight reduction across a fleet of aircraft - each pouch cantypically save a minimum of 50 grams per seat.Visit Servecorp at AIX: STAND# 7G15

TopSeries AVANT systemCompany Name: ThalesCompany Location: Neuilly-sur-Seine, FranceDescription: Thales presents the award winning TopSeriesAVANT system, a new seat innovation designedaround passenger comfort and the entire flyingexperience. The system’s acclaimed Touch PassengerMedia Unit offers the latest multi-task functionalityand also provides wireless streaming media to a widerange of passenger devices. Visit Thales at AIX: Stand #6B20



Plans for the 2012 TV Market, conducted yearly by the Air-line Passenger Experience Association (APEX), were firm-ing up in February when the group reported that standspace had sold out.

APEX holds the event each year for distributors ofshort-subject and television programming shown inflight.The event will be held over three days April 16-18 inBrighton, England.

“Many airlines now use this event as the central focusfor their annual TV products planning,” said a release fromAPEX in early February.

This year, the exhibits and education sessions will belocated in the historical Brighton Dome. The Dome is partof the Royal Pavilion Estate. The three-day event will be spon-sored in part by Panasonic.

Most of the two days are taken up with distributor andairline appointments. The popular TV quiz and networkingevent will be held Tuesday evening, April 17 at the Palm Courtin Brighton Pier.

In addition to meeting time there will also be a numberof educational events at this year’s TV markets. In Febru-ary, APEX had scheduled the following sessions: Actual Cus-tomer Behavior; International TV Distribution Update; GraphicUser Interface Design; TV on Demand; TV Ratings and RealLife; Brand Profile, Indigenous Production and In-flightEntertainment; Value in Choice; Second Screens; EarlyWindow Content; Music Rights and TV Programming.

Interested parties with questions on the event can contact Kirsten Arthur at +1-678-303- 3052 or [email protected].

ASSOCIATION NEWS

328 Support Services......................................51ARINC .............................................................23Aviation Business Consultants International..............................................24, 27Bose Corp .......................................................15DigEcor...........................................................25Driessen – Zodiac Aerospace ..........................59Global Inflight Products ...................................13

Gogo...............................................................60Marine Hotel Association.................................33Norduyn............................................................2Onboard Logistics ...........................................11Panasonic Avionics Corp ...................................9PAX International.........................................3, 45Reed Exhibitions .............................................43

Rockwell Collins................................................5Sell – Zodiac Aerospace..................................35SkyMax Company ...........................................21The IMS Company...........................................20Thales.............................................................41Volare Group ...................................................53Monogram Systems, Inc – Zodiac Aerospace ..31

U P C O M I N GE V E N T SCruise Shipping Miami, March 12-15, Miami Beach Convention Center.For more information [email protected]. Or call 609-759-4700.

Aircraft Interiors Expo, and World Travel Catering & OnboardServices Expo, March 27-29, Hamburg. For more information, call 44 (0) 208 910 7126 or e-mail [email protected].

Marine Hotel Association Conference & Trade Show, April 15-17,Peabody Hotel, Orlando. For more information, contact the association at (415) 332-1903.

Airline Passenger Experience Association TV Market Conference,April 16-18, Brighton, England. For more information, contact APEX at (212) 297-2177, Fax: +1 (212) 370-9047, [email protected]

cruise3sixty, April 26-30, Broward County Convention Center, FortLauderdale, Florida. For more information, contact Tim Chau, registrationcoordinator (949) 457-1545, extension 122 or [email protected]

IFSA Asia/Pacific Conference, June 12-14, Incheon, South Korea For more information, contact IFSA at (404) 252-3663, [email protected]

Ancillary Revenue World, Europe, June 26-28, London.For more information, contact Terrapinn Lt.d, at 44 (0) 20 7092 1000 or e-mail [email protected]

IFSA Annual Conference and Exhibition, September 18-20, Long Beach Convention Center. For more information, contact IFSA at (404) 252-3663, e-mail [email protected]

Airline Passenger Experience Association 2012 Annual Expo,September 17-20, Long Beach Convention Center. For more information,contact APEX at (212) 297-2177, [email protected]

Aircraft Interiors Expo, Americas, September 25-27, Seattle. For more information, call 203 840-5680 or [email protected]

A D V E R T I S E R ’ S I N D E X

Exhibitors fill annual TVMarket event


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