Technology & Systems

Neil Morgan – Sales and Marketing Manager, In-flight Peripherals

Posted on 19.08.11

If I’d collected every business card bearing the name ‘Neil Morgan’ over the past 30 years, I’d probably have enough to wallpaper my study! No sooner do you get used to Neil working for one company when he hands you a new business card and announces he’s joined another. When we recorded this interview back in May, Neil was at ‘The IMS Company’ promoting their new RAVE IFE system. Surprise, surprise – when we come to release the interview, I discover Neil has recently joined Geoff Underwood’s team at In-flight Peripherals as Sales and Marketing Manager. So when you bump into Neil at APEX, expect yet another new business card!

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Mark O’Brien – COO, Project Lambda

Posted on 09.08.11

Despite the recent arrival of many Android based tablets, Apple’s iPad still rules supreme in the consumer market. But, following initial optimism, the iPad is still awaiting the crucial backing of Hollywood distributors for use as an onboard IFE device featuring early window content. One man who’s been spearheading the campaign to gain that approval is Mark O’Brien, initially as part of the UK based BlueBox team and more recently as founder and COO of Project Lambda. PME’s Steve Harvey talks with Mark about the improvements in the iPad 2 and recent progress in his quest for the holy grail – obtaining the green light from Hollywood for early window content.

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Tagged with: Android • Apple • BlueBox • COO • device • early window content • entertainment • Hollywood • IFE • in-flight • iPad • iPad 2 • onboard • Project Lambda • tablets

David Coiley – Director of Aeronautics, Inmarsat

Posted on 24.07.11

When you meet with one of those terribly nice techie people at a trade show like APEX and they start talking about satellite communications and the fact that Ku band is better than L band but what they’re really looking forward to is Ka band, do your eyes glaze over or do you just feel horribly inadequate? Well here at PME we thought it high time to come to your rescue and shed some light on these mysterious terms and how they’re going to affect airlines and inflight entertainment in the future. Steve Harvey’s special guest today is the Director of Aeronautics at Inmarsat, David Coiley…

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Tagged with: Aeronautics • airlines • APEX • communications • connectivity • David Coiley • entertainment • in-flight • Inmarsat • Ku band • L band • satellite

Pal Bjordal – President & CEO, Aeromobile

Posted on 21.06.11

After a gestation period longer than that of the African bush elephant (22 months since you ask), mobile phones are now starting to appear in increasing numbers on numerous airlines around the world. The US domestic carriers have led the way thanks to the widespread availability of ground transmitters that can patch calls from aircraft into the national telecommunications network. Outside of the US, particularly for trans-oceanic flights, things start to get a little more complicated as satellites are required and satellite time is not cheap. However companies like Aeromobile have been chipping away at the technical and commercial hurdles and finally appear to be making serious headway, first with launch customer Emirates and then with a string of follow on customers. In the latest PME Interview, Steve Harvey meets the President & CEO of Aeromobile, Pal Bjordal.

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Tagged with: Aeromobile • aircraft • Emirates • ground transmitters • mobile phones • network • Pal Bjordal • satellites • telecommunications • trans-oceanic flights

Craig Foster – IMS Research

Posted on 05.06.11

Mention the word “Connectivity” to an airline boss and his reaction may alternate between hope and horror. Hope that someone can provide a reliable service to keep passengers connected in the air, horror that the airline might end up making a substantial investment based on a predicted usage figure that turns out to be wildly optimistic. A UK company IMS Research has just published a report entitled ‘The Future of In-flight Wi Fi and Cellular Connectivity’ which addresses many of these concerns and contains details of those airlines that have taken the connectivity plunge and attempts to assess whether they are currently sinking or swimming. In today’s PME Interview Steve Harvey discusses the report with the author Craig Foster.

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Tagged with: airlines • cellular • connectivity • Craig Foster • future • IMS Research • in-flight • passengers • Wi-Fi

Arn Steventon – Founder, Individual In-flight Entertainment

Posted on 11.04.11

Once upon a time in the early eighties a young man was sitting on an airplane thinking about how the inflight entertainment experience might be improved. Since we’re unable to track down the other passengers on that eventful flight there’s no way of knowing whether Arn Steventon actually shouted “Eureka” but the idea that was born that day has transformed our industry and improved the inflight experience for millions of passengers. The idea that Arn came up with was for seat back TV, made possible by the development of the LCD TV screen. At the 30th anniversary conference in Palm Springs the WAEA presented Arn Steventon with an ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’. In the latest PME Interview, Steve Harvey interviews Arn Steventon about how he set about turning his idea into a reality…

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Tagged with: APEX • Arn Steventon • entertainment • IFE • in-flight • LCD TV screen • Outstanding Achievement Award • WAEA

Geoff Underwood – Managing Director, Inflight Peripherals

Posted on 25.03.11

These days we mostly associate the word connectivity with cell phones, Wi-Fi and the internet but there’s one IFE company that claims to have been connecting passengers for years. Inflight Peripherals manufactures the little headset jacks that fit in the arm rest of the seat to enable passengers to plug in a headset and listen to the audio track of the movie or a music channel.

It’s not a particularly extravagant piece of equipment yet without it no-one would be able to enjoy the in-flight entertainment. No wonder Managing Director Geoff Underwood calls his company, The Passenger Connectivity Company.

In this PME Interview, Geoff talks to Steve Harvey about how Inflight Peripherals, based on the Isle of Wight in southern England, went from a humble start up to winning a prestigious award from Queen Elizabeth.

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Tagged with: audio track • award • cell phones • connectivity • entertainment • Geoff Underwood • headset • IFE • Inflight Peripherals • internet • Isle of Wight • movie • music channel • passengers • Queen Elizabeth • The Passenger Connectivity Company • Wi-Fi

Eric Kleiman – CEO, Kleiman Enterprises

Posted on 08.02.11

Steve’s guest this week on the PME Interview is the somewhat larger than life figure of Mr. Eric Kleiman, formerly Director of Product Marketing at Continental Airlines and now CEO of Kleiman Enterprises (www.kleimanenterprises.com). During a long and illustrious career, Eric achieved many firsts for Continental so industry eyebrows were raised when the news broke that Eric and airline would be parting company. In today’s interview Eric talks to Steve Harvey about his time at Continental, the circumstances of his departure and what the future holds now.

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Tagged with: Continental Airlines • Eric Kleiman • Product Marketing

Ken Brady – Chief Engineer, Thales

Posted on 25.01.11

What will await passengers in the year 2015 when they board their 787 (hopefully in service by then) or the A350? As far as in-flight entertainment and connectivity are concerned, Ken Brady is the man with, at least, some of the answers. As Chief Engineer at Thales, Ken’s job is to look to the future, to predict what products and services airlines and their passengers will expect to find on board by the middle of the decade. On this latest PME Interview, Steve Harvey talks to Ken about how the future looks from the Thales point of view…

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Tagged with: 787 • A350 • airlines • Chief Engineer • connectivity • entertainment • IFE • in-flight • Ken Brady • passengers • Thales

Jonathan Norris – Vice President, Cabin Design Office, Airbus

Posted on 19.12.10

Jonathan Norris is a man on a mission—to ensure that cabin interiors on all new Airbus aircraft feature the very latest in cutting edge technology. Jonathan heads up a large team at Airbus that works with third party suppliers to develop cabin interiors for new models like the A350 as well as existing aircraft such as the A380. He’s also on the APEX Board of Directors and currently heads up the APEX Technology Committee. In the PME Interview, Jonathan talks to Steve Harvey about current progress on the A350 program.

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Tagged with: A350 • A380 • Airbus • APEX Board of Directors • APEX Technology Committee • Cabin Design Office • cabin interiors • Jonathan Norris