APEX Experience 10.4 November/December 2020 by Spafax

ISSUE 10.4 • NOVEMBER / DECEMBER • 2020

WAITING IN THE WINGS THE 100 BEST SOLUTIONS TO

AN ARTSY NEW AIRPORT TERMINAL

THE PILOT LOOKING TO BUILD

AVIATION’S COVID-19 PROBLEMS

OPENS — DESPITE THE PANDEMIC

A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE

WILL PATTON

MARK O’BRIEN

“a hard-edged noir thriller...” - Film Threat

“Hammer nails it in with a suspenseful story.” - The Hollywood Outsider

“a tense little thriller”

How far will a father go to protect the life of a criminal son?

STRANGER THINGS Actor

“Abe is a simple delight!”

PETE

GARNER

DANIEL

CUMMINGS

SCOTT

KRUSE

ERIK

STOCKLIN

A U ST I N

“An appetizing fusion...”

- Slug Magazine

HE LOVES THEIR MOTHER BUT, HE’S NOT THEIR EFFING DAD.

NATALIA DYER

SHE DISAPPEARED, T H E T R U T H D I D N ’ T.

DEFINITELY NOT AN EASY RIDE

BENOÎT

VALÉRIE

HELIE

POELVOORDE BONNETON THONNAT

SAMARA WEAVING BRIAN COX CARLY CHAIKIN

“AN EXCEPTIONAL

PERFORMANCE BY Natalia Dyer” -

LAST MOMENT

O FCLARITY THE ONES WE LOSE ARE NEVER REALLY GONE

Being bad has never felt so good.

“A quirky and fun road-movie..”

Avinaash Jumani avinaash@pictureworksindia.com +91 9820286888

We are Agents of

Change We are strength in adversity. Everything we do is built to adapt. Whatever the world throws at you, our technology, content and media are engineered to scale with your environment. So you can breathe easily in the harshest of landscapes. Discover new worlds at spafax.com/change

Our next adventure... FTE Virtual, 8-9 Dec 2020

The Future of Aviation From Entertainment to IoT and Personalized Services A

modern passenger expects choice in everything, from on-board catering options to the in-flight entertainment content. Influenced by ground services such as video streaming and e-commerce, passengers also expect the multi-screen integrated experience. But this has been hard to achieve in aerospace, owing to the strict regulations and long certification cycles. The rules demand that even non-safety critical components go through the rigorous certification process. Often, this, in turn, stifles innovation and the agility required to keep up with passenger expectations and needs of the time. While other industries like IT, media, and the electric automotive industry are rapidly adopting digital best practices to become agile, shaping these tools for the aviation industry has been the real challenge.

Smart Cabin Services And On-board IoT IoT (Internet of Things) in aviation implies a smart aircraft with amenities such as connected seats that can tell the crew if the seat is occupied, the seatbelt fastened, and the tray positioned. The crew can use the same data for better seat planning, maintenance, mapping, and up-selling. Smart cabins also mean integrated overhead bins, catering trolleys, or even destination services that help generate ancillary revenues, all utilizing the same IFE and crew screens and apps. Such integrations allow passengers to easily pre-book on-board services like meals and let them do itinerary planning from the comfort of the seat and their personal devices via the wireless or wireless seatback IFE. Smart cabins empower flight attendants to have a higher level of knowledge and control over what’s happening on-board an aircraft, while airlines can reap greater operational efficiency through predictive maintenance, waste avoidance, and better crew management.

A Truly Wireless IFE For Fewer Touch Points Not too long ago, the drive towards operational efficiency pointed at the bulkiness and inefficiencies of traditional seatback IFE. With the growing concern for hygiene and safety, such seatback systems are also an added touchpoint that needs sanitation after every flight. Pairing the on-board Wi-Fi with modern digital technologies, the industry can simplify the IFEC system, bring a multi-screen experience, and eliminate the need for kilometers of wires. In fact, by removing the unnecessary seatback wiring and using Axinom wireless seatback IFE solution, one leading US carrier has already realized substantial weight and operational cost savings. Stefanie Schuster, the chief commercial officer at Axinom, adds, “Our solutions for wireless IFEC not only frees the seatback entertainment experience from wires, but also brings the unified experience of entertainment and ancillary services over to personal devices. Not just that, it gives operators the flexibility to choose the software and hardware components that fit their needs. We specialize in software and are happy to see how the industry is taking up those new opportunities while defining their next-generation systems.”

Axinom solutions provide added redundancy and fail-safe by leveraging the power of the cloud on-board. Airlines can now enjoy features such as prepositioning of content to on-board storage of the entertainment devices or wireless and internet-free offloading of IoT data to on-board servers. Hence, ensuring constant entertainment and services to passengers and crew in case of disconnection or outage. Axinom’s decade of experience in aviation and an even longer experience in the software industry has allowed it to develop solutions that solve the current aviation challenges. Axinom Mosaic is a platform that includes all the on-ground and on-board components that are required to centrally manage, deliver, and deploy content and digital services. By converting non-safety critical digital services like entertainment, e-commerce, IoT, and moving maps to modular software containers as UMS (user-modifiable software), Axinom Mosaic allows quick and hassle-free deployment. The tightly regulated digital space in aerospace can now enjoy avenues for innovation and agility. Build an unforgettable passenger experience with reduced physical touchpoints and increased personalization. Explore smart aviation solutions for smarter cabins and crew services, wireless IFE (In-flight Entertainment) and seatback, seamless connectivity, and IoT with Axinom Mosaic.

On-Board Connectivity Our digital solutions for on-board connectivity considers all the components required for seamless internet usage. We provide captive portals that can incorporate several connectivity providers for optimal user experience and effective costs.

Smart Cabin Services/IoT Our integrated on-board IoT solutions enable use-cases such as predictive maintenance, seating status, digital trolleys, overhead bins, and much more. The data from sensors can be offloaded and sent to any desired system securely through any connectivity pipe.

Crew Services Our solutions give complete control to the crew so they can easily access anything from seat planning to health monitoring. Crew can run the passenger announcements on the seatback or personal devices, control climate and cabin lighting, and much more.

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TION SMART AVIA

On-Board Entertainment Axinom digital solutions can support extensive IFE scenarios: from wireless IFE on personal devices to wireless seatback. Our digital IFE solutions can deliver content ranging from early window movies to games, on-board shops, culinary menus, and much more.

Wireless Seatback IFEC Axinom On-Board Cloud Axinom On-Board Cloud is the power-house behind all the use-cases. It brings the power of the digital cloud on-board and consists of all the components required to centrally manage own or third-party digital services, preparing them to be delivered and deployed to the aircraft.

Axinom wireless seatback utilizes an integrated, agnostic approach towards seatback hardware and operating systems. It enables adoption of commercial off-the-shelf hardware solutions for seatback devices and flexibility of software components, all leveraging the standard on-board wireless infrastructure.

Build amazing media and transportation solutions in no time.

axinom.com/mosaic

axinom.com

What a feeling of happiness being open to the world can give us. With know-how and understanding, our engineers develop future-proof solutions in the form of hygiene concepts that allow passengers and crew alike to travel safely. Your success is our mission. highlights-diehlaviation.com/en/flyagaintogether

AD DIRECTORY

Advertisers’ Directory Axinom axinom.com See pages 8 and 9

Diehl diehl.com See pages 10 and 11

Inflight Dublin inflightdublin.com See page 31

PictureWorks pw-pictureworks.com See pages 4 and 5

BBC Studios bbcstudios.com See page 76

Display Interactive ugo.aero See page 26

Inmarsat inmarsat.com See page 17

Skyline IFE skyline-ife.com See page 71

BBC World News bbc.com/worldnews See page 76

Emphasis Video Entertainment emphasis-video.net See page 95

Intelsat intelsat.com/solutions/aviation See page 60

Spafax spafax.com See pages 6 and 7

Kid Systeme kid-systeme.com See page 58

The Angelus Corporation angeluscorp.com See page 52

Bluebox Aviation Systems blueboxaviation.com See page 39

Encore Inflight encoreinflight.com See page 93

Collins Aerospace rockwellcollins.com See page 14

Global Onboard Partners globalonboardpartners.com See page 21

Deutsche Telekom telekom.com See page 13

Inflight Canada inflightcanada.com See page 35

Panasonic Avionics panasonic.aero See page 97 Penny Black Media pennyblackmedia.com See page 75

Get the most important passenger experience news delivered to your inbox.

West Entertainment westent.com See pages 2 and 3

Daily Experience

INDUSTRY

Data Shows Travelers Are Happy in Airports Data compiled by HappyOrNot, a company responsible for the mood-rating kiosks found at 160 airports in 36 countries, indicate travelers are surprisingly happy to be in airports. The company said people are more likely to push the “delighted” or “very happy” buttons, rather than the one indicating they’re merely “happy,” “sad,” or worst of Data

STAYING CONNECTED HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT The European Aviation Network is the fastest inflight Wi-Fi in Europe. Improving the experience in the air through contactless service innovations, such as ordering food and drinks, streaming content or communicating with crew chat-bots, helps passengers feel more comfortable and confident throughout their flight.

Additionally, EAN can drive operational efficiencies across fuel and maintenance, helping you meet targets and support future growth. As airlines offer increasingly more digitalised experiences, EAN will be a catalyst that helps lead to a sustainable recovery.

It can also help you unlock valuable ancillary revenue from e-shopping and advertising. Find out more at europeanaviationnetwork.com

R EDEFINING AIR TRAVE L

Maximizing safety and efficiency within the new airport environment As the global aviation industry welcomes travelers back, innovative airports are looking at existing practices from a new perspective. Collins is working together with industry stakeholders to create a more seamless, contactless and passenger-friendly environment that is more than just safer – it’s more efficient. Our integrated and intelligent solutions help airports improve operational efficiency and enhance passenger experience. Contact us today.

C O L L I N S A E R O S PAC E A I R P O R T S O LU T I O N S • Self-service passenger processing • Baggage systems • Biometric solutions • Airport operations solutions • Systems integration • Communications

CONTENTS

Problem Solving What will it take for the passenger experience industry to overcome the many challenges posed by COVID-19? A good dose of innovation, the latest science and a boost in customer confidence are all part of the equation.

Global Outlook

PHOTOS: ISTOCK; EMIRATES

Experts agree that the pandemic has permanently changed the face of aviation.

100 Solutions to Pandemic Problems

A Change of Course Airline caterers are met with a conundrum.

A handy directory of innovations that combat the spread of COVID-19.

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CONTENTS

30 Designing for the Pandemic, With Inclusivity in Mind Travelers with disabilities must adapt to an environment that has changed overnight.

33 To the Maximum

Stumbling Block

Disinfectant Damage

A Different Kind of Doctor

Flights Home

Can aircraft components withstand rigorous cleaning in the long-term?

Artificial intelligence: screening travelers at an airport near you.

Physical distancing comes with a cost. Where can airlines find new revenue?

Airlines are finding novel ways to stay top-of-mind with homebound customers.

C-Suite Candace McGraw

Q&A Darrel Chua

Q&A Sereen Teoh

IFEC Consultant, FTS and Aerodream

Chief Financial Officer, AirAsia BIG Loyalty

Only in New York

Why Not Me?

LaGuardia Airport is ready for its close-up.

The pilot giving aspiring aviators from diverse backgrounds a head start.

Turn Back the Clock

CEO, Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport

STANDBYS 12 Advertisers’ Directory

19 Thank You Letters 20 Board News

22 Director’s Letter

80 IFSA News

23 Featured Contributors

82 IFE Listings

77 APEX News

18 CEO’s Letter

Experience

Remembering Southwest’s speedy aircraft turns from a decidedly bygone era.

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94 #APEXPOTD

ILLUSTRATION: EDUARDO LEBLANC, FELIPE VARGAS

PHOTO: CINCINNATI/NORTHERN KENTUCKY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT; COURTESY OF SEREEN TEOH; COURTESY OF DARREL CHUA

NXT Communications’ new antenna drives performance up while keeping costs down.

SEAMLESS BROADBAND IN THE SKIES

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Find out more

CEO’S LETTER

Dear Members,

Last year, we looked forward to the new decade with futuristic hope. Instead, our world turned backward with a once-in-a-hundred-years pandemic. Never before has the modern airline industry endured such a global, cataclysmic shock over such a long time horizon. Every one of us has felt COVID-19’s impact. Yet, once again, we look forward and chart our course. For all our members, this year has served as a time for reevaluation, reprioritization, reengineering, reinvention and renewal. While each of your journeys in the year ahead will be different, allow me to share how we have taken these steps for APEX/IFSA. As members, you are the inspiration for our own evolution. In March, we reevaluated our association plans for 2020 and reprioritized by securing $3 billion in additional CARES funding for our supplier and caterer members. By April, we reduced association management expenses by as much as 90%. We reengineered ourselves to work with “emergency power” funding in a manner that provided increased industry visibility during an urgent time, refocusing our efforts on a quarter-billion dollars of industry help worldwide. We also reinvigorated our members with the first global, solutions-oriented webinars starting in April and continuing throughout the summer. This fall, we are reinventing the entire EXPO experience into the FTE APEX Virtual Expo and IFSA Onboard Expo, creating a virtual “walk around” conference environment for 8,000 attendees covering over 128 airlines and 112 airports in the midst of a pandemic. At the end of the year, we renewed our commitment to advancing passenger experience in a COVID-19 world by creating the APEX Health Safety program designed for the consistent safety of passengers worldwide. All of this work has been done with fewer resources and more effort than ever before. We are reinvesting results back into our industry. Airline passenger experience and in-flight service have advanced in the past decade to new heights. Now, health safety will be intrinsic and paramount moving forward. Virtual events will coexist with future physical events as our world is reshaped. Our world may never be quite the same, but we embrace that challenge as APEX/IFSA. Our associations have thrived for nearly 100 years combined because of our ability to serve our members more than ever in times of crisis. We will embrace the journey and renew our airline industry with you in 2021. Together, we will restart our decade. In the process, we will create a better world that we all deserve. My sincere best, Dr. Joe Leader CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

APEX/IFSA

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THANK YOU

Dear APEX Members,

Dear IFSA Members,

When I became APEX president two years ago, the world was very different. As demand for air travel slowly increases, I am proud of the resilience of our industry and APEX’s members who persevered. Thank you for the opportunity to have helped navigate APEX through these unprecedented times. Our industry stewardship is what differentiates APEX.

Over the past nine months, I have been reassured and humbled by how people have come together to support each other. As the airline industry recovers from the global pandemic, supplier partners will continue to support and drive service. Throughout the year, IFSA advocated for members in many ways. Our government affairs efforts secured $3B in relief in the US CARES Act, including support for caterers and other suppliers critical to the industry. IFSA launched a new streamlined brand and a new website that enforces IFSA’s strategic goals, while integrating with APEX. Lastly, IFSA is transitioning thought leadership programming to the digital sphere with the IFSA Onboard Hospitality Virtual Expo, co-located with the FTE APEX Virtual Expo in December.

Despite challenges, APEX moved forward while delivering value to our members. In January, APEX TECH realized the highest number of registrants yet, and our Technology Committee continues important work in preparation for APEX TECH 2021. Early in the year, APEX leadership strategically reduced expenses to preserve resources that will assure APEX’s long-term viability and maintain core business operations and services to members. APEX’s thought leadership was also re-imagined with digital learning opportunities, as well as the FTE APEX Virtual Expo in December. Finally, APEX launched a new brand identity and website, featuring robust event, membership, awards, and industry news sections.

It has been a privilege to serve and lead IFSA this past year. Recently I passed the gavel to my colleague and friend Stephen Kingsley (Flying Food Group), who will continue to represent your interests. Allow me to thank IFSA’s Board of Directors, CEO Joe Leader, the IFSA team, and you, our members.

While 2021 will bring new challenges, APEX will be in excellent hands with your new President, Anton Vidgen (Air Canada). I want to recognize the thoughtful and collaborative work by APEX’s Board of Directors, CEO Joe Leader, the APEX team, our partners FTE and IFSA, and our members. Your dedication is unmatched.

I look forward to seeing each of you face-to-face in Long Beach, California 18-21 October 2021 for IFSA EXPO. Until then, stay healthy and well! Best regards,

I look forward to seeing each of you in person at APEX EXPO in Long Beach, California 18-21 October 2021.

Jim Ball

Best regards,

Flying Food Group

IFSA PRESIDENT 2019-20

Juha Järvinen APEX PRESIDENT EMERITUS

Virgin Atlantic

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BOARD NEWS

From the APEX Board

Anton Vidgen PRESIDENT

Air Canada

Andrés Castañeda

Maura Chacko

Joan Filippini

Juha Järvinen

VICE-PRESIDENT

SECRETARY

TREASURER

Aeroméxico

Spafax

Paramount Pictures

PRESIDENT EMERITUS

Virgin Atlantic

Perry Cantarutti

Stefan List

Michael Childers

Akira Mitsumasu

Zina Neophytou

Delta Air Lines

Airbus

Lufthansa Systems

Japan Airlines

BBC Studios

Jovita Toh Encore Inflight

The APEX Board of Directors uses this space to inform members about ongoing board work and decisions. In addition to APEX association information in this magazine, the board sends regular e-mail updates to the membership, hosts an Annual General Meeting and solicits member feedback in order to be as transparent as possible.

APEX AGM AVAILABLE ONLINE

THANK YOU…

For the first time, APEX held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) virtually via Zoom on 21 October. The online approach allowed for more participation than in previous years. If you missed the AGM you can view it online in the member section of the website by visiting https://connect.apex.aero/resources/ apexmembermeetings.

APEX would like to thank Brian Richardson (Viasat) for his years of service on the APEX Board. Having joined as an American Airlines representative, he helped increase APEX’s visibility among senior airline leadership, which led to enhanced global airline engagement with APEX awards programs and events. Brian was also instrumental in securing Doug Parker, American Airlines CEO, for APEX EXPO in 2018, which paved the way for additional CEOs to join the APEX EXPO lineup. As President Emeritus, he led the Nominations Committee and was a pivotal player on the Executive Committee, Awards Committee and Board.

CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Thank you to all APEX members who voted in the 2020-2021 Board of Directors election. The new Board Members assumed their roles at the virtual AGM. The following Board Members have taken on new roles: Anton Vidgen (Air Canada) as President, Andrés Castañeda (Aeroméxico) as Vice-President, and Juha Järvinen (Virgin Atlantic) as President Emeritus. We also welcome our newly elected director, Stefan List (Airbus).

Experience

SAVE THE DATE: APEX & IFSA EXPO

APEX and IFSA are proud to welcome everyone to Long Beach, California, 18-21 October 2021, as we reopen the doors to the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace. Co-locating with IFSA, APEX is excited to welcome back our exhibitors, top CEOs, executives and decision makers who will discuss and experience the latest innovation and technology that will shape the future of the end-to-end passenger experience. We look forward to seeing you there!

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DIRECTOR’S LETTER

Aviation itself is the solution to a problem that humanity once had: the challenge of transporting people and goods over long distances and difficult terrain. After lots of failure and anguish, the dream was realized. Problem-solving is what our industry has always done, and continues to do, each day. Now, faced with our largest challenge to date, aviation must draw on its founding principles of ingenuity, collaboration and unwavering determination to restart in a world that is wholly and forever changed. In this issue of APEX Experience, we explore the many challenges posed by a new operating environment where health takes center stage, personal space is paramount, travel corridors open and close with little warning and passenger confidence must be regained. But beyond simply assessing the damage, we’ve made it our mission within these pages to celebrate compassion and strength, as well as to showcase creative strategies developed by problem-solvers from each link along the travel chain. Over the past eight months, the vast number and variety of COVID-19 travel solutions appearing in headlines (and our inboxes) prompted our editorial team to create a database that soon begged to be shared. Countless hours of research and debate within our ranks has led to “100 Solutions to Pandemic Problems,” the central feature of this issue. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is an extensive one – covering solutions that are both tech-driven and more practical, for in flight as well as on the ground. Many of the 100 solutions described above are related to enhanced sanitization procedures. In “Disinfectant Damage,” Seth Miller tackles a growing concern among airlines and cabin component manufacturers about the long-term effects of the more rigorous cleaning regimes that are now commonplace. Elsewhere in this issue, Gabriel Leigh considers whether the needs of people who are differently abled are being met in a post-COVID travel environment, and Tomás Romero examines how airlines are keeping house-bound customers engaged. Our C-suite interview with Candace McGraw, CEO of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, reveals how her airport has doubled-down on sanitization and embraced social media to connect with passengers, while focusing on cargo operations to remain afloat. Finally, this issue’s photo essay, written by Valerie Silva, showcases the dazzling, art-forward architecture of LaGuardia’s new Terminal B and reminds us that beauty is here to stay. In a few weeks, the industry will gather for FTE APEX Virtual EXPO, the largest and most sophisticated virtual aviation conference and trade show of the year. This event is a perfect example of how we never stop finding solutions and creating opportunities, even in the face of great adversity. We look forward to seeing you there and encourage you to contact our editorial team if you have company news or announcements to make during, or in advance of, this exciting event. On behalf of the APEX editorial team, I’d like to extend a very special thank you to everyone who has supported APEX Experience. May your solutions always outnumber your challenges! Maryann Simson,

DIRECTOR, APEX MEDIA

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PHOTOS: UNITED AIRLINES; ARI MAGNUSSON; NICHOLAS KNIGHT, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; LAGUARDIA GATEWAY PARTNERS; PUBLIC ART FUND, NY; © SARAH SZE

Ready to Restart

MASTHEAD

Featured Contributors

Eduardo LeBlanc is a Chilean graphic

designer who specializes in illustration, branding and packaging. When asked about the downturn in aviation, he says, “I miss flying; I miss the smell of food from other countries, museums and the adrenalin before takeoff.” Moving forward, he stresses the need for airlines to be explicit about the sanitary measures they put in place.

Ari Magnusson is a photographer and APEX Media alumn who currently serves as associate editor at Air Canada’s enRoute magazine. He is based in Montreal but has dreams of returning to Europe once travel restrictions ease. “I’m dreaming of seeing my family. I want to go snowboarding in the French Alps, relax on a beach in the south of Spain and spend time with friends in the UK,” he says.

See Eduardo's work on page 30

See Ari's work on the cover

Kristina Velan is digital editor at APEX

Media, where she has been covering the airline passenger experience industry and keeping digital platforms ticking for half a decade. Asked what in-flight service piques her curiosity, she says, “LSG Group is preparing food for astronauts – for a second time! I’m curious to try it.” Postcrisis you’ll find her at a beach in Mexico. Read Kristina's work on page 27

APEX Experience Magazine 575 Anton Blvd, Ste 1020, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, +1 714 363 4900

Publisher

ART

Al St. Germain al.stgermain@spafax.com

Art Director

EVP, Spafax, USA

EDITORIAL Director

Maryann Simson maryann.simson@apexmedia.aero Deputy Editor

Valerie Silva

Fact Checker

Tara Dupuis

Proofreader

Nicolás Venturelli nicolas.venturelli@apexmedia.aero

Robert Ronald

Graphic Designer

Angélica Geisse

ADVERTISING

Contributors

Business Development Manager

Juan Marcelo Aravena, Julie Carles, Eduardo LeBlanc, Ari Magnusson, Oscar Matamora, Felipe Vargas

Stephanie Taylor stephanie.taylor@apexmedia.aero

Digital Editor

Ad Production Manager

Kristina Velan kristina.velan@apexmedia.aero

PRODUCTION

Editorial Assistant

Director of Project Delivery

Justin Mulfati

Contributors

Fergus Baird, Jasmin Legatos, Gabriel Leigh, Seth Miller, Tomás Romero, Courtland Savage, Katie Sehl, Paul Sillers, Howard Slutsken, Jordan Yerman

COVER PHOTO BY ARI MAGNUSSON

Mary Shaw mary.shaw@spafax.com

Alain Briard

Production Manager

Felipe Batista Nunes felipe.batistanunes@apexmedia.aero

Chief Client Officer

Copy Editor

Raymond Girard

Christopher Korchin

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Up Next: FTE APEX Virtual Expo Future Travel Experience, APEX and IFSA are joining forces to host the first-ever FTE APEX Virtual Expo on 8â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9 December. The event, co-located with IFSA Onboard Hospitality Virtual Expo, will explore new ways of transforming air transport in the post-COVID-19 era and replaces the in-person conferences planned for the fourth quarter. Virtual attendees can expect a multifaceted and full-featured online tradeshow, complete with an exhibition, live conference sessions and next-generation networking capabilities. FTE APEX Virtual Expo will remain open for 24 hours a day to accommodate an expected 8,000 industry professionals across all time zones. Registrants retain full access to the Expo portal for 30 days after the event to catch up on presentations, pitch sessions and more. For more information, visit futuretravelexperience.com/fte-apex-virtual-expo.

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FREE

TO ATTEND

BRINGING THE AIR TRANSPORT INDUSTRY TOGETHER IN ONE VIRTUAL PLACE

DECEMBER 8-9 2020 F u t u r e Tr a v e l E x p e r i e n c e . c o m

ENGAGE, EXHIBIT, EXPLORE LIKE NEVER BEFORE DIAMOND SPONSORS CONFIRMED:

EVENT THEME:

POST-COVID-19 8000+ VISITORS

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NETWORKING LOUNGE

SERVICE

Stumbling Block Airlines are striving to balance prioritizing passenger health and safety during the pandemic with the need to remain solvent. by KRISTINA VELAN Illustration by JULIE CARLES

On Monday, May 4, Frontier Airlines announced that it would and messaging have never been more important.” By the end of soon offer customers the option to block middle seats for a this year, up to 20 airlines will be offering the solution. fee, starting at $39. In the following days, members of the US “A blocked seat cannot 100 percent protect against the Congress appealed to the airline’s CEO, Barry Biffle. “Essential virus,” Jain admits, adding that it can nonetheless be part of travelers are already risking their health, and … should not be a constellation of factors that generate passenger confidence. penalized with an additional ancillary fee,” one letter stated. They Turning it into an ancillary can also make it part of the financial also cautioned that Frontier’s “More Room” option would deter measures taken to help airlines stay afloat. In a July press release the public from flying. By Wednesday, Biffle rescinded the extra announcing the launch of the product, Abigael Wanjiru, ancillary fee, aligning with other US airlines blocking seats for free. revenue strategy manager, Etihad Airways, is quoted saying, “We As of mid-September, carriers including Delta Air Lines, Alaska expect this to be one of our greatest ancillary revenue generators Airlines and Southwest were continuing to limit capacity at no moving forward.” Over 31 percent of respondents to a survey extra charge. United Airlines and American Airlines returned conducted by Plusgrade said they would purchase Dynamic Seat to selling all available seats during the summer. United’s chief Blocker on a two-hour flight. communications officer, Josh Earnest, called blocking seats But as the pandemic rages on, some airlines are instead a “PR strategy,” since it doesn’t enable the experimenting with dropping ancillary fees – recommended six feet worth of social distancing which amounted to 12.2 percent of global airline “Personalization anyway. Vistara and Flair were among the revenue before COVID-19 hit – in the hopes of and messaging carriers that charged customers to block seats attracting customers. United, Delta, American have never been throughout the summer. and Alaska have eliminated change fees, while more important.” “Either airlines don’t charge for the empty Virgin Atlantic and Emirates are offering free seat, but consequently raise their ticket prices COVID-19 insurance. Pramod Jain, to sustain lower load factors, or airlines charge With full-scale demand for air travel unlikely to Plusgrade for blocked seats in order to keep their fares return before a vaccine is widely available, airlines low,” says Pramod Jain, chief operating officer will have to refocus in order to survive. Could at Plusgrade, which launched a product in July that uses machine online stores, like Singapore Airlines’ KrisShop and Lufthansa’s learning to target airline customers who are most likely to purchase WorldShop, be the answer? Or perhaps a new cabin class will empty seats. Factors taken into account include: passenger profile emerge, giving airline customers the option to pay for extra(trip history, tier status, social media preferences, purchasing data), stringent cleaning protocols. As the pandemic continues to route, day of travel, load factor and fare-class configuration. dictate demand, the need to establish new revenue streams, as “The algorithms are optimized to show the right product, to the well as passenger confidence, are key, so why not tackle them at right customer, at the right time,” Jain explains. “Personalization the same time? Experience

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INTERIORS

Disinfectant Damage In the race to make sure aircraft cabins are clean today, who is considering the impact on component longevity for tomorrow?

American Airlines will soon learn how a new longer-term disinfectant spray will affect its cabins. The company signed a deal with Allied BioScience to apply SurfaceWise2, the first-ever long-lasting product to help fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, that is approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But the agency cannot vouch for its impact on interior furnishings. An EPA spokesperson notes that “EPA-registered disinfectants undergo a rigorous scientific review to ensure that, when used according to the label directions, no adverse effects on human health or the environment will occur.” That review does not, however, extend to the impact on materials the chemicals might encounter. Aircraft cleaning will never be the same again. Many airlines now use foggers to emit a fine mist of cleaning agent throughout the cabin. Those using electrostatic foggers go a step further, ensuring that the aerosol passes around and between cabin elements such as overhead bins and tray tables. While the chemicals kill the microbes they interact with, some say the moisture that carries them may very well be damaging the surfaces as well. Tapis Corporation sales director Matthew Nicholls believes that airlines and suppliers must be concerned, too. He notes that the commonly used quaternary ammonium-based disinfectants can erode adhesives. With repeated spraying, liquid waste can accumulate, eventually leading to delamination or glue failure, with coverings becoming unstuck from the frames. Nicholls also calls attention to the risk of premature failure of materials used in seat coverings. Typically, the top coating of a leather covering will break down under repeated exposure to this class of chemicals, and fabric covers are porous by nature. In both cases, excess moisture from the spray may penetrate through the covering and into the cushion, potentially absorbing the liquid and thereby adding weight to the aircraft, or causing the foam structure to deteriorate, leading to discomfort for passengers. Synthetic fabrics typically fare better in this regard as they can be engineered for greater chemical resistance. They can also be

Experience

more easily pretreated with antimicrobial elements for scenarios where the cleaning process is not as thorough. When it comes to electronics, the concerns differ slightly. Moisture is still an issue, though the specific chemicals are less critical. On the flight deck, a fogger or wipes could address the contamination challenges, but they also introduce significant moisture risk. Moreover, airlines generally don’t want non-pilots touching the control systems. To that end, UVC lighting has proven a compelling solution for some carriers. United Airlines chose handheld UVC blades from the American Ultraviolet company to kill any viruses that may reside on sensitive switches and touchscreen displays within the flight deck.

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PHOTO: UNITED AIRLINES

by SETH MILLER

INTERIORS

United Airlines favors UV disinfection over wipes and foggers for use in the flight deck.

“Cleanable and disinfectable surfaces will become the new normal.” Matthew Nicholls, Tapis Corporation

“Flight decks have many working parts, screens and components that are challenging to clean with traditional hand wipes and liquids, especially for someone who isn’t a pilot. The UVC lighting gives us a faster, more effective disinfection of one of the most important areas of the aircraft,” explains Bryan Quigley, United’s senior vice-president of Flight Operations.

Experience

Those UVC lights can also be used in the cabin: JetBlue signed a deal in July to trial the Honeywell UV Cabin System, previously known as GermFalcon, in its aircraft. Much like with chemicals, however, airlines must be careful regarding repeated exposure to ultraviolet lighting and its impact on material surfaces. Nicholls notes that his company’s fabrics “saw no issues when tested to 10 years’ worth of UVC exposure,” but says other plastics might not fare so well. Thinking of materials in terms of their resistance will be important moving forward, because this issue isn’t going anywhere, Nicholls says: “Once COVID-19 dissipates, it is inevitable that something else will come, so cleanable and disinfectable surfaces will become the new normal.”

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ACCESSIBILITY

Designing for the Pandemic, With Inclusivity in Mind With the high rate of change to airport procedures over the past nine months, many travelers are feeling wary – those with disabilities perhaps even more so. by GABRIEL LEIGH • Illustration by EDUARDO LEBLANC

Departures Embarques

As the coronavirus pandemic took hold this spring, airlines and airports had to act quickly to reorient themselves for a completely new world in which protection from the virus was of primary concern. New procedures that minimize touchpoints and interactions at airports and on board had to be implemented, but in the process passengers with disabilities have been left in a difficult position. Mary Doyle, an accessible-aviation consultant and founder of Rocket Girl Coaching, says COVID-19 has posed a number of challenges: “Disabled people are resilient, adaptable and used to solving problems on a daily basis,” she explains. “However, COVID-19 is very much out of our personal control, and many people with reduced mobility rely on assistance-team processes and procedures to navigate the airport, or on board to use the lavatory if possible or deplane. This means we come into direct contact with more staff members, and if we use wheelchairs, our hands are 30

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constantly in contact with floor contaminants. We often have to use airport equipment that is not our own, and may require more notice so we can adapt to changes in processes and technologies that have been quickly introduced.” Throughout the pandemic, Pittsburgh International Airport has been maintaining its commitments to accessibility while heightening its cleaning. “Last year, we opened a best-in-class sensory room for special-needs children and adults – and we’ve kept it open during the pandemic,” said Bob Kerlik, Media Relations at PIT. “We’ve implemented deep-cleaning measures as part of our PIT Safe Travels initiative, as well as mandatory mask wearing, social distancing and enhanced cleaning measures.” Companies that are now developing new technologies “Disabled to combat the spread of the people are virus can build accessibility resilient, into their offering from the adaptable start. Elenium Automation, and used for one, has come up with a touchless self-service kiosk to solving that can take differently problems on abled bodies through a daily basis.” check-in and bag drop and also detect vital signs in the Mary Doyle, accessibleaviation consultant process. “When we spoke to a number of European airports, we saw a clear need in the market to enable differently abled individuals and families with small children to enjoy the self-service airport experience,” says Ilya Gutlin, CCO and board member at Elenium. “That’s when our research led us to develop multiple channels of interaction – voice, movement detection and contactless scanning – between the passenger and the technology, to suit their preference.” Gutlin says that when developed thoughtfully, technologies like touchless kiosks, virtual queuing and self-opening doors can serve everyone well. “The pandemic has brought a much-needed focus to these technologies, and we can build on this trajectory to ensure we keep improving processes for travelers with disabilities.” But more can be done, he acknowledges: “Active dialogues with disability groups need to take place to ensure solutions are built with all passengers in mind.” Mary Doyle agrees that would be a win for all: “By planning for the customers with the most access requirements, aviation will actually be serving all customers to a higher standard, as accessibility and equality benefits every citizen.”

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Wireless

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A Different Kind of Doctor Airports and airlines, as the gateways between nations, have a critical role in slowing the spread of COVID-19. What part does artificial intelligence play? by FERGUS BAIRD

More than 22,000 Etihad Airways passengers completed a Medicus AI COVID-19 risk assessment in the two months since the service launched with the airline. Of those self-assessments, around 86 percent revealed a “very low” probability of COVID-19 risk. Two percent generated a “high” probability score. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret data in real time and offer up a personalized user experience. “The medical-reasoning engine operates based on the exact reasoning doctors use when looking at an individual’s health data,” Baher Al Hakim, CEO, Medicus AI, says. On top of keeping up with doctor’s orders, Medicus AI incorporates the latest medical guidelines issued by the federal governments of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “These changes are translated and applied to the platform either through an adjustment in the riskassessment algorithm or in the recommendation text itself,” says Dr. Al Hakim. Etihad’s chief digital officer, Frank Meyer, says, “Responses from guests have been positive so far, with the service valued among users, especially in these uncertain times.” The survey is optional, and while its existence may help put certain passengers at ease, its efficacy largely depends on how forthcoming passengers choose to be. 32

Experience

Fazing Labs’ Thermal Gateway (top) and wall-mounted sensors (center) quickly scan for fever.

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AI has been applied elsewhere in more certain terms. California-based Fazing Labs, for example, has developed a thermal imaging system called Thermal Gateway, which detects fever in 0.4 seconds, allowing airlines to quickly screen for possible COVID-19 cases. Thermal Gateway has been implemented in a number of high-traffic settings, including Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where it performs a facial scan, focusing on heat signatures around the nose, mouth and tear ducts. Because tear ducts are unaffected by factors like hot weather or exertion, they’re the body’s best external indicator of fever. Data gathered from Thermal Gateway can help determine if and where there’s an outbreak, and whether it’s at a specific gate, building or cluster of buildings. “We anonymize data and can compare with local levels to let users know if their outbreak appears to be similar to that in the surrounding region, or if it’s something else, like an infection in their facility,” says Fazing Labs founder Noah Kindler. “We can also monitor for ‘surges’ in certain cases. For example, we can know if a flight with infected people landed. In addition to monitoring, we allow users to analyze and know what happened, and send alerts if we notice something significant that requires action.” The screening process is non-invasive: Passengers simply walk through the gate and can feel secure knowing everyone on the other side is fever-free. “We are staunch believers that an accurate fever scan can be positioned as a service to passengers and not another checkpoint or dimension of security to be overcome,” says Fazing Labs COO Peter Sorckoff. “Speed of throughput has been a primary tenet in our product design because the best way to reinforce the positive benefits of the scan is to make it a frictionless part of the journey.” No one single technology can guarantee passengers that it’s safe to fly during the pandemic, but non-invasive health checks and intelligent analysis may be what is needed for airlines and airports to start rebuilding that confidence.

PHOTOS: FAZING LABS

TECHNOLOGY

CONNECTIVITY

To the Maximum NXTCOMM is set to begin initial production of its flagship antenna in early 2021. How does the company plan to steer its mission differently from the competition?

PHOTOS: NXTCOMM

by HOWARD SLUTSKEN

Satellite antennas may be the unsung – and unseen – heroes of aero-connectivity. Hidden away under a radome, snugly fitted to the top of a jetliner’s fuselage, the antenna must maintain its link with a satellite orbiting more than 22,000 miles above the Earth’s equator. Through turns, climbs and descents, and under extreme temperature variations, the antenna is a key element of the connected aircraft. With no moving parts, greater reliability and the elimination of the inertia that can cause errors in positioning, electronically steerable antennas solve many of the issues inherent in mechanically controlled systems. Aiming to take the technology to the next level, Atlanta-based NXT Communications (NXTCOMM) has designed AeroMax, a new flat-panel electronically steered antenna that uses a fragmented aperture – an innovation developed in collaboration with the Georgia Tech Research Institute. “At the end of the day, any flat-panel antenna system is generally a collection of tiny little antennas pointed toward the satellite, and then all the complicated

AEROMAX FAST FACTS ETA: Production in 2021 Availability: Ku-band, then Ka-band Specs: Low-profile subarrays measuring approximately 10 by 10 inches that can be connected to build a full-size antenna, with a radome height of less than 4.5 inches

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stuff behind it – the beam formers, the phase shifters and everything else you need to do the voodoo of electronically steering the beam,” Carl Novello, NXTCOMM’s chief technology officer, explains. NXTCOMM’s objective is two-pronged: improve performance and provide operators with a better value proposition. The latter will be achieved by simplifying production. “Oftentimes we’ve seen new antenna technology that requires the invention of new manufacturing processes and materials,” Novello says. NXTCOMM’s antenna is made up of multiple subarrays – what he calls “our basic Lego block” – which are themselves made up of printed circuit boards (PCBs). “PCBs can be manufactured in ridiculous volumes with a pretty well-known cost basis,” Novello adds. But what really differentiates the AeroMax is the aforementioned fragmented aperture technology, based on a design with roots in military applications, which significantly reduces interference between an antenna’s elements: the more than 10,000 tiny antennas in a standard aircraft installation. Along with reduced interference comes higher efficiency and performance. “With a fragmented aperture approach, we’re able to reach an aperture efficiency percentage in the mid-to-high 80s, whereas in traditional applications everybody’s happy once they’ve hit 60 percent, and 50 percent is pretty darn good, too,” Novello says. “But the better-performing the antenna – even with the same satellite capacity – the faster you can go.”

APEX.AERO

ENTERTAINMENT

Flights Home

Airlines have wanted to extend their footprint beyond the cabin for years; the pandemic may finally make it happen. by TOMÁS ROMERO • Illustration by ÓSCAR MATAMORA

With many travelers electing to stay home due to the pandemic, a number of forward-thinking airlines are bringing the in-flight experience to them. Literally. In September, Cathay Pacific’s catering division began delivering in-flight meals to residents living near Hong Kong International Airport, and Singapore Airlines (SIA) launched a home meal delivery service featuring dishes typically served in first and business classes, along with access to the airline’s vast wine cellars. In October, Finnair announced plans to sell its handmade business-class meals in local supermarkets. But it’s not just food that’s homebound: This past April, Air New Zealand brought its hugely popular in-flight trivia game to the home market via Instagram. In May, SIA also offered passengers free in-app access to its coveted in-flight e-library. In August, United Airlines began mailing hard copies of its awardwinning onboard magazine, Hemispheres, to MileagePlus Premier Platinum, Premier 1K and Global Services members at home. Air Canada upped the ante even further this summer by unleashing 200-plus titles from its IFE platform directly into Aeroplan loyalty members’ living rooms – users can stream via an online platform developed by CineSend – across Canada, for free. “I think there are really two things at play here,” says Shashank Nigam, CEO and founder of aviation consultancy SimpliFlying. One is that airlines have pre-existing commitments to content providers: “The airlines have already paid for this content, so they might as well send it into people’s homes so someone is watching it,” he says. The other reason, according to Nigam, is that airlines are trying to find ways to keep travelers engaged even though many are stuck at home browsing Netflix and other streaming platforms. 34

Experience

According to Hali Hamilton, Air Canada’s manager, Entertainment and Partnership, the at-home entertainment service also served as a proof of concept. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from Aeroplan members, Hamilton says Air Canada is currently looking at ways to integrate the service on a more permanent basis even after travel volumes rebound. “Delivering the in-flight experience at home is next to impossible – except for IFE! We felt that extending this service to customers not only served the immediate need of having something “Delivering good to watch at home, but also the in-flight satisfied some of that longing to be experience at on a plane by replicating our GUI and home is next passenger UX,” adds Hamilton. to impossible– That longing for the in-cabin experience was at the heart of United’s except for IFE!” “Hemi at Home” magazine concept Hali Hamilton, Air Canada as well, says Elliot Kutmus, United’s Acquisition sales manager, adding, “The truth is, we miss our flyers, too.” United is currently exploring ways of bringing even more aspects of the onboard experience to a virtual sphere – accessible at home, well beyond the airplane cabin, Kutmus says: “The ultimate goal is for us to have our customers enjoy our awardwinning IFE in the comfort of our jets. However, if that is not the case in 2021, then we look forward to remaining connected with our customers through a variety of creative techniques.”

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C-SUITE

Since 2011, Candace McGraw has been the CEO of CVG, where she has led a team that reversed nine consecutive years of passenger decline, turning the US airport into one of the fastest-growing in the country for both passenger and cargo traffic. Candace also serves as treasurer of the ACI World Governing Board and immediate past chair of Airports Council International–North America, and has been appointed to two federal advisory panels: NextGen Advisory Committee and Women in Aviation Advisory Board.

Candace McGraw Chief Executive Officer Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

You were once an attorney. What’s something you learned in law school that continues to inform your work today? I am still a licensed attorney but haven’t practiced for a number of years. I keep my license, just in case. Law school hones your analytical skills, teaches you to appreciate and understand all sides of an argument and requires you to develop concise and clear arguments to support your position. All of which are important when juggling the interests of various airport stakeholders. One of my first-year professors taught us that clients are not paying you to know black-letter law – they are paying you for your judgment. The industry seemingly changed overnight with the spread of COVID-19. How did your job change in kind? Pre-COVID-19, I spent the predominant amount of my day focused on planning for the future. We were considering some

YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 25+

FREQUENT FLIGHT: CVG–DCA

interesting domestic and international opportunities. With the pandemic, we had to immediately triage the situation, handle the potential health and safety concerns, adjust our budget and focus on day-to-day operations. I think we have now struck the right balance of handling the immediate issues while not losing sight of future opportunities for success. Airlines have responded to the pandemic by canceling routes and grounding aircraft. What are airports like yours, whose costs are much more fixed, doing to ensure the economic survival of their business? CVG has seen a number of ups and downs over the years. As a former hub airport, we recognized years ago that we needed to diversify our business in an attempt to become more “recessionproof.” We made certain to attract passenger carriers, focused on additional cargo expansion and embarked on nonaeronautical land development, making sure that our land-development program also supported retail, commercial and industrial uses. We were very cognizant to not have all of our eggs in one basket. With passenger service being hampered by the pandemic, we are fortunate to have ongoing cargo and land-rental revenues. Additionally, like all other airports, we have also cut our operating budget, frozen all hiring and deferred all non-essential capital projects. >

BRAND OF SUITCASE: Tumi

Experience

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SEATBACK OR PED? PED

PASSPORT STAMP YOU WISH YOU HAD: Russia

PHOTO: CINCINNATI/NORTHERN KENTUCKY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

You’ve been CEO of CVG since 2011. What has been your biggest achievement in that time? CVG had experienced nine consecutive years of passenger decline until we were able to reverse that trend in 2013. Once we were able to attract additional passenger carriers and diversify our business by focusing on cargo and land development, we were able to turn CVG into one of the fastest-growing airports in the US for both passenger and cargo traffic.

C-SUITE

How important is cargo to CVG now, and what trends in this domain are you seeing? Cargo is tremendously important to the success of CVG. As home to DHL’s global superhub for the Americas and the future hub for Amazon Prime Air, we are currently ranked as the seventh-largest cargo hub in North America. As both hubs continue to grow, I anticipate that our ranking will continue to increase. Pre-pandemic, cargo was approximately 60 percent of our landed weight. In the midst of the pandemic, cargo is about 85 percent of our landed

HOW CVG IS KEEPING UP WITH THE PANDEMIC Boosting Protocols on the Ground CVG has doubled the number of handsanitizer stations, installed plexiglass guards at ticket counters and gate holds and is regularly wiping down high-touchpoint areas and using autonomous floor-cleaning technology. “The airport has placed friendly reminders throughout our facilities for travelers to wear face masks, physically distance and travel only when feeling well,” McGraw says.

Launching “Fly Healthy” Online On this new section of the airport’s website, travelers can watch video demonstrations of the enhanced cleaning procedures; read updates related to parking, security and concessions; and access links to important resources, such as airline and state-level guidance, allowing them to educate themselves about any restrictions applicable to their trip. “We created the Fly Healthy section on our website to allow travelers to research and plan their trip to feel comfortable and confident before leaving home,” McGraw says.

Embracing New Technologies In early 2020, prior to the pandemic, CVG launched Avidbots’ autonomous cleaning robot, Neo, which McGraw says has become a valuable resource that is now deployed three to four times per day. It is also testing a thermographic gateway screener, from Fazing Labs, that uses infrared capabilities and artificial intelligence to obtain data and plan for future scenarios. “Over the last several years, CVG has leaned heavily into technology to enhance the customer experience,” McGraw says. “But the pandemic is heightening the adoption of additional solutions.”

Experience

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weight. We are very thankful for the business. The cargo carriers are literally helping us keep our lights on! As cargo growth increases, there have also been a number of related businesses moving to our region. Those businesses are either suppliers to the carriers or companies that need to quickly get their products to market. Does CVG remain on target with its Amazon Prime Air hub? Construction remains on target for completion, with Phase 1 anticipated to be operational for the 2021 holiday season. The hub comprises two large parcels: the southern parcel of 650 acres and a northern parcel of 440 acres. The southern parcel has been cleared, and construction work on the initial phase of the sort facility and ramp is ongoing. After the first phase is operational, Amazon is anticipating to complete development of the entire southern parcel. It may take another four to five years for completion. However, I can watch the construction from my office window – and I have never seen a project move so quickly. Where do you hope to see CVG in 2030? In 2030, CVG will be recognized as a catalyst that positively transforms our region and the broader aviation industry. It will continue to be forward-leaning and resilient. However, by that time, I anticipate I will be retired and cheering on Team CVG from the sidelines.

PHOTOS: BRIAN MCGOWAN, UNSPLASH; CVG AIRPORT; AVIDBOTS

What role has social media played in connecting with customers at a time when few are traveling? Social media has been a critical communications tool as it has allowed us to educate, build confidence and engage with customers. Our communications and customer experience teams recently partnered to go above and beyond for a passenger. They took to social media to find the owner of a stuffed animal that was left behind in our facilities. Our customers were asked to help in the online search and share this feelgood story. They were able to follow along as the stuffed animal enjoyed a behind-thescenes tour of the airport and ultimately flew home to its owner, the six-year-old boy who had received the toy as an adoption present. There were smiles all around! As a residual benefit, we gained thousands of new and engaged followers, millions of impressions and an enormous amount of earned media exposure.

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Bluebox Wireless Solutions / info@blueboxaviation.com / www.blueboxaviation.com

COVID-19

100 Solutions

to Pandemic Problems In the face of one of the biggest challenges ever to hit the aviation industry, companies responded swiftly. These are the innovations in aircraft interiors, entertainment & connectivity, airport experience and in-flight services that are poised to restore traveler confidence. by JUSTIN MULFATI Sponsored by

Experience

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COVID-19

ADAPTIVE

ALLIED BIOSCIENCE

ACES

SurfaceWise2

This antiviral protectant can kill new germs that are deposited onto surfaces post-application. In the coming months, American Airlines will begin applying SurfaceWise2 via electrostatic spray across its entire fleet.

In June, Adaptive began offering complimentary two-year licenses to airlines looking to make its ACES reading material distribution platform available to passengers. It can be integrated into an airline’s existing mobile app and removes the need for physical in-flight magazines, duty-free catalogs and menus.

AEROFOAM INDUSTRIES

The Sentinel

This aerospace manufacturing firm based in California unveiled a seat-blocking console that is secured using the seat belt. It can be fitted with a clear, removable plastic divider to provide a barrier between seats. The Sentinel also offers cupholders and recessed compartments for passengers.

ADHETEC

Antimicrobial Adhesives In July, Adhetec launched a series of customizable adhesive films for tray tables, in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens, armrests, handles and seat shells. The adhesive expert partnered with Pylote, which provided the antimicrobial technology. In lab tests, surfaces covered in the adhesive film for one hour demonstrated a reduction in viral load of more than 90 percent. Corsair began testing the product in September.

PHOTOS: ADHETEC, AERO BIOTEK, ALBÉA TRAVEL DESGINER, AEROFOAM INDUSTRIES, ALLIED BIOSCIENCE, AMORPH SYSTEMS, AUTOSTOP AVIATION

AMORPH SYSTEMS EC

AIRFI

AirFi Box In a bid to reduce touchpoints, the AirFi Box is designed to operate autonomously. It switches on and off automatically thanks to built-in technology that interprets data, including location and altitude. An embedded server and wireless network router can provide a variety of digital content to passengers.

IDCS

This platform analyzes airport health checks in real time and models the potential spread of infection after noting a positive result. It helps airport operators decide on containment measures, direct sanitization efforts and reroute traveler flows.

AERO BIOTEK

Biotek Shield

AUTOSTOP AVIATION

Personal Protection Windows

The sister organization of cabin lighting and manufacturing company PWI is designing a device that will shine UVC light in an aircraft’s ventilation system and neutralize viruses in the process. The first iteration of the product is being designed for Boeing 737 aircraft.

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

ALBÉA TRAVEL DESIGNER

Travel&StaySafe These PPE kits are customizable for airline branding and available for worldwide delivery, and factor in the health and safety standards and regulatory specificities of each country. They are made to order and can contain any combination of masks, hand sanitizer, gloves and more.

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

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This Serbian company is manufacturing acrylic-glass dividers to be installed between seats. The tall, thin barriers are widest at head level. German charter Private Wings was the first operator to order the product.

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

COVID-19

AVEO ENGINEERING

BESPOKE

Made from PPE medical fabric, this solution reduces the risk of germs being transferred from aircraft seats to clothing. The company claims the seat covers are recyclable. AviationRFI produces a doublesided version of the cover that can fit car seats when reversed.

This chatbot, used by Narita and Tampa international airports, answers customer questions with the help of AI. It can now field questions related to COVID-19 and provide assistance on flight information, travel restrictions and screening procedures.

Dual Seat Cover

VeoLite

This ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system runs the spectrum. When the cabin or cockpit is vacant, it uses UVC light to neutralize pathogens; when the aircraft is occupied, it emits UVA light, which continues to sanitize without posing a safety risk to humans. VeoLite is being distributed worldwide.

AVIATION CLEAN AIR AND INTERNATIONAL AERO ENGINEERING

AVIATIONRFI

Bebot

BLUEBOX

Bluebox Wow

Ion Distribution Unit for Ground Use Only

Powering retail sales from passengers’ personal electronic devices, Bluebox Wow aims to replace the traditional trolley. It integrates with inventory systems and issues alerts to crew when an item is purchased, enabling on-demand delivery.

The electrons released by this ionization unit in the span of one to two hours can kill pathogens, sterilize bacteria and remove odor in the cabin. The duo of companies has had to increase production rates to keep up with demand for this portable, plug-in system.

AVIDBOTS

Neo

BOEING

AVIATION GLASS

UV Sanitization Wand

AeroGlassShield These rectangular screens installed between seats are made of AeroGlass, a lightweight, scratch-resistant and fireproof polycarbonate. The company is in the midst of getting the product approved and hopes to release it this year. IN

AVIOINTERIORS

The airframer adapted its UVC lavatory light technology to create this handheld unit, which will be manufactured in the US by Healthe. During this year’s ecoDemonstrator tests, the wand disinfected the flight deck of an Etihad Airways Boeing 787-10 in 15 minutes.

Glassafe Aviointeriors released this shield that can be installed on existing seats to provide a partial enclosure around each passenger’s head. It can easily be installed and removed, while leaving tray tables, magazine pockets, coat hooks and other accessories free from obstruction.

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

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IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

AVIATION CLEAN AIR AND INTERNATIONAL AERO ENGINEERING, AVIATION GLASS, AVIDBOTS, AVIOINTERIORS, BLUEBOX, BOEING

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport was the first American airport to adopt this floor-scrubbing robot. It uses AI, cameras and 3-D sensors to change its route automatically and avoid obstacles. It runs continuously, only stopping to charge. The next-generation version is called Neo 2.

COVID-19

BOLTARON

DESTER

Boltaron 9815N

Hygienic Packs

Anticipating an uptick in the use of UV disinfection in the cabin, the thermoplastics company devised a material that can better withstand radiation. The product was exposed to six years’ worth of UVC light to prove that the color, texture or structural integrity of aircraft seat parts made from it would not be affected.

In May, Gategroup company deSter announced it was expanding its range of hygienic products for the COVID-19 era to include packs with items like wipes, masks and disinfectant gels that are made in-house. Airlines can customize the packs based on their needs. AE

COFORGE

Health Passport

Coforge and online verification platform APPII developed a digital health passport solution that helps determine and verify the health status of an individual. Travelers can upload a COVID-19 certificate that can be verified by airport authorities upon the user’s consent.

BUZZ

Clean Products and Wellness kits Operating under the assumption that travelers will value amenities from trusted brands now more than ever, Buzz is supplying airlines in Europe and the US with wellness kits from names such as Murchison-Hume, C.O. Bigelow, Rohr Remedy and Aromatherapy Associates.

DIEHL

Portable Clean Light For controlled disinfection and high efficiency, Diehl is developing a Portable UVC Light Unit that is optimized for use in the lavatory. The unit will function independently of aircraft type or platform and can be integrated into various lavatory layouts. For sanitization, the portable handheld unit is quickly and easily attached to a wall mounting plate.

COLLINS AEROSPACE

Touchless Lavatory Next spring, Collins will finalize and apply for certification of an entire suite of touchless lavatory features, making toilet seats, flush mechanisms, soap dispensers, faucets and trash flaps more sanitary. The company says industrial design is being considered from the get-go, ensuring airlines receive distinctive products that help differentiate their brand.

BUZZ

MicroBarrier Snood

BUZZ, COFORGE, COLLINS AEROSPACE, DIEHL

Worn around the neck like a scarf, Buzz’s stretchy snood features an antimicrobial fabric treatment and is designed to be pulled up to cover the mouth and nose when in close proximity to others. Etihad Airways began handing them out to its firstand business-class passengers in August.

DAON

DIEHL

Touchless Lavatory

Sensors and actuators make many of Diehl’s new lavatory fixtures touchless. The waste flap, water faucet, toilet seat and lid, door lock and more can be activated with a wave of the hand, which increases passenger confidence, accessibility and ease of use.

VeriFLY This app allows travelers to reserve a time to pass through security as long as they fill out a digital COVID-19 health questionnaire 24 hours before their flight. A temperature scan awaits VeriFLY users at the airport, preventing feverish travelers from proceeding to security screening. DEN is the first airport to use the solution.

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

COVID-19

DO & CO

EVRI

Evri Hygiene

Boxed Lunch

This Silicon Valley startup invented a selfdriving robot that dispenses hand sanitizer while measuring the user’s temperature. The company also offers a robot that verifies whether physical-distancing and mask requirements are being satisfied.

To reduce contact between passengers and crew, British Airways began serving meals in boxes in June. Created by Do & Co, they each contain a meal and a bottle of water.

ELENIUM AUTOMATION

Elenium Vitals Elenium offers touchless bag-drop and check-in kiosks with a twist: The machines also measure temperature, heartbeat and respiration rate via thermal imaging. If these point to potential illness, the process is suspended and staff are alerted. Etihad began testing the technology in April.

DUTY FREE INNOVATION

FlySafe

The FlySafe Travel Kit, designed to be sold by airport retailers, contains a reusable face mask, three pairs of biodegradable gloves, a pack of three biodegradable sanitizing wipes and a safe-travel information card. It comes in compostable packaging made from cornstarch material.

EXPLEO

Separated Care Area Airline crew can create a quarantine area in the last three rows of seats in a couple of minutes without special tools. Expleo’s made-in-Germany kit includes a set of crew rest couches and curtains that can be adapted for double- or quadruple-seat layouts. IS

EN ROUTE INTERNATIONAL

Travel catering solutions provider En Route International designed a range of meal boxes to support efficient crew service that requires minimal customer contact. The company credits research published by APEX and IFSA – which found that in-flight food safety has become a key concern – for inspiring the product.

EARTHBAY

PlanBay This patent-pending kit blocks middle seats without the need to modify them. It consists of a console that supports two clear protection panels, forming a T shape. One separates passengers sitting on either end while the other runs along the tops of the seats. It also features lateral headrests.

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

ETIHAD ENGINEERING

Seat Partitions One of the solutions developed by Etihad’s maintenance and engineering arm is a line of middle-seat blockers suitable for all commercial Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Options include a partition that stretches across the seat and hooks onto the armrests, a seat box and panels placed in between each headrest that provide separation.

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

FACTORYDESIGN

HeadZone This fold-out panel was conceived as a portable barrier for short-haul routes on seats without IFE systems. It’s made from recyclable materials and can be ordered in a variety of colors. The rear-facing panel offers the potential for sponsored branding and advertising.

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

DO & CO, DUTY FREE INNOVATION, EARTHBAY, ELENIUM AUTOMATION, EN ROUTE INTERNATIONAL, EXPLEO, FACTORYDESIGN

Light-Touch

COVID-19

FAST TRAVEL GLOBAL

GE AVIATION

Health Application ID

eTag

This double-sided electronic bag tag has e-ink displays that travelers configure during at-home check-in. This eliminates airport printing touchpoints. eTag also notifies travelers when their bag is on the belt. IS

FORMIA

Launched in June, this health credential app is designed to medically screen staff and travelers, as well as track cabin disinfection item by item. Passengers can view an aircraft’s cleaning history through the app. All data is brought together and secured by Microsoft Azure Blockchain Service.

Clean Kit Formia’s basic PPE kit contains a flexible plastic pouch, an EVA foam mask, sanitizing wipe packet and gloves. Premium options include a cotton or jersey mask, a sanitizing gel tube or spray and a sustainable pouch made of washable kraft paper.

FLITETEC

FURTHER CORPORATION

The company released this antibacterial stain remover as the coronavirus pandemic intensified in March. It is waterbased and safe to use on leather, soft furnishings and polycarbonate surfaces.

Blockchain technology powers this solution, which helps travel-industry stakeholders handle billing, settlement and payment in real time with no intermediary. The company also envisions the creation of a travel process that combines travel history, health history and biometric ID data.

Further Network

MX14 Aero

GP PRO

KOLO Smart Monitoring System Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the launch customer for this IoT-based facilities management system that keeps tabs on restroom fixtures and alerts custodians when items like soap and paper towels are running low. A feature called Kolo Hygiene creates lists of stocking and disinfection tasks according to official guidelines.

FOODCASE INTERNATIONAL BV

FAST TRAVEL GLOBAL, FOODCASE INTERNATIONAL BV, FORMIA, GATEGROUP, GP PRO, HAECO CABIN SOLUTIONS

The Butler

This meal box is divided into two sections. One is prepacked with items that need to be kept cold. During service, crew slide a hot meal into the adjacent section. The boxes are made of recyclable materials and increase trolley capacity by 15 percent.

HAECO CABIN SOLUTIONS

Mixed Main Cabin Solutions

GATEGROUP

EPax

This passenger-facing platform enables shopping in online and offline cabin environments and features digitized menus and catalogues. A partnership with Black Swan Data allows the platform to forecast consumer preferences based on passenger data. ePax accepts digital payments.

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

Airlines looking to operate flights that carry both passengers and cargo on the main deck now can thanks to Haeco’s four cabin solutions. The In-Seat Stowage and Seat-Front Stowage systems allow seats to remain in place, while the All-in-One Package and Pallet Stowage solutions are full-cargo options.

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

COVID-19

HECOSOL

HONEYWELL

Lufthansa Technik announced in June that this long-lasting virucide was on its radar. Titano is applied electrostatically and sticks to surfaces, killing most viruses for up to one year. Lufthansa Technik wants to determine how it interacts with overhead bins, tray tables, armrests and sidewalls.

Dimer’s GermFalcon was met with limited interest when it was introduced in 2013 – then COVID-19 hit. Honeywell announced an exclusive strategic business relationship with the company in June, and by the end of September Qatar Airways had acquired six units. The battery-operated device can disinfect an Airbus A320 in 10 minutes.

Titano

UV Cabin System

HONEYWELL

INFLIGHT DUBLIN

COVID-19 Communication IFE provider Inflight Dublin is offering a customizable service package consisting of audio, video, digital and physical elements to help airlines communicate COVID-19 protocols to customers. These include multilingual announcements, videos and safety cards.

Safety Pack After conducting an informal survey that asked travelers what PPE they desired most, Honeywell released resealable safety packs containing a mask, latex-free gloves and hand wipes. Crew versions can be ordered with safety glasses and a mask with an interchangeable filter. EC

IDEANOVA

INSUIDE TECHNOLOGIES

Inplay IFE Portal

WiseFly

IdeaNova’s server delivers content to travelers’ personal electronic devices, which helps reduce the number of shared surfaces in the aircraft. The Inplay IFE Portal also enables passenger-topassenger chat to reduce movement around the cabin and can deliver health and safety information to passengers.

HONEYWELL

ThermoRebellion

This airport wayfinding app added socialdistancing alerts so that users are notified when they come too close to one another. Airlines and airports can implement this feature in their own apps and glean realtime insights on crowding.

JAMCO AMERICA

Soft Divider

This AI-powered thermal imager tracks health info on airport personnel seeking access to the building. It can register skin temperature in two seconds and recognize whether a subject is wearing the personal protective equipment required to enter.

This leather-wrapped cabin class divider offers a larger partition in response to the desire for barriers between passengers. Designed for single-aisle aircraft, the divider is flexible enough to allow seats to recline and can feature custom branding. It is certified for the Boeing 737 and is scheduled to be certified for the Airbus A321 later this year.

IIM+

With this solution, airlines can offer live television broadcast feeds to passengers with as much as 90 percent less data consumption. IIM’s patented signalling server technology requires no additional hardware and works with passengers’ PEDs to create a touchless IFE environment.

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

HONEYWELL, IDEANOVA, INFLIGHT DUBLIN, JAMCO AMERICA

IMAGES IN MOTION

COVID-19

KAELIS

LUFTHANSA TECHNIK

Self-Protective Pocket Pouch (SP.3)

Headrest Divider

This PPE amenity kit features a pouch that can be customized for airline branding. It includes a mask, gloves, hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes. The pouch can also include more products from Kaelis’ range of PPE products. The company is also offering eco-friendly, biodegradable and washable pouches.

LED FUTURE

This polycarbonate seat divider is inserted in the magazine compartment of the middle seat and then latched onto the table mounting. One shipset can be installed within a few hours. Lufthansa Technik has begun the process of acquiring a supplemental type certificate for this product.

UVC-LED

Airport operator Finavia tested UVC-LED disinfection technology supplied by LED Future to disinfect empty security trays after each use. The product is based on research conducted by the University of Helsinki, the University of Eastern Finland and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

LUFTHANSA TECHNIK

KAZE

UVC Mobile Lamp

Sunburst UV Bot This Singaporean robot can be used in airports and by the aviation sector in general, according to the company. Once it has a route mapped, it wheels around automatically and disinfects spaces thanks to a large UVC lamp protruding from its base. AE

LEIDOS

In China, aircraft lavatories must now be disinfected every four hours or after every tenth usage. This lamp makes the process quicker and safer for crew: It uses UVC light to neutralize pathogens in 44 seconds. The product comes in wired or wireless versions.

Antimicrobial Security Tray

As part of an agreement announced in June, Edinburgh Airport received new antimicrobial security trays produced by Leidos. An additive is built into the tray during manufacturing and will not wear off during cleaning.

KAELIS , KAZE, LED FUTURE, LEIDOS, LUFTHANSA TECHNIK, LXM

KEYVAN AVIATION

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

LXMRobot disinfects the cabin by shining UVC light. It’s controlled via an app, but once it gets to a designated area, it moves autonomously. This sanitization robot can be used in airports as well.

Comprehensive Prevention Plan

Head-to-toe antibacterial protection for crewmembers is simplified thanks to this uniform with silver ion technology embedded into the fabric, which is 97-percent cotton. The uniforms are suitable for sensitive skin, and the fabric won’t pile.

LXMRobot

LSG GROUP

Airline Crew Antibacterial Uniform

LXM

All of LSG’s US facilities saw the implementation of this prevention plan, which includes an LSG Sky Chefs training program based on CDC recommendations, a digital health self-screening questionnaire for employees to take before leaving home and a web, e-mail and SMS coronavirus communication campaign.

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

COVID-19

MARAKEB TECHNOLOGIES

MONTY’S BAKEHOUSE

Codi Bot UGV

Snack in Pack

This UVC autonomous cleaning robot was piloted in May at Abu Dhabi International Airport’s staff areas and cargo facilities, as well as in the cabins of parked aircraft. It can also disinfect areas using liquid cleaners and has a camera that detects body temperature.

Monty’s has developed a range of sealed, prepacked food boxes. The Snack in Pack has room for a snack and water bottle, while the half-sized tray box has various compartments, including a space for crew to slide in hot meals. IS

NOVEL FOODS

#indulge Snack Pack

MERO

This snack box contains exotic dips paired with either corn snacks or crackers. The snacks are certified vegan, nut-free and gluten-free.

MeroSupply and MeroTraffic Toronto-based company Mero markets MeroSupply sensors, which monitor the status of dispensers and consumables, and MeroTraffic sensors that provide updates on the status of crowding and cleaning operations in spaces like restrooms.

MOVIEBILL

Inflight MGR FOAMTEX

MGRSafeWall MGR Foamtex’s new magnetic cabin panel combats the coronavirus thanks to built-in Biomaster antimicrobial technology. The panel is made from dual-density foam that is up to 60 percent lighter than traditional versions. It also deadens noise and comes in a wide variety of decorative finishes.

NEC

Facial Recognition and Thermal Temperature Screening

Tooshlights

This collection of solutions minimizes touchpoints in the cabin. It includes Onboard Reader, which digitizes print publications, and Companion App, which allows a passenger’s smart device to control seatback IFE.

PANGEA

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

Biometric Smart Card

Smart bathroom stall latches activate a series of overhead lights, providing a touchless way for restroom patrons to determine whether a stall is occupied or not. Travelers can avoid entering a crowded washroom altogether after taking a quick glance at the stall usage monitors.

Welcome Aboard Collection

NEC Corporation of America and its partner company, Infrared Cameras, offer temperature scanners equipped with facial recognition technology that can help airport staff identify travelers with fever. By the end of this year, the Government of Hawaii plans to implement these solutions at publicly owned airports in the state.

MODUS SYSTEMS

PANASONIC AVIONICS

Digital interaction firm Pangea believes that its smart cards could be used by border security to verify a traveler’s COVID-19 status, acting as an immunity passport. The cards can be linked to a country’s medical database or work offline by loading pertinent info onto the embedded chip.

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

MGR FOAMTEX, MONTY’S BAKEHOUSE, NEC, NOVEL FOODS, PANASONIC AVIONICS, PANGEA

This augmented reality (AR) software integrates into an airline’s app and allows passengers to access 3-D content along with safety cards, menus and magazines by scanning a marker printed in the vicinity. Moviebill has created content for major studios like Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros.

COVID-19

PXCOM

In-Cabin Mobility Management (IC2M) To reduce in-flight crowding, PXCom’s new software suite brings four special modules to the IFE system. IC2M facilitates lavatory queue management, regulates access to overhead bins, brings order to the disembarkation process and allows passengers to communicate with crew and other passengers.

PLUSGRADE

Dynamic Seat Blocker Airlines can offer travelers the option to block seats around them with Plusgrade’s offering. An algorithm determines the price of the seat based on parameters set by the airline and targets customers who are most likely to purchase ancillaries.

SIGNATURE PLATING

Antimicrobial Clearcoat This full-service plating facility is using a new clearcoat finish for metal parts that incorporates an antibacterial additive. It neutralizes pathogens that come into contact with the treated surface, reducing the spread of germs.

SITA IS

RETAIL INMOTION

OBR Lite

Retail inMotion’s new approach to onboard retail can be implemented in eight to 10 weeks. It launched in June in partnership with an airline that transitioned from complimentary to retail thanks to the company’s pricing and product-range recommendations.

PREPANGO

PPE Vending Machine These vending machines sell personal protective equipment like face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and wipes. In June, CEO Marcos Modiano said the machines were installed at 30 airports in the US.

SITA Flex SITA’s cloud-based, open API platform enables contactless passenger processing. SITA Flex allows travelers to use their mobile device as a remote control for touchpoints like self-bag drop and checkin kiosks. The solution has been rolled out at San Francisco International Airport.

SAFRAN

PLUSGRADE, PREPANGO, PRESSREADER, PXCOM, SAFRAN, SIGNATURE PLATING, SITA, SKYSUPPLY

Travel Safe This patented suite of solutions, released in June, includes a removable seat partition called Ringfence, pedal-operated seat recliners and a range of disinfectant coatings for seats and tray tables. SKYSUPPLY

PPE Portfolio Airlines can order Skysupply’s kraft paper PPE kits in three sizes. The Small Hygiene Kit contains one disposable face mask and three sanitizer wipes, while the Medium Hygiene Kit includes two disposable masks, hand sanitizer and one pair of nitrile gloves. The Large adds a pack of 10 sanitizer wipes.

PRESSREADER

PressReader Over 150 lounges and 10 airlines offer PressReader’s digital library of thousands of newspapers and magazines in 60 languages. The solution helps create a contactless experience in lounges and aircraft cabins by replacing physical publications. AE

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

COVID-19

TEAGUE

AirShield Teague studied airflow patterns in the cabin and concluded that water-vapor droplets resulting from an unguarded sneeze can reach adjacent passengers. Its solution is a 3-D printed component that fits over overhead vents, diverting droplets toward the floor.

SPIRIANT

UCE MACHINES

CleanBox

#flysafe Amenity Kits

A 2016 study found that, of all the surfaces at the airport, plastic security bins harbored the most respiratory viruses. This led UCE to develop CleanBox, a device that treats the trays with an antibacterial solution that is effective for 72 hours.

In May, Spiriant revealed three PPE kit concepts. The Standard kit includes a non-woven face mask, a small bottle of hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. A brown-and-green Eco Warriors kit is made of sustainable materials and includes a reusable face mask. The Fashionista offers various design options for the 100-percent cotton mask. IN

TENERÍAS OMEGA

Fresco and Rocket

TANGERINE

Hidden Gems

THALES

To reduce the amount of time passengers have their masks off during food service, Tangerine devised this all-in-one meal box concept filled with bite-sized goods. It contains separate compartments for savory and sweet food for travelers to discover at their own pace.

Cogent Face Recognition Platform (FRP) The algorithm at the core of this platform was refined by Thales to be able to recognize people with 99-percent accuracy even when they are wearing a mask. It does this by focusing on the eye area.

TAPIS, BOLTARON, MOLON LABE SEATING

Aircraft Seat Proposal Three companies came together and combined their expertise to draw up plans for a seat that addresses passenger concerns in the COVID-19 era. The design, expected to be completed by 2021, makes use of Molon Labe Seating’s staggered S2 economy-class seat with headrest barriers, Boltaron 9815N thermoplastic and Tapis’ antimicrobial PromessaAV Ultrafabrics for the seat covering. AE

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

VEHANT TECHNOLOGIES

KritiScan UV Baggage Disinfection System This luggage disinfection tunnel, developed in association with the International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, comes in various sizes and is suitable for highthroughput areas like airports. It uses UVC light to neutralize pathogens.

VEOVO

Virtual Queuing and Passenger Density Management Airports looking to solidify socialdistancing initiatives can use Veovo’s Virtual Queuing solution, which allows travelers to book a time for airport processing, thus preventing bottlenecks. Another tool is Passenger Density Management, which uses sensors to alert airport operators to high crowd density.

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

SPIRIANT, TANGERINE, TEAGUE, THALES, UCE MACHINES, VEHANT TECHNOLOGIES

This Spanish tannery developed two ranges of antibacterial leather called Fresco and Rocket. To prevent bacteria from collecting in the material, the company applies special coatings during production. The final product does not contain chlorine or bleach.

COVID-19

VISION SYSTEMS

XOVIS

Xovis Sensors

Barrier

Already adept at manufacturing people flow-management sensors, Xovis is encouraging airports to adopt its technology to oversee social-distancing protocols. Stuttgart Airport is using Xovis sensors already installed in the facility for this purpose.

Pivoting from shading systems to seat barriers, Vision Systems released a transparent, armrest-mounted screen that protects passengers at each seat. The product can be ordered in any size or shape and is treated with an antibacterial finish. AE

WINMAR ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES

GermBuster-Air WinMar Engineering Technologies has partnered with Excimer Wave Sterilray on several anti-virus products for airlines and airports, including this unit, which sterilizes air that passes through an airport’s HVAC ducts using far-UVC light.

VISION-BOX

WKT

Seamless Boarding Gateway

Meal Box

SafeGo

WK Thomas’ meal boxes can house a sealed hot entrée, cutlery, a drink and dessert. Customers can order the boxes preassembled for additional assurance of cleanliness. The boxes are made of sustainable materials.

In July, Vision-Box implemented these e-gates at Terminal 1 of Kansai International Airport. They allow travelers to self-scan boarding passes, reducing contact with staff. Biometric identification can be implemented into the system.

YATES+PARTNERS

This solution brings together over 20 technologies to enable a contactless journey from the curb to the aircraft door. SafeGo’s software makes use of facial recognition, IoT and location intelligence.

XENEX

VISION SYSTEMS, VISION-BOX, WINMAR ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES, XENEX, XOVIS, ZENZORS

LightStrike Robot San Antonio International Airport is using this homegrown technology to disinfect the facility. The LightStrike Robot uses bursts of broad-spectrum UV light to disinfect a room in under 15 minutes. IN

VSHIELDCO

ZENSORS

Vshield

Zensors

By carrying a Vshield stick, airline staff and frequent flyers can protect themselves from disease. The product releases chlorine dioxide vapor that deactivates viruses and bacteria over a 108-square-foot radius for 45 days.

AIRPORT EXPERIENCE

Using machine learning and no additional hardware, Zensors can extract data from the images produced by any closed-circuit camera system. For instance, it can count the number of people in a room and keep occupancy levels in check.

ENTERTAINMENT & CONNECTIVITY

Experience

V10 E4

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

APEX.AERO

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

Start to finish aircraft certification services From engineering design to installation kits When it’s time to modify your aircraft or avionics systems, CertifyNation offers services to streamline the process. Whether it’s a cockpit upgrade, in-flight connectivity, or cabin reconfiguration think CertifyNation. Our aerospace engineers are certification experts, specifically trained to create, design and analyze data that is compliant with various civil aviation authorities’ regulatory and guidance requirements. We partner with leading system OEMs to integrate top of the line technology into your aircraft, efficiently.

www.certifynation.com | 800.742.3191 | info@certifynation.com

Q&A

Darrel Chua IFEC Consultant FTS and Aerodream

Darrel was an IFE engineer for Singapore Airlines before relocating to the US to work for Panasonic Avionics. After moving back to Singapore, he started eFlyte, IFE Services, Envee (China) and later managed the FTS Asia headquarters. Currently, he is the honorary secretary of the Singapore Institute of Aerospace Engineers and also the organizer of the Free and Open Source Singapore Meetup.

YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 26+ FAVORITE AIRPORT:

SIN (but of course) NOW LISTENING TO:

Anything jazz FAVORITE AIRCRAFT:

A380 THE FUTURE OF FLIGHT WILL BE:

Connected

As honorary secretary of the Singapore Institute of Aerospace Engineers, you have devoted nearly 30 years to bolstering Singapore’s reputation as a preferred aviation hub. How has the landscape shifted since you first entered the scene? I got drafted into the Singapore Institute of Aerospace Engineers in 1992, when I was a young intern engineer at Singapore Airlines. My mentor back then was Mr. Lim Yeow Khee, who later became my boss in the in-flight entertainment department and is now the president at the institute. I only took over as honorary secretary at the end of last year and had to modernize operations. The aerospace industry has certainly become more competitive, with more emphasis on bottom line and profitability, but it is still a very niche, closed circle. It’s very difficult for smaller innovative players to break in. With new technologies like AI, machine learning and robotics advancing at such a furious pace, we as an industry need to do better at embracing these technologies, bringing in innovations from outside the industry to level up our game.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF DARREL CHUA

What evolution in IFEC trends has shaken up the industry the most? For me, one of the biggest evolutions must be moving from the analog videotapes to fully digital audio-video on demand (AVOD) at the seat. I still remember implementing airline procedures for crew to operate the bank of 21 Hi8 video players, loading videotapes and cleaning tape heads. I was fortunate enough to be part of the industry movement that made this happen. Nowadays, everyone who travels takes it for granted that AVOD just works, but it was a concerted effort by many amazingly talented individuals. You have founded many startup companies. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from being self-employed? Leaving the comfort zone of a large company to venture out on your own can be an intimidating, life-changing decision. I had to equip myself with knowledge in sales, HR, finance, etc. The most important lesson I learned is not to lose faith when dealt failures. Statistics have shown that more than 90 percent of startups will fail. Learning to get back up and soldier on is part and parcel of running startups. Experience

Out of all the products you have engineered or overseen, which one was the least successful? I had to dig deep into my mental database for the least successful product, but one thing that came to mind was the in-flight fax machine. This was still the old-style analog fax machine transmitting over the Inmarsat Aero-H satellite service at 10.5 Kbps. The problem was that if the page was not fully faxed over and got stuck in transmission, the passengers wouldn’t want to pay the $15 per page. Not only did business-class passengers have to endure the beeping noises, the cabin crew also tore their hair out while repeatedly trying to fax pages to the ground. Removing the in-flight fax machines was one of the best decisions we took at that time. What offering are you most proud of? I am most proud of the EASA STC (Supplemental Type Certification) awarded to the FTS wireless IFE system on Myanmar Airways International A319 aircraft. It was my biggest challenge ever to take a new wireless IFE system (from a new startup) throughout the whole process from design, marketing, sales, certification, installation and eventually commercial launch. There were many aspects, like the STC application process, hardware engineering and aircraft installations that I had not dealt with before. How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted your business? The coronavirus pandemic has certainly wreaked havoc on the aerospace industry, and like many of my friends in the business, I am also adversely affected. To put things in perspective, I was traveling every month throughout my career, but in 2020, my only trip was to LAX in January to attend APEX TECH. FTS also had to scale back on operations and expenses to focus on its core market. The bright side is that I got to spend more quality time with family and have attained Iron Chef-level culinary skills. To better myself during this free time, I started Aerodream to research emerging technologies beyond the IFEC industry, like AI, machine learning and robotics.

| V10 E4 | APEX.AERO

CATERING

A CHANGE OF COURSE In-flight diners are more conscious than ever before, but whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on their minds has changed slightly. by PAUL SILLERS

Experience

V10 E4

APEX.AERO

CATERING

Clockwise: Dnata quickly implemented new safety protocols for its operations. In 2019, Emirates focused on seasonal, route-specific ingredients, such as Alphonso mangos on flights to India. Emirates served strawberry desserts on UK and Ireland routes. Scandinavian Airlines’ New Nordic packaging will curb plastic waste.

PHOTOS: DNATA; SAS; EMIRATES

G Growing interest in the provenance of the foods consumers eat and the vessels in which they are packed is a trend that airlines have been embracing for some time. Recently, this has been evidenced by such initiatives as Singapore Airlines’ From Farm to Plane offering and Scandinavian Airlines’ New Nordic packaging, which replaces plastic containers with paper ones coated with organic plant-based plastic. With over 1 billion onboard meals produced every year, scaling sustainable catering practices to

Experience

the industry-wide level is no mean feat, and though many eco-friendly initiatives have been gathering pace, COVID-19 has added new layers of complexity. Such shifts have led airline caterer LSG to update its 2020 Trend Report before the year even came to a close. Dominik Sharaf, digital communications manager at LSG, says passengers now want even greater transparency with regard to product handling, origin and hygiene, but adds that there are limits regarding availability (considering the large amounts of food airlines provide) and cost (and the willingness of customers to pay for it). While many of the drivers influencing airline catering continue to have relevance, some have been overshadowed by COVID-19, Sunbul Dubuni, director of Customer Insight at LSG, says. “Hygiene has become more interesting. We also see the boost of the health and well-being trends,” she adds. The industry has responded to these health and safety concerns with extra layers of protection, even though the World Health Organization has said there is no evidence that viruses causing respiratory illnesses can be transmitted via food or food packaging. >

V10 E4

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CATERING

“As an industry, we came together quickly to implement elevated global guidelines, processes and policies for our operations,” says Robin Padgett, divisional senior vice-president, Catering, at dnata, referencing the COVID-19 guidelines set forth by the Airline Catering Association (ACA). Modeled on what the ACA calls the four Ps (people, premises, policies/processes/procedures and procurement), the guidelines are designed to provide additional controls and checklists tailored to the local risk landscape to ensure that measures such as social distancing and PPE are being respected. IFSA, which released its COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness Guidance for Airlines and Airline Catering in May, is working alongside ACA to develop standardized guidance that will be unveiled during the FTE APEX Virtual Expo in December.

S SEALED AND DELIVERED

Before the pandemic, aviation was looking to reduce packaging and eliminate non-recyclable materials – especially in Europe where mandates – like Directive (EU) 2019/904 – that promote a circular economy have been introduced. COVID-19 has temporarily slowed this initiative. “Reducing, reusing and recycling is what we strive for,” says LSG’s Sharaf. “It might be temporarily overshadowed by the safety aspect, and new packaging solutions will be explored, but after the COVID-19 crisis this topic might gather speed again.”

At Lufthansa, there has been a temporary revival of single-use plastic due to the new hygiene regulations in place, says airline spokesperson Boris Ogursky. “[But] the replacement of single-use plastic cutlery and closing the [waste] loop for single-use plastic cups are still on our agenda in 2021.” Caterers have had to repackage the pre-flight lounge dining proposition as well: “We’re working with airlines to introduce light-touch, innovative packaging solutions to ensure what the passenger receives hasn’t been heavily handled,” Padgett says. “The dining experience will change in the immediate term … but we have no doubt airlines are focused on quality and, when safe, will return to a fuller culinary service.” That’ll inevitably mean less plastic, too. Outside of lounges, but still on the ground, AtYourGate, an in-airport food and retail delivery service, now offers a touchless delivery option. “Customers who opt for touchless deliveries can retrieve an order after it is placed in a safe area by our team member, who then retreats to an appropriate distance,” says Chris Hartman, AtYourGate’s co-founder and chief experience officer. The shift to touchless catering may signal the possibility of a new ancillary revenue stream for airlines, too, should passengers be willing to pay for fully sealed meals. As of right now, Swiss International Air Lines Experience

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CATERING

Clockwise, starting at top left:

LSG staff, ready to serve.

Emirates served heirloom tomatoes with burrata to firstand business-class passengers traveling to Italy.

JetBlue’s Mediterranean Salad Shaker is a customer favorite.

LSG says passengers want greater transparency with regard to product origin and hygiene.

PHOTOS: EMIRATES; LSG; JETBLUE

is offering the option on long-haul flights, free of charge, on a trial basis. The service can be ordered via phone or online within the booking flow. “Integrating these actions into passengers’ own devices will reduce contact with airline [personnel] and provide another layer of confidence for passengers,” dnata’s Padgett says. The company’s partnership with Bluebox, announced in October, opens the door for airlines to earn ancillary revenue via digital sales of meals and other products. LSG’s Sharaf adds that the adoption of these services will reduce weight load and waste while allowing for improved forecasting data and ancillary revenues. “We’ve been talking about this topic for the last couple of years, but the crisis seems to accelerate the acceptance for it,” he adds.

But not everyone feels that this is the moment to capitalize on catering add-ons. Linda Celestino, vice-president of Guest Service and Delivery at Etihad Airways, says that at the airline, there “has not been a focus on enhancing ancillary sales attached to our in-flight catering during the time of the pandemic. On the contrary, we’ve taken the opportunity to increase our all-inclusive offering in Economy class.”

F FINISHING TOUCH?

It is widely held that in-flight service is what distinguishes one airline brand from another, so what happens when human and product touchpoints are being rethought, readjusted or removed entirely? At JetBlue, buy-on-board items including beer, wine, liquor and snack boxes have been temporarily suspended in the main cabin, as has the selfservice pantry, on select aircraft to minimize touchpoints and crowding in the aisle. “As an alternative, snacks and water are provided in pre-sealed snack bags that can be quickly offered to customers,” says Emma Magee, Corporate Communications, JetBlue. Not even those in Mint are getting their pre-departure beverage and hot towel. But it isn’t suspensions all around. Delta Air Lines flight attendants pass cans and single-serve bottles using trays to minimize touchpoints. “Since beer and wine selections have fewer touchpoints than other adult beverage options and are individually contained, they [will be] the first to be reintroduced on board as Delta brings back food and beverage options,” says Delta spokesperson Olivia Mayes. And with the exception of the Dine on Demand service in business class, Etihad’s in-flight services remain intact. “We’ve had to alter our delivery to meet current health requirements as a result of COVID-19, but we’re not phasing out touchpoints,” Celestino says. “We are maintaining the in-flight offering and not removing from the guest experience and will keep finetuning our in-flight product for the benefit of those who travel with us.” In September, Etihad announced it would test machine-learning software by Lumitics that analyzes which meals passengers aren’t eating in order to track food consumption patterns, optimize planning and reduce waste. With so much in flux at the moment, the reality is that airline catering will have to remain ready to adapt to fast-changing and commercially squeezed realities. “In all classes, we have seen a move to packaged and pre-prepared products, but we expect premium classes to return to a more ‘normal’ service fairly quickly,” Padgett says. In addition to class of service, geography – more specifically how the pandemic develops in different regions – will also dictate an airline’s catering offering. “We’ll have to have different models,” says Dubuni. “But passenger experience will still be the momentum, and out of this experience, airlines will create loyalty.” Experience

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KID-Systeme

Seamlessly innovative and boldly green. KID-Systeme is a market-leading supplier of electronic cabin systems for passenger and corporate aircraft, based in Germany. With their mindset geared towards innovations in technology, sustainability and customer experience, KID counts the most renowned airlines worldwide as their valued customers. Our product range encompasses customizable in-seat power solutions, cabin and cargo safety features, as well as an open hosting platform for applications and entertainment. www.kid-systeme.com

Q&A

Sereen Teoh

Chief Financial Officer AirAsia BIG Loyalty, owned by Biglife Sdn Bhd

Sereen was born and raised in a small fishing village in Penang, Malaysia, where she dreamed of becoming an accountant. She achieved that dream, and now, as CFO of AirAsia BIG Loyalty, brings with her more than 20 years of extensive experience from startups to global multibillion-dollar organizations, including the two largest banks in Malaysia. Her training as an accountant has helped her stretch her money while traveling.

LOCATION: KUL NOW LISTENING TO:

“Savage Love” by Jason Derulo FAVORITE AIRPORT:

EWR to see the Big Apple’s skyline FAVORITE AIRCRAFT:

787 Dreamliner

PHOTO: COURTESY OF SEREEN TEOH

FAVORITE SOCIAL NETWORK: Instagram

Since entering the workforce, you’ve been fast-tracked up the career ladder. What’s your secret to success? I worked extremely hard during the initial part of my career, which sometimes meant extra-long working hours. But I was determined, and I made every hour count – both in terms of helping the company and my personal career growth. I also think, in today’s world, that it’s important to become an expert at something, thereby becoming a valuable resource to others. To do so, you should always build skills that fall outside those needed for your job. That way, you’ll open yourself to more opportunities and advancement. That’s exactly what I did when I became the points expert! And now Biggie, AirAsia BIG Loyalty’s new mascot, is based on me.

With 5,000 BIG Points, my family of four could fly for free, including taxes and fees, from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket and back, for me to attend a monthly sales call on the first Monday of the month.

How has the prospect of traveler loyalty been tested by COVID-19? How is AirAsia getting around this? COVID-19 has impacted travel segments everywhere since March 2020, and we are still not sure when international border restrictions will be completely lifted. Fortunately, BIG Loyalty started venturing into lifestyle in 2018, which has helped minimize the impact of COVID-19 for AirAsia. We started to observe a return on our lifestyle investment during the lockdown period from March 2020 onward. BIG members started to redeem lifestyle products (e.g., e-commerce vouchers) rather than travelrelated products like flights and hotel stays. We have also taken this downturn period to revamp our BIG Loyalty app and launch BIG Deals, a variety of lifestyle vouchers, to capture the boom in e-commerce and also to ensure business sustainability.

You are a strong believer in digitization. What emerging technology excites you most right now? I am a strong believer in driving growth by adding technology instead of headcount and overhead costs. For instance, I have put forth the idea of setting up a B2B self-service marketplace portal for merchants to do everything from onboarding to taking care of administrative matters such as invoices and payments themselves. The system is powered by robotic process automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Other than the above, the emerging technology that most excites me is blockchain, as I believe it could help turn BIG Points into a borderless digital currency across ASEAN, without any gain/loss in foreign-currency exchange. This would mean creating a secure universal exchange hub that could convert undesired currency for spending abroad while traveling. What if you could convert Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles into BIG Points and then into Rakuten points that could be used to buy a cup of coffee while on holiday in Japan?

Biggie is inspired by your reputation for being a savvy bargain hunter. What is one of the craftiest ways you’ve accumulated or used points in the past? In the past, I used to use my AirAsia credit card to top up my BigPay card with MYR 10,000 on a monthly basis, and then I would use my BigPay card to pay my housing and car loans and buy household items and groceries, all through our BIG e-store. Doing so, I would consistently earn 3,333 to 5,000 BIG Points every month. Experience

You previously worked in banking. What lessons did you bring with you into the world of aviation? Being in the highly regulated banking industry for eight years allowed me to bring in good corporate governance and implement proper change management to balance the cowboy-style entrepreneurial work environment at AirAsia. That included setting up a proper quarterly board meeting, a procurement steering committee to evaluate the vendor awarding process and spending budgets.

If you could sit next to anyone on a plane, who would it be? Why? My six-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. The higher you climb the career ladder, the blurrier the line between work and personal time becomes. But we love traveling, and whenever we have time that’s what we like to do to truly bond as a family.

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TRENDS

A Global Outlook

Most airline professionals agree that the industry will emerge from the COVID-19 outbreak fundamentally altered. Experts identify what changes might be here to stay. PHOTO: ISTOCK

by KATIE SEHL

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During a virtual event hosted by APEX and Inmarsat at the end of April this year, aviation executives and professionals were asked if the airline industry would survive the COVID-19 crisis. The consensus? Yes, but fundamentally changed. From health visas to airline subscriptions, here’s what some of these changes may entail. OUT OF BUSINESS

The pandemic has redefined travel. Business and leisure have been swapped for essential and non-essential. Domestic has usurped international. Zoom stands in for any room. Most people who plan to travel are doing so to visit friends and family, finds a recent poll by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Vacations come in a close second. Work trips finish last. In line with these findings, experts expect personal travel to bounce back first. The risk-averse business market will be less bullish – not just because of the widespread adoption of videoconferencing. The economic downswing caused by the 2008–2009 global recession was enough to curb business-travel levels for five years, three years more than it took international leisure travel to recover, according to research from McKinsey & Company. A pandemic compounds financial insecurity with corporate liability. Duty of care, occupational health and safety requirements, disability designations and public-relations risks all stand in the way of putting an employee on a flight. The withdrawal of the roadwarrior dollar from travel and hospitality puts an up to $1.4 trillion dent in the sector’s bottom line, based on 2018 figures. For airlines, that void is almost

existential: Corporate customers account for somewhere between 55 and 75 percent of revenue. And a lot of it may never come back. Both Delta Air Lines chief Ed Bastian and former American Airlines head Robert Crandall have said as much.

HERE TO WORKSTAY

The travel bug is as virile as any virus. For now, afflictions of wanderlust or burnout are being treated at the local level. Tourism boards from Ireland to New Zealand inspire staycations with slogans like “There’s no place like home.” Car and RV rentals spiked, with summer marking the revival of the road trip. Vacation-rental startup Airbnb reemerged from a bruising spring with “Work from anywhere” as its new tagline. In the United States, longer stays, petfriendly rentals and northern states are trending on the platform. “A real fact is everybody’s working remote,” says Elizabeth Becker, travel journalist and author of Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism. Twitter, Slack and Shopify pledged to allow out-of-office work indefinitely. Pinterest put down $89.5 million to unpin itself from a San Francisco office lease. Google will let employees work from home until at least July 2021, and Facebook plans for half of its staff to remain remote over the next five to 10 years. In the non-tech sector, French automaker Groupe PSA plans for offsite work to stay in effect for non-production staff. This shift has contributed to something of an urban exodus, leading many to ring the death knell on expensive cities like London, San Francisco and New York. According to Fortune Analytics, 11 percent of US adults living in urban areas are more likely to move out of their city or county in the next 12 months. “That’s going to affect travel,” Becker says. “I don’t know how, but I think it very much will.”

BEYOND BORDERS

Countries, regions and cities with the cleanest bills of health will offer a new glint of appeal to international travelers when they reopen. At its peak, more than 80 countries rolled up their welcome mats to shut out the spread of the virus. Some nations put down the drawbridge, only to pull it back up again. Others have relaxed borders, but with strings attached. “Quarantine is a demand killer,” said Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of IATA, at a recent press briefing. As an alternative, de Juniac and other industry groups advocate for entry or exit COVID-19 tests to expedite the screening process. Governments have explored travel bubbles or “corona corridors”

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PHOTO: ISTOCK

Most people who plan to travel are doing so to visit friends and family, according to a recent poll by IATA.

that open entry to certain countries. But it’s proven hard to ward off outbreaks. The “trans-Tasman bubble” between Australia and New Zealand, for example, has yet to be fully realized. “When I talk to people inside governments, the timbre of conversation moves more toward opening up safely versus picking and choosing who can and can’t come in,” says Max Tremaine, CEO and co-founder of Sherpa, a leading provider of travel requirements. According to Tremaine, regions are rapidly adopting digital forms, with 117 countries now offering eVisas or eTAs, and 78 with eHealth declarations. “Travel documents are actually a big opportunity,” says Tremaine. “It’s an experience opportunity for the traveler, but also an ancillary revenue opportunity for airlines.” With Sherpa’s tools, travel operators can display up-to-date requirements and allow travelers to add required eVisas to their cart while booking tickets, a service currently offered by American Airlines. Prebooking integration lets customers filter searches based on restrictions and nationality, and opt in to be notified when a preferred destination permits entry. But the greater value may lie in being a purveyor of clarity. “People are crying out for certainty, and if the airline can provide that, that’s valuable,” says airline pricing expert Oliver Ranson. In lieu of full certainty, flexible rebooking policies may linger longterm. United Airlines, American and Delta plan to cancel domestic change fees for good. Other carriers such as Emirates and Virgin Atlantic offer added assurance with free global COVID-19 coverage.

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SUBSCRIPTION REFILL

The pandemic sent the old airline revenue management model on a one-way ticket to irrelevance. “We’ve had a real shock to the pricing industry,” says Ranson. “All the standard data sources and processes are no longer valid for taking decisions.” In unprecedented times, historical data and market indicators no longer provide reliable forecasts. Revenue departments are in search of new models, and some are looking to Amazon- and Netflix-style subscription models for inspiration. China Eastern’s Fly at Will pass offers one of the first post-pandemic case studies for alternative pricing options. For a set price (roughly $500), the pass allows Chinese residents to book unlimited mainland economy fares on weekends through 2020. The pass became available on June 18. Two weeks and 150,000 passengers later, the program was halted due to sales exceeding expectations, reports market intelligence website TNMT. China Express, Spring Airlines and Hainan Airlines have since introduced similar passes. >

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groundbreaking,” says Ranson. When it receives approval from the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, which is expected by the end of the year, the trading platform will allow airlines to hedge ticket fare fluctuations much like they do fuel costs. “COVID-19 has proved the perfect use case for the Skytra Price Indices, as we have seen high increases of ticket price volatility across all geographies,” says a company spokesperson.

Hygiene and physical distancing are already driving cabin designs, such as PriestmanGoode’s Pure Skies concept.

PARING DOWN

The coronavirus has already driven cabin reconfigurations in the name of hygiene and physical distancing. The middle seat still flies empty on some flights. Seats have been offboarded to fit onboard cargo. Dividers have been installed, hygiene kits distributed and masks made mandatory. “Even after COVID-19 has moved beyond the horizon, the focus on health and safety will remain for a generation — just as the impact of 9/11 on airline security remains concretely with us to this day,” says APEX/IFSA CEO Dr. Joe Leader. Will business-class seats disappear with business travelers? And what about reimagining seating divisions altogether as design consultancy PriestmanGoode proposes in its Pure Skies concept? Time will tell. In the meantime, some travelers are going private. “With COVID-19, there’s a whole new definition around what it means to be comfortable when you’re flying,” says Alex Wilcox, CEO of JSX, a hop-on jet service that operates short-haul flights from private jet terminals in the US. Much of the comfort private and semi-private operators like JSX provide occurs preboarding, where crowded terminals are bypassed for exclusive hangars

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PHOTO: PRIESTMANGOODE

Many airlines, including Lufthansa Group and Volaris, had similar offerings prior to the pandemic, but research from airline revenue management software provider PROS suggests subscriptions could be more viable in a post-pandemic economy. More than half of travelers polled expressed an interest in annual airline subscriptions for a flat fee. Add elite privileges and expect to see buy-in from 80 percent of travelers. Luxury travel company Inspirato aims to attract this demographic with its new Inspirato Pass. “The airlines that are able to make good decisions based on understanding what people are going through on a human level when they decide to take flights are the ones that will perform better,” says Ranson. This opens the door wider for firms like Fethr, Migacore and Volantio that collect data on traveler sentiment and intent. What matters most is knowing what to do with the data, says Ranson, who founded Airline Transformation Department in April to advise airline clients along these lines. While revenue teams tackle risk for travelers, Airbus venture Skytra could soon reinvent risk management for airlines. “The idea behind it is truly

TRENDS

and TSA lineups are swapped for background checks and simple screenings. Jets with a maximum capacity of 30 passengers provide peace of mind that the odds of transmission are slimmer. “Before the pandemic, private travel was mostly a question of time-saving. Now, there’s the added component of social distancing,” says Lukas Kaestner, head of Marketing, PR and Events for Hamburg Aviation. “This is something airlines might have to react to,” he says. JSX holds a codeshare agreement with JetBlue, while other airlines, such as Delta and Lufthansa, operate private subsidiaries. Since the pandemic, JSX, Lufthansa Private Jet and similar outfits have seen a rise in first-time and discretionary travelers. With lean jets, fleets and operations, these carriers have an agile advantage over airlines hunkered down with bigger planes and obligations. “We’re able to react a lot more quickly than airlines that have hundreds of airplanes and sometimes tens of thousands of crewmembers,” says Wilcox. With many big airlines flying nearempty jets due to the thinned demand in the long-haul market, the rollout of the single-aisle A321XLR in 2023 could stir up mid-market competition between legacy, low-cost and upstart operators.

The top three measures that would make travelers feel safer

1 COVID-19 screening at departure airports

2 Mandatory wearing of face masks (34%)

(37%)

3 Social distancing measures on aircraft (33%)

Top traveler concerns at the airport

1 Being in a crowded bus/train on the way to the aircraft (59%)

2 Queuing at check-in/ security/ border control or boarding

3 Using airport restrooms/ toilet facilities (38%)

(42%)

SUSTAINABLE BAILOUTS

IATA estimates that global passenger traffic will not return to preCOVID-19 levels until 2024. But while the pandemic shook the travel industry to its core, a bigger challenge looms larger. “The further you think ahead, the more it comes to the sustainability question,” says Kaestner. “We have a situation in aerospace where we have to invest a lot of money over several years anyways, so

Top traveler concerns on aircraft

1 Sitting next to someone who might be infected

2 Using lavatories (42%)

3 Breathing the air on the plane (37%)

(65%)

PHOTO: ISTOCK

Source: IATA traveler survey, July 2020

why not do it right?” That idea has been shared by several governments, most notably in France and Germany, where bailouts have been underpinned with carbon contingencies. “Without regulation, it’s a casino out there,” says Becker. She expects many national and local governments, especially in places once overrun by tourists, will take this downtime to rethink tourism mandates, bringing an end to the era of big tour buses and overtourism in many places. Ideas like “flight-free days” are no longer unfathomable either. “People are starting to realize that travel is a privilege, not a right,” she says.

Global passenger traffic will not return to pre-COVID-19 levels until 2024, IATA predicts.

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PHOTO ESSAY

At LaGuardia Airport, art isn’t an afterthought. by VALERIE SILVA

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PHOTOS: NICHOLAS KNIGHT, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; LAGUARDIA GATEWAY PARTNERS; PUBLIC ART FUND, NY; © SARAH SZE

Only in New York

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; GAVIN BROWN’S ENTERPRISE, NEW YORK, ROME; SADIE COLES HQ, LONDON; AND GALERIE GISELA CAPITAIN, COLOGNE PHOTO: TOM POWEL IMAGING

PHOTO ESSAY

“I started out as an engineer, so I really wasn’t always thinking about art this much,” says Stewart Steeves, CEO of LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the consortium selected by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to rebuild and operate LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B. Art edged into Steeves’ professional purview in 1999, when he began working for the Vancouver Airport Authority, which manages Vancouver International Airport (YVR), home to a sizeable collection of over 200 pieces of Indigenous art. At the time, YVR was parent company to Vantage Airport Group, which it had created five years prior. Vantage and YVR would go on to become strategic partners, with the former leading the group tasked with overhauling the New York City airport and, in keeping with tradition, showcasing original works of art as a priority. Early architecture plans for Terminal B show that sitespecific art was an organizing principle of the space. This is especially true for Sarah Sze’s sculpture Shorter Than the Day, which cascades through a central cutaway, becoming visible to those lingering in baggage claim on the lower level, as well as to travelers awaiting departure on the upper floor. >

NY ceramic mosaic Laura Owens’ I occupies the airport’s largest interior wall with iconic New York imagery such as an ice cream truck and a hot dog. Opposite page: Sarah Sze’s Shorter Than the Day is a five-ton sphere of aluminum and steel rods from which 1,200 snapshots of the New York City sky, taken over the course of a single day, are suspended.

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PHOTO ESSAY

The piece is composed of slim metal rods and 1,200 photographs of the New York City sky taken over the course of a single day. In a glance, it neatly encapsulates the passage of time; with a closer look, viewers will perceive the burning red of midday and the eerie blackness of midnight. On the airport’s most expansive wall is Laura Owens’ I NY, a nearly 25,000-squarefoot tiled mosaic depicting dozens of iconic New York City emblems, referencing everything from MetroCards and the Apollo Theater to a classic street-corner hot dog and a cheesy NY slice, hence the pizza emoji. For her part, Berlin-based artist Sabine Hornig overlaid quotes from and about the airport’s founder and former New York City mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, onto a kaleidoscopic glass facade portraying Manhattan’s legendary skyline. “The balloons show a bit more of a whimsical approach,” Steeves says of the fourth and final piece in the collection, commissioned in partnership with the Public Art Fund. Jeppe Hein’s All Your Wishes features 70 glossy, steel balloons with affixed ribbons mounted as though they had floated to the ceiling. They shadow travelers as they snake through the maze of airport shops and restaurants, like chalk marks on a hiking trail. >

Sabine Hornig took more than 1,100 snapshots of Manhattan for her piece, La Guardia Vistas (top). With All Your Wishes, Jeppe Hein dots the terminal’s retail circuit with 70 steel balloon-shaped sculptures (bottom left and opposite page). The New York City MetroCard also makes an appearance in Owens’ piece (bottom right).

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PHOTOS: NICHOLAS KNIGHT, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; LAGUARDIA GATEWAY PARTNERS; PUBLIC ART, FUND, NY; TANYA BONAKDAR GALLERY, NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES. ©SABINE HORNIG AND VG BILD-KUNST, BONN GERMANY; COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; GAVIN BROWN’S ENTERPRISE, NEW YORK, ROME; SADIE COLES HQ, LONDON; AND GALERIE GISELA CAPITAIN, COLOGNE PHOTO: TOM POWEL IMAGING; NICHOLAS KNIGHT, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; LAGUARDIA GATEWAY PARTNERS; PUBLIC ART, FUND, NY; 303 GALLERY, NY; KÖNIG GALERIE, BERLIN; GALLERI NICOLAI WALLNER,COPENHAGEN.

PHOTO ESSAY

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PHOTO ESSAY

“Given the scale of these pieces, it was a construction project as much as anything else,” Steeves says, describing a situation where virtual techniques were used to limit site visits, worker safety was prioritized when installers and artists did need to be present, and intense coordination with fabrication shops was required to ensure materials weren’t delayed. “It was very challenging, in many respects, to complete during the peak of the pandemic in New York City, but it also showed the ingenuity and get-it-done spirit of New Yorkers to make things happen no matter the context.” The terminal’s grand reveal was held on Saturday, June 13, a day when Governor Cuomo’s daily briefing carried a sheen of optimism thanks to a plateau in COVID-19 cases, a feeling that was ultimately outlived by the implacability of the virus. Despite the ongoing downturn in air travel, Terminal B, with all its artistic touches, generated some genuine buzz – not the usual jeers at the presumed vapidness of airport art. “I mean, it was put on the front page of the New York Times’ Arts section,” Steeves says. “That is probably the first time in history for an airport.”

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PHOTOS: NICHOLAS KNIGHT, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; LAGUARDIA GATEWAY PARTNERS; PUBLIC ART FUND, NY; © SARAH SZE

The title of Sarah Sze’s sculpture, Shorter Than the Day is lifted from the Emily Dickinson poem “Because I could not stop for death,” which is a meditation on mortality, eternity and the passage of time.

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TRAVELOGUE

Why Not Me? My goal is to show kids who look like me that they can fly, too. by COURTLAND SAVAGE • Illustration by FELIPE VARGAS

I flew a plane before I ever actually flew on a plane. I earned my private pilot’s license at 17 years old, a few months before I boarded a CRJ-700 that would take me to the bootcamp of the US Air Force Reserve. It’s the same aircraft that I piloted a decade later for United Express, where I now work. When I was growing up, my dad would take me to the airfield in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I’m from, to watch the planes take off – so maybe the idea of working in aviation was somewhere in the back of my mind, but it’s not something I dreamed of. In high school, I wanted to be a train conductor, but after playing a train simulation game, I let go of that idea: It was just too boring. I did not think about being a pilot because I did not know I could be one. You do not see a lot of people that look like me in the cockpit. There were only two African-Americans in my US Navy squadron, and less than three percent of commercial pilots in the United States are Black. Passengers often think that I am a flight attendant: On a few occasions, while standing at the front of the plane during boarding, I have been handed their bags. Lack of representation is why I started Fly For The Culture, a nonprofit that helps promote diversity and inclusion in aviation. We introduce young minorities to the industry and the different roles available to them by bringing them on tours of airports, maintenance facilities and manufacturers. We also provide free introductory flight lessons and are working on other programs that would help in their would-be careers. My inspiration to fly came about differently. I did not have an organization like Fly For The Culture to encourage me, but I did have Barack Obama. In 2008, when he was running for the

Experience

presidency, I turned to a friend and jokingly said, “If he wins, I am going to learn to fly a plane.” At the time, it was the craziest, most far-fetched idea that came to mind. In my head, flying a plane was just as out of reach for someone who looked like me as the presidency was for someone who looked like him. I remember when the instructor gave me control of the plane for the first time. The feeling was just unreal. Within three months, I had graduated high school early, earned my private pilot’s certificate and was off to the US Air Force Reserve. The military is one of the most cost-efficient ways to get the hours and experience required to fly commercial. I grew up middleclass and was lucky that my parents were able to co-sign a loan so I could afford my initial flight school, which I repaid by scrubbing pots and pans at a hospital. But without the military, becoming a professional pilot would have meant getting saddled with loans. I earned my Bachelor of Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Charleston, South Carolina, while working on the Air Force base and was accepted into the US Navy Officer Candidate Program, in Rhode Island. After completing Officer Candidate School, I moved to Pensacola, Florida, to begin flight school. I selected to fly tailhook aircraft out of primary flight training. Tailhook aircraft at the time included: E-2/C-2, F/A-18, E/A-18. Me and my close friend in flight school decided to pursue the F/A-18 Super Hornet, which required us to move to Meridian, Mississippi, to fly the T-45 Goshawk, an advanced strike-fighter training aircraft for a year, then off to Virginia Beach to start training on the F/A-18. Me and my roommate at the time were the only two Black pilots in the entire squadron, with no Black instructors. >

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TRAVELOGUE

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TRAVELOGUE

This is why I am making my life’s mission the pursuit of diversity in aviation. I love flying commercial planes – I don’t feel like I’ve worked a day since starting my job – and I know that just seeing me in the cockpit can be inspiring for young minorities. Right now, with the Black Lives Matter movement, people are paying more attention, they are listening and coming out to support us like never before, but the need to make aviation more equal has not changed. Fly For The Culture is still in the startup phase – we are only three years old, but I can see the impact we are already having. Last winter, we brought a group of students from West Charlotte High School, which is a predominantly Black high school, to tour the American Airlines facilities. One of the students loved the experience so much that he became the first person we are helping to get their pilot’s license. I recently went flying with

“I remember when the instructor gave me control of the plane for the first time. The feeling was just unreal. Within three months, I had graduated high school early, earned my private pilot’s certificate and was off to the US Air Force Reserve.” Courtland Savage

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him at the same airport where I earned my private pilot’s license. I sat in the back as the student sat in the left seat with a certified flight instructor in the right for his first lesson. One day, I hope our mission statement will change from promoting diversity in aviation to just promoting aviation. Airlines are taking steps to make this happen. The American Airlines Cadet Academy, which removes financial barriers by providing funding for pilot training costs and steps to employment, is a great initiative, for instance. But many of the airlines are not doing enough; when you look at their magazines and social media accounts, they are not showcasing people from different backgrounds. I make it a point to post images of women and minorities flying planes to our Facebook and Instagram pages in the hopes that they might inspire kids who look at them to say: Why not me?

PHOTOS: @FLYFORTHECULTURE

As founder of Fly For The Culture, Courtland Savage (top left) promotes diversity and inclusion in aviation.

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NOW MORE THAN EVER, AUDIENCES NEED ACCESS TO LIVE INTERNATIONAL NEWS In these unprecedented times, audiences are turning to sources they trust for the news stories directly aﬀecting them. From our correspondents on location to our presenters in the studio, BBC World News is delivering the latest breaking news stories to global audiences – from an impartial and trustworthy source.

RAMI RUHAYEM BEIRUT, LEBANON

KASIA MADERA LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

Join BBC World News at the FTE APEX Virtual Expo, 8 - 9 December 2020. Keep an eye out for details in your email inbox, and be sure to visit our stand.

For more information about BBC World News, contact outofhome.sales@bbc.com

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From Academy Award and BAFTA- winner Steve McQueen John Boyega (Star Wars) and Letitia Wright (Black Panther) lead the cast of a deeply personal drama.

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Upcoming Events

2020 FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO The airline industry’s first major virtual tradeshow, hosted by FTE and APEX, will focus on reimagining end-to-end passenger experiences and business performance with industry’s thought leaders and decision makers. 8-9 December 2020

2021 FTE APEX ASIA EXPO

2021 APEX CONTENT MARKET

The largest free-to-attend passenger experience and business performance expo in Asia, jointly delivered by FTE and APEX. 3-4 February 2021 Singapore

The airline industry’s exclusive content marketplace, bringing together airlines, CSPs and diversified distributors offering a range of new and acclaimed TV, movie, GUI, game, app and audio content options. Spring 2021 Europe

2021 FTE ANCILLARY

FTE GLOBAL

2021 APEX EXPO

A worldwide event where the industry gathers to discuss the best ways to generate new digital revenue opportunities at every step of the journey. 9-10 June 2021 Dublin, Ireland

A comprehensive set of conferences. The show delivers the ideas, insights and inspiration that stakeholders need to future proof their strategies and benchmark them against those of their peers from around the world. 8-10 September 2021 Las Vegas, US

The most comprehensive industry marketplace where airline CEOs, executives and decision makers meet with more than 300 exhibitors demonstrating the latest innovations and technologies shaping the future of the endto-end passenger experience. 18-21 October 2021 Long Beach, California, US

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2021 APEX TECH The most essential forum for technical experts from within and outside the airline industry is about cutting-edge technologies, analysis, and trend reporting on issues critical to the aviation industry. June 2021 Los Angeles, US

Changing of the Guard The results are in from APEX’s first digital Annual General Meeting. Here’s what the new APEX and IFSA leaders have to say about what’s ahead for the industry and what they’ll bring to the association.

APEX President

Anton Vidgen Director, Brand Experience Air Canada

With the current industry landscape, why should the APEX community remain engaged? Now more than ever, our members need to work collectively to share best practices on how to rebuild our companies while being strong proponents of public health goals. As a trade association, APEX is ideally positioned to facilitate that conversation, whether that means sharing optimal designs of pre-departure rapid testing or promoting new customer experience innovations.

You are APEX’s new president at a transitional time for the airline industry. What made you want to lead the association at this time? My passion for serving on the APEX Board and for delivering value to our members runs deep. I had the privilege of contributing to some major achievements over the past few years, including a refresh of our visual identity and website, launch of the Official Airline Ratings and the organization of the largest EXPO ever. But this pandemic has thrust a new set of challenges upon the aviation industry and we are collectively looking for guidance on a fast recovery. APEX will play a strong role in advancing our industry’s recovery and I am energized and committed to helping our association and members soar once again. Given the challenges that face the industry in the coming years, what goals do you have for APEX during your term? The pandemic is forcing dramatic changes at every one of our members’ companies and APEX is no different. In the face of this adversity, I will be focused on three things: 1) Positioning APEX as a leading voice on working with governments, businesses and individuals to support the safe restart of commercial aviation; 2) Ensuring financial and organizational stability for the association; 3) Providing creative and productive resources for our members to assist with their recovery.

Experience

While the pandemic has affected the fabric of the industry, APEX members rose to meet the challenges to provide and serve their customers and communities. As the association’s new president, is there anything you would like to say to your fellow APEX members? This crisis is challenging us professionally and personally like few events have ever before. While APEX is here to help our members in any way that it can, I ask of them one thing: Share your innovations with us. Tell us about the incredible sanitization product you’re working on, the amazing movie or TV series that the world needs to see or the cutting-edge software platform that engages customers in novel ways. Help us help you, and together we’ll fuel the recovery that’s already underway. There are sunny skies ahead.

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APEX Vice-President

Andrés Castañeda Chief Customer and Digital Officer & EVP Aeroméxico

You are APEX’s new vice-president at a transitional time for the airline industry. What made you want to lead the association at this time? It is a unique moment within our industry. Now more than ever, associations like APEX can team up and define standards and practices that can help the industry improve and bring back trust to our customers. Given the challenges that face the industry in the coming years, what goals do you have for APEX during your term? It is an honor to have been named vice-president of APEX. My colleagues on the Board and in the association are of the highest level, and the common goals we share unite us. We seek opportunities to face these new challenges, and through education we will improve the passenger experience. We will also keep creating partnerships in several sectors (airlines, airports vendors, etc.) to strengthen our industry.

While the pandemic has affected the fabric of the industry, APEX members rose to meet the challenges to provide and serve their customers and communities. As the association’s new vicepresident, is there anything you would like to say to your fellow APEX members? We must work together to surpass the challenges that COVID-19 poses to the airline industry. The relevance of an association like APEX takes on more importance since it can be a place of convergence to seek a better future. With the current industry landscape, why should the APEX community remain engaged? We are experiencing one of the most challenging times for the airline industry in recent decades, so today it becomes relevant to stay together. One of our key responsibilities as members of APEX will be the creation and implementation of new standards that will be part of the future of the industry. If we want to maintain and strengthen our sector, we must do so by working as a team.

“Associations like APEX can team up and define standards and practices that can help the industry improve.”

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IFSA President

Stephen Kingsley Executive Vice-President, Strategic Development Flying Food Group

You are IFSA’s new president at a transitional time for the airline industry. What made you want to lead the association at this time? COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity to lead IFSA during the most difficult time in its history. It is vital we understand the pandemic’s effect on members and stakeholders, and work to leverage our knowledge, strength and resources to help the association continue to navigate through the crisis. We must swiftly and safely stabilize and restore industry and consumer confidence to pre-pandemic levels. Given the challenges that will face the industry in the coming years, what goals do you have for IFSA during your term? IFSA’s Board will focus on providing continued member value and creative solutions to the challenges facing our industry. We have the expertise and experience to positively influence the regulatory environment, but we must also proactively educate regulators on the unique challenges of the industry and the implications of current and proposed regulations. We will also increase the level of transparency with members about the work happening behind the scenes to support and serve them. Working with the Board, we will help IFSA become a stronger and more valuable association.

can leverage our strengths to support the industry through enhanced regulatory advocacy, varied approaches to operating requirements and standards and increased access to industry information and key personnel via our redesigned website. We need the strength and support of our members to make a difference and move the industry forward. While the pandemic has affected the fabric of the industry, IFSA members rose to meet the challenges to provide and serve their customers and communities. As the association’s new president, is there anything you would like to say to your fellow IFSA members? I would like to convey my sincere appreciation to all our members for the remarkable level of cooperation and support they have provided during this unprecedented time. Responding to this event has been difficult for all industries but, for the aviation sector, it brought unparalleled challenges to an already complex business. Your dedication and commitment enabled us to keep the industry going and will help us create and sustain the new normal going forward. Commercial aviation is an economic engine that fuels our global economy and will help us overcome the ramifications of the current crisis to create a more prosperous future for all of us.

With the current industry landscape, why should the IFSA community remain engaged? IFSA provides members with ongoing and significant value. As a community, we share common goals of serving the travel industry in a very complex and highly regulated environment. Working together, we

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IFSA Vice-President

Steven Murtoff Senior Director, Cabin Services Operations Southwest Airlines

You are IFSA’s new vice-president at a transitional time for the airline industry. What made you want to lead the association at this time? This has no doubt been a very challenging year for the IFSA community and the industry as a whole. We will get through this together; the opportunity to be a part of that resilient effort is something for which I am grateful. We have a strong and tight-knit community of IFSA members and I look forward to serving them. Given the challenges that will face the industry in the coming years, what goals do you have for IFSA during your term? Now more than ever it is paramount that we remain connected and educated on all factors that shape the onboard service pillar of airline hospitality. We will execute on our mandate to be true advocates for our members in making sure their voices are heard, particularly as it relates to governmental affairs and regulations that affect our members. In addition, we strive to offer thought leadership on issues that matter to our people.

With the current industry landscape, why should the IFSA community remain engaged? Our greatest strength is our unity as a community and association. While airline service has changed dramatically this past year, we will bounce back together with fresh ideas and new ways of offering service as we navigate the path forward. Our members will continue to benefit from the strong partnerships and collaborative culture that IFSA has helped forge over time. While the pandemic has affected the fabric of the industry, IFSA members rose to meet the challenges to provide and serve their customers and communities. As the association’s new vice-president, is there anything you would like to say to your fellow IFSA members? Thank you. We are certainly all in this together and we will get through this. I look forward to serving this powerful and resilient IFSA community.

“Our members will continue to benefit from the strong partnerships that IFSA has forged.”

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Coming Attractions

IFE

Ammonite

The Bay of Silence

Director: Francis Lee Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Kate Winslet, Fiona Shaw, Gemma Jones

Director: Paula van der Oest Cast: Claes Bang, Olga Kurylenko, Brian Cox

1840s England, an infamous fossil hunter and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever. Worldwide, excluding US

The sudden disappearance of his wife and children after the birth of their son sends a man on a frantic search across Europe to regain his family and piece his life back together. The mystery behind his wife’s actions slowly begins to take a dark and menacing form.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES CONTACT: JOAN FILIPPINI

Distribution:

Worldwide CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF CINESKY PICTURES

Beasts Clawing at Straws Director: Kim Yong-hoon Cast: Jeon Do-yeon, Jung Woo-sung, Bae Seong-woo

Jung-man finds a bag full of cash; Taeyoung is in trouble after his girlfriend runs away with the money he borrowed from a loan shark. Mi-ran, caught between her husband’s violence and a dead-end job as a bar hostess, finds a young lover Jin-tae, who offers to kill her husband.

Blackbird Director: Roger Michell Cast: Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Rainn Wilson, Sam Neill, Anson Boon

A terminally ill mother arranges to bring her family together one last time before she dies. Distribution:

Distribution:

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IFE

Black Widow

La Bonne épouse

Break

Director: Cate Shortland Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, William Hurt

Director: Martin Provost Cast: Juliette Binoche, Edouard Baer, Yolande Moreau, Noémie Lvovsky

Director: Michael Elkin Cast: Sam Gittins, Rutger Hauer, David Yip, Jamie Foreman

Alsace. The local homemaker school’s mission is to train its young students to become ideal housewives. To hold one’s home and to bend to marital duty is what the school’s director teaches, but on the eve of the events of May 1968, she will see all her certainties waver.

Pursued by a dangerous street gang, a troubled young inner-city snooker player is challenged by a mysterious Chinese pool player to turn his life around and enter a Beijing snooker tournament which could save his life.

Distribution:

Worldwide

Natasha Romanoff (aka Marvel’s Black Widow) confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. Distribution:

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

Worldwide, excluding France, Benelux, US, Australia, New Zealand SKEYE CONTACT: ISABELLE BÉGIN

Christmas Break-In

Coastal Elites

Come Away

Director: Michael Kampa Cast: Cameron Seely, Danny Glover, Denise Richards, Katrina Begin, Jake Van Wagoner, Sean O’Bryan

Director: Jay Roach Cast: Bette Midler, Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Levy, Sarah Paulson, Issa Rae

Director: Brenda Chapman Cast: Angelina Jolie, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Caine, David Oyelowo

Izzy is an energetic nine-year-old. Overscheduled and running late, Izzy’s parents can’t pick her up on time on the last day of school before Christmas break. A blizzard complicates matters while she is at school alone. The janitor is kidnapped by intruders, and it’s up to Izzy to save the day!

From playwright Paul Rudnick comes this satire that tells the stories of five distinct and impassioned characters as they grapple with politics, culture and the pandemic. Filmed under quarantine guidelines in the summer of 2020, this comedy portrays characters who react with frustration, hilarity and introspection when faced with the shutdown in isolation.

Before Alice went to Wonderland, and before Peter became Pan, they were brother and sister. When their eldest brother dies in a tragic accident, they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, US and Canada.

Worldwide

ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS

HBO CONTACT: KALLIOPE DIAKOS

PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF PICTUREWORKS

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada

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IFE

Coming 2 America

Death on the Nile

Le discours

Director: Craig Brewer Cast: Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones, Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, Garcelle Beauvais

Director: Kenneth Branagh Cast: Annette Bening, Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer

Director: Laurent Tirard Cast: Benjamin Lavernhe, Sara Giraudeau, Kyan Khojandi

Worldwide

Based on the 1937 novel by Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile is a daring mystery-thriller about the emotional chaos and deadly consequences triggered by obsessive love. Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot’s Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple’s idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.

Stuck at a family meal, Adrien waits for Sonia to answer his text message and end the “break” she has been giving him for a month. And now Ludo, his future brotherin-law, asks him to make a speech for the wedding! Adrien panics. But what if this speech was ultimately the best thing that could happen to him?

PARAMOUNT PICTURES CONTACT: JOAN FILIPPINI

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding France

In this sequel to the 1988 comedy Coming to America, Akeem learns he has a long-lost son in the United States and must return to America to meet the unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda. Distribution:

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

Distribution: SKEYE CONTACT: ISABELLE BÉGIN COPYRIGHT: CHRISTOPHE BRACHET

Doctor

The Donkey King

The Doorman

Director: Tristan Séguéla Cast: Michel Blanc, Hakim Jemili

Director: Aziz Jindani Cast: Kenny Knox, Mark Dohner, Bobbi Hartley, Dan Green, Mike Pollock, Tyler Bunch

Director: Ryûhei Kitamura Cast: Ruby Rose, Jean Reno

Serge is the only doctor doing house visits on Christmas Eve. He has an accident with Malek, a food delivery guy, who will have to become the doctor in his place for that night. Worldwide, excluding France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Greece, Italy, Israel

Khan, the lion king of Azad the Jungle Kingdom, is growing old. He decides he must retire – his son Prince Shazad should inherit the throne. But the animals have a different idea: democracy! Khan reluctantly agrees to an election, thinking Prince Shazad will win easily. A donkey named Mangu, a laborer, becomes their newly-elected king.

O’BRIEN INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: JACQUELINE BRIENS

Distribution:

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A former Marine returns from combat and befriends a family in NYC, whose valuables are being targeting by a gang of thieves. She is all that stands between them and the family’s lives. Distribution:

Worldwide ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION

IFE

Dune

Elsewhere

Falling

Director: Denis Villeneuve Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista

Director: Hernan Jimenez Cast: Aden Young, Parker Posey, Ken Jeong, Jacki Weaver, Beau Bridges

Director: Viggo Mortensen Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Lance Henriksen, Laura Linney, Terry Chen

A down-on-his-luck widower is kicked out of the house he built, and while finding ways to get his home back, he unexpectedly falls in love with its new owner.

An aging conservative man leaves his rural farm life to live with his gay son’s family in Los Angeles. As these two very different worlds collide, father and son confront the events that have torn them apart, their relationship over the last 40 years and their differing recollections of family.

Paul Atreides must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive. Distribution:

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada

Distribution:

TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: NADJA RUTKOWSKI

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada

CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON

Worldwide, excluding China

The Father

Free Guy

French Exit

Director: Florian Zeller Cast: Olivia Colman, Anthony Hopkins, Rufus Sewell, Olivia Williams, Imogen Poots

Director: Shawn Levy Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Taika Waititi

Director: Azazel Jacobs Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts

A bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game decides to become the hero of his own story – one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way, before it is too late.

“My plan was to die before the money ran out,” says 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite Frances Price, but things didn’t go as planned. Her husband Franklin has been dead for 12 years and with his vast inheritance gone, she cashes in the last of her possessions and resolves to live out her twilight days anonymously in a borrowed apartment in Paris.

Anthony is 80, mischievous, living defiantly alone and rejecting the caregivers that Anne, his daughter, introduces. However, Anne can’t make daily visits anymore and Anthony’s grip on reality is unraveling. As we experience the ebb and flow of his memory, how much of his own identity and past can Anthony cling to? Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Canada SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES COPYRIGHT: IMAGE BY TOBIAS DATUMAS. COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

COURTESY OF CINESKY PICTURES

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IFE

Happiest Season

Honest Thief

I Am Woman

Director: Clea DuVall Cast: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, Victor Garber

Director: Mark Williams Cast: Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh, Jai Courtney

Director: Unjoo Moon Cast: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Evan Peters, Danielle Macdonald, Matty Cardarople

Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.

This uplifting biopic tells the story of Helen Reddy, the fiercely ambitious Australian singer behind the 1971 megahit anthem that became the rallying cry of the women’s liberation movement.

Meeting your girlfriend’s family for the first time can be tough. Planning to propose at her family’s annual Christmas dinner – until you realize that they don’t even know she’s gay – is even harder. When Abby learns that Harper has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew.

Distribution:

Worldwide SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES

CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON

I Carry You With Me Director: Heidi Ewing Cast: Armando Espitia, Christian Vazquez

Academy-Award nominee Heidi Ewing’s debut as a narrative filmmaker follows a tender romance spanning decades. Starting in provincial Mexico and then sharing a life together in New York City, this is the intimate love story of Iván and Gerardo, as well as a soulful rumination on family, sacrifice, regret and ultimately, hope. Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Canada SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES COPYRIGHT: IMAGE BY JUAN PABLO RAMIREZ. COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

John Lewis: Good Trouble

A Journey to the Seaside

Director: Dawn Porter Cast: John Lewis, Bill Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Director: Sha Yi Cast: Sha Yi, Sha Junbo

Chronicles the life and career of the legendary civil rights activist and Democratic Representative from Georgia. Using interviews and rare archival footage, the film showcases John Lewis’ 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health-care reform and immigration. Distribution:

Shen Tong, an unreliable private car driver, receives a long-distance order from Beijing to Zhoushan. The passengers are a little bit special, including an eight-year-old boy, Nan Nan, and a dog called Galileo. The trip heals two lonely hearts, helping them to start a new journey in their own life. Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Mainland China

Worldwide

ENCORE INFLIGHT LIMITED CONTACTS: ELSLYN LUA AND EDWIN CHEUNG

TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: ALESSANDRO DIGIOVANNA

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Australia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Ashmore & Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Fiji, Tonga, Cook Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tokelau Islands, East Timor

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IFE

La Llorona

Lost in Russia

Made in Italy

Director: Jayro Bustamante Cast: María Mercedes Coroy, Sabrina De La Hoz, Julio Díaz, Margarita Kénefic

Director: Xu Zheng Cast: Xu Zheng, Huang Meiying, Yuan Quan

Director: James D’Arcy Cast: Liam Neeson, Micheál Richardson, Valeria Bilello, Lindsay Duncan

Alma and her sons are murdered in Guatemala’s armed conflict. Thirty years later, a criminal case is brought against Enrique, a retired general who oversaw the genocide. When he’s acquitted, the spirit of La Llorona is unleashed to wander the world like a lost soul among the living. At night, Enrique starts to hear her wailing.

When entrepreneur Ivan Xu plans to follow his estranged wife to the US in order to scupper a deal, he realizes that his mother has taken his passport and, while trying to retrieve it, ends up trapped on the Beijing to Moscow TransSiberian Express with her. The six-day trip gives Xu much time to bicker and bond with his mother whom he has been neglecting for years.

Bohemian London artist Robert returns to Italy with his estranged son Jack to make a quick sale of the house they inherited from his late wife. They find the once beautiful villa in a state of disrepair, renovations go badly, and father and son find themselves at odds.

Distribution:

CINESKY PICTURES CONTACT: MARK HORTON

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding the Americas, UK, France, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand

Worldwide, excluding China

Distribution:

Worldwide

ENCORE INFLIGHT CONTACT: ELSLYN LUA AND EDWIN CHEUNG

EMPHASIS VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED CONTACT: GIGI LEE

DU VOLCAN 2019

ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED

Marjaavaan

Misbehaviour

My Spy

Director: Milap Zaveri Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Sidharth Malhotra, Tara Sutaria

Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Cast: Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Greg Kinnear, Jessie Buckley, Rhys Ifans

Raghu and Zoya are enjoying their lives together until a gang leader with harmful intentions turns their world upside down.

A group of women hatch a plan to disrupt the 1970 Miss World beauty competition in London.

Director: Peter Segal Cast: Dave Bautista, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Ken Jeong, Kristen Schaal, Chloe Coleman

Distribution:

Worldwide

EROS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA LTD CONTACT: PRASHANT GAONKAR

ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS

JJ, a hardened CIA operative, has been demoted and finds himself at the mercy of a precocious nine-year-old girl named Sophie after he is sent undercover to surveil her family. In exchange for not blowing JJ’s cover, Sophie convinces him to spend time with her and teach her to be a spy. Distribution:

Worldwide TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: NADJA RUTKOWSKI COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF STXFILMS

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IFE

The Nest

Nine Days

Not Quite Dead Yet

Director: Sean Durkin Cast: Carrie Coon, Jude Law, Anne Reid

Director: Edson Oda Cast: Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, Bill Skarsgård

Director: Shinji Hamasaki Cast: Suzu Hirose, Ryô Yoshizawa, Shin’ichi Tsutsumi

Will spends his days in a remote outpost watching the live Point of View feeds of people going about their lives, until one subject perishes, leaving a vacancy for a new life on Earth. Soon, several candidates – unborn souls – arrive at Will’s to undergo tests determining their fitness, facing oblivion when they are deemed unsuitable. But Will soon faces his own existential challenge in the form of free-spirited Emma, a candidate who is not like the others.

Angst-ridden student Nanase Nobata lives with her father, president of a pharmaceutical company. She is resentful of his nagging and often exhorts him to drop dead. In order to expose a corporate spy, her father takes a revolutionary new drug which causes temporary death. Nanase races to prevent his cremation before he can revive.

An ambitious entrepreneur persuades his American wife and their children to leave the comforts of suburban America and return to his native England during the 1980s. Soon the promise of a lucrative new beginning starts to unravel, and the couple have to face the unwelcome truths lying beneath the surface of their marriage. Distribution:

Distribution:

Worldwide, except Japan

Worldwide, excluding Canada

EMPHASIS VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED CONTACT: GIGI LEE

SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES

One Night

Only

Pagalpanti

Director: Kazuya Shiraishi Cast: Takeru Satoh, Ryôhei Suzuki, Mayu Matsuoka

Director: Takashi Doscher Cast: Freida Pinto, Leslie Odom Jr., Chandler Riggs

Director: Anees Bazmee Cast: Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Ileana D’Cruz

One night, at the offices of Inamura Taxi, three children wait for their parents to come home. When their mother Koharu finally turns up, her hands tremble as she makes a shocking confession: “I just...killed your father.” To protect her children from her husband’s relentless violence, she has chosen to sacrifice herself by committing a crime.

After a comet releases a mysterious virus that begins to kill all women in the world, a young couple’s relationship is severely tested. They hide out from both the illness and the savages who hunt the remaining living women. The duo heads to the wilderness for one final experience together. They stay hidden to stay alive.

Raj Kishore has a Sade Sati: his two friends Junky & Chandu unwittingly become a part of his unfortunate but hilarious journey. They encounter two mafia members and begin a game of cat and mouse as they attempt to turn in the villains to the authorities.

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada

Worldwide

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Japan ENCORE INFLIGHT CONTACTS: ELSLYN LUA AND EDWIN CHEUNG

PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF PICTUREWORKS

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Distribution: EROS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA LTD CONTACT: PRASHANT GAONKAR COPYRIGHT: EROS INTERNATIONAL

IFE

Peninsula

Proximity

Rebuilding Paradise

Director: Yeon Sang-ho Cast: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun

Director: Eric Demeusy Cast: Ryan Masson, Highdee Kuan, Christian Prentice, Shaw Jones, Don Scribner

Director: Ron Howard

Four years after a zombie outbreak swept South Korea, Jung-seok returns from exile on a secret mission. However, his operation goes haywire when ambushed by a mysterious militia unit and even more vicious hordes of zombies. Min-jung, mother of two and an uninfected survivor of the zombie apocalypse, tries to assist Jung-seok in his attempt to escape the peninsula once and for all. Distribution:

A young NASA JPL scientist is abducted by extraterrestrials, but when no one believes his story he becomes obsessed with finding proof that leads him on a journey of discovery. A sci-fi adventure where believing is seeing! Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Mainland China

Worldwide, except Korea

PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI

EMPHASIS VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED CONTACT: GIGI LEE

On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, a devastating firestorm engulfed the city of Paradise, California. This film, from Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard and Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer, is a moving story of resilience in the face of tragedy, as a community ravaged by disaster comes together to recover what was lost and begin the important task of rebuilding. Distribution:

COURTESY OF EMPHASIS VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED

Red Penguins

Retreat to Paradise

Rumble

Director: Gabe Polsky Cast: Howard Baldwin, Steven Warshaw

Director: Brian Brough Cast: Melanie Stone, Brian Krause, Casey Elliott

Director: Hamish Grieve Cast: Will Arnett, Terry Crews, Geraldine Viswanathan

Ellie tends to the injured and cantankerous Jordan as he heals from a shoulder injury. Though he struggles to learn to use his arm again, his attitude leaves Ellie wanting to leave him in his misery. But as they get to know each other more, Jordan starts to see Ellie is exactly who he wants in his life.

In a world where monster wrestling is a global sport and monsters are superstar athletes, teenage Winnie seeks to follow in her father’s footsteps by coaching a lovable underdog monster into a champion.

An eccentric American marketer journeys into the heart of “The Wild East” – Russia in the 1990s. A bizarre and absorbing story highlighting a pivotal moment in US-Russian relations in a lawless era when Hollywood and advertisers meet oligarchs and gangsters, and multiple murders go unsolved. Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Alto Adige, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg TERRY STEINER INTERNATIONAL CONTACT: ALESSANDRO DIGIOVANNA

Distribution:

Worldwide

Worldwide, excluding Balkans, Spain, UK

PARAMOUNT PICTURES CONTACT: JOAN FILIPPINI

SKEYE CONTACT: ISABELLE BÉGIN

COURTESY OF SKEYE

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IFE

The Secret Garden

Soul

The Soul of America

Director: Marc Munden Cast: Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Dixie Egerickx, Edan Hayhurst, Amir Wilson

Director: Pete Docter Cast: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Questlove, Daveed Diggs

Director: KD Davison

When 10-year-old orphan Mary is sent to live with her reclusive uncle and his strict housekeeper in a country manor, her curiosity leads her to discover an enchanted garden which ultimately unlocks secrets from the past and reveals a new life of hope and friendship. Distribution:

Outside North America PENNY BLACK MEDIA CONTACT: CATHIE TROTTA

Joe Gardner, a middle-school band teacher, gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth.

Based on Jon Meacham’s 2018 bestseller, this feature documentary illuminates our present-day, fraught political reality by exploring historical challenges of the past such as the women’s suffrage movement, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, McCarthyism, and the struggle to pass Civil Rights legislation in the 1960s.

Distribution:

Worldwide

DISNEY STUDIOS NON-THEATRICAL CONTACT: MELINDA MEYER-GILMORE

HBO CONTACT: KALLIOPE DIAKOS

PROPERTY OF HOME BOX OFFICE, INC.

Summerland

Supernova

Tenet

Director: Jessica Swale Cast: Gemma Arterton, Gugu MbathaRaw, Penelope Wilton, Tom Courtenay

Director: Harry Macqueen Cast: Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci

Director: Christopher Nolan Cast: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Clémence Poésy

A woman during World War II opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him. Distribution:

Worldwide ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION

Sam and Tusker are traveling across England in their old RV to visit friends, family and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, their time together is the most important thing they have. Distribution:

An action epic evolving from the world of international espionage. Distribution:

Worldwide

WARNER BROS. CONTACT: JEFF CRAWFORD

PENNY BLACK MEDIA CONTACT: CATHIE TROTTA

Experience

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IFE

The Third Day

To the Stars

Un Triomphe

Directors: Philippa Lowthorpe, Marc Munden Cast: Jude Law, Naomie Harris, Emily Watson, Katherine Waterston

Director: Martha Stephens Cast: Kara Hayward, Liana Liberato, Shea Whigham, Jordana Spiro, Adelaide Clemens, Lucas Jade Zumann

Director: Emmanuel Courcol Cast: Kad Merad, David Ayala, Lamine Cissokho

Told over six episodes in two distinct halves, this thriller is set on Osea, a mysterious island off the British coast. “Summer” centers on Sam, a man drawn to Osea whose residents are set on preserving their traditions at any cost. “Winter” follows Helen, a strong-willed outsider whose arrival precipitates a battle to decide its fate.

In 1960s Oklahoma, bespectacled and reclusive teen Iris endures the boozeinduced antics of her mother and daily bullying from her classmates. She finds solace in Maggie, the enigmatic new girl at school, who hones in on Iris’s untapped potential and coaxes her out of her shell.

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding: UK, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, German-speaking Luxembourg, Germanspeaking Switzerland, German-speaking Alto Adige, Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, Italian-speaking Switzerland, Capodistria, Monte Carlo and Malta HBO CONTACT: KALLIOPE DIAKOS

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI

To make ends meet, a struggling actor agrees to host a theater workshop in prison. Surprised by the inmates’ acting skills, he decides to put on a play with them on the stage of a real theater. Then begins a wonderful human adventure. Inspired by a true story. Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding France, DOM-TOM, Monaco, Andorra SKEYE CONTACT: ISABELLE BÉGIN COPYRIGHT: DUCHILI

The Truffle Hunters

The Undoing

Warrior

Directors: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw

Director: Susanne Bier Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Donald Sutherland, Edgar Ramirez, Lily Rabe, Noma Dumezweni

Cast: Andrew Koji, Dianne Doan, Dean Jagger, Jason Tobin, Kieran Bew, Joe Taslim

In the secret forests of Northwest Italy, a dwindling group of joyful old men and their faithful dogs hunt for the world’s most expensive ingredient: the white Alba truffle. This real-life fairy tale celebrates human passion in a community struggling to protect its fragile land and a way of life forgotten in time. Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding Canada SONY PICTURES RELEASING CONTACT: RANA MATTHES IMAGE BY MICHAEL DWECK AND GREGORY KERSHAW. COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Grace and Jonathan Fraser are living the only lives they ever wanted for themselves. Overnight a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Horrified by how she has failed to heed her own advice, Grace must dismantle one life to create another for her family. Distribution:

Season 2 of the action-packed series, based on the writings of martial arts legend Bruce Lee and set in the ruthless world of late 19th-century San Francisco, where rival Chinatown tongs fight for dominance amid the growing anti-Chinese fervor that threatens to destroy them all. Distribution:

Worldwide

CINEMAX CONTACT: KALLIOPE DIAKOS

HBO CONTACT: KALLIOPE DIAKOS

RESERVED. CINEMAX® AND RELATED CHANNELS AND SERVICE

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The War With Grandpa

Weathering With You

Director: Tim Hill Cast: Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, Jane Seymour

Director: Makoto Shinkai Cast: Kotaro Daigo, Nana Mori

Upset that he has to share the room he loves with his grandfather, Peter decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back. Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION CONTACT: LYNDA HARRISS COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF ENTERTAINMENT IN MOTION

In a time of perpetual rain, a runaway arrives in Tokyo where he meets a sweet girl who is able to turn the sky blue. After falling in love with her, he learns that she is a mythical figure who loses part of her life force every time she clears the sky and lets the sunshine in. Distribution:

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Director: Jim Cummings Cast: Jim Cummings, Riki Lindhome, Robert Forster, Jimmy Tatro, Marshall Allman, Chloe East

Terror grips a small mountain town as bodies are discovered after each full moon. Losing sleep, raising a teenage daughter, and caring for his ailing father, officer Marshall struggles to remind himself there’s no such thing as werewolves. Distribution:

Wonder Woman 1984

Yes, God, Yes

Director: Patty Jenkins Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, Connie Nielson

Director: Karen Maine Cast: Natalia Dyer, Francesca Reale, Alisha Boe, Allison Shrum, Timothy Simons

Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing all-new foes.

After an innocent AOL chat turns racy, a teenager in the early 2000s discovers and struggles to suppress her new urges in the face of eternal damnation. For the first time, Alice realizes she can decide for herself what to believe and finally gets the release she needs.

Distribution:

Worldwide, excluding US and Canada PICTUREWORKS CONTACT: AVINAASH JUMANI COPYRIGHT: COURTESY OF PICTUREWORKS

Experience

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Did you know... Encore is celebrating our th

Anniversary this year !

For your inflight content needs, please call: Elslyn Lua | elslyn@encoreinflight.com | (65) 9766 2429 Edwin Cheung | edwin@encoreinflight.com | (852) 2964 2066

POTD

#APEXPOTD Want to land your photos in print or in the APEX Daily Experience newsletter? Share your aviation snapshots on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #APEXPOTD for a chance to be featured.

Yusuf Khan-Cheema @yusufkc_photography Favorite planespotting location:

Close call between Myrtle Avenue at LHR and the In-N-Out at LAX

Camera:

Nikon D3400 with Nikkor 70-300mm lens Location:

BHX

Occupation:

ATPL trainee

What’s your favorite planespotting memory? Flying over Cotswold Airport to photograph all the retired Boeing 747s parked there. It was my first flight after the UK lockdown was lifted. What tips can you share about capturing the perfect shot? The most important technique I have learned is panning, when you follow the aircraft’s movement with your camera to ensure it is as sharp as possible. Keep your elbows tucked in next to your body and support the lens with your left hand (to minimize camera shake). Setting your camera’s shutter speed above 1/250s also helps to eliminate shaking. How has the pandemic impacted your hobby? It made me realize how much I took aviation for granted. Now I find myself searching flight radar for hours on end, researching one-off cargo flights by the Antonov An-225 and Airbus BelugaXL as well as 747 retirement flights. Get your daily dose of planespotter pictures and top PaxEx headlines: APEX.AERO/NEWSLETTER

Pink skies and a palm tree in Beverly Hills, captured as Khan-Cheema’s time in California was coming to an end.

An RAF A400M approaches Birmingham Airport during the golden hour.

Capturing the end of the Queen of the Skies era above Cotswold Airport.

United Express swoops into LAX during a glorious sunset.

A British Airways Boeing 787-9, creatively reflected.

Instagram @theapexassoc

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Twitter @theapexassoc

THROWBACK

Southwest was founded by Herb Kelleher in 1971.

Turn Back the Clock Short turnarounds were once celebrated for keeping fares low and passengers happy. Now, during the pandemic, they’d do more harm than good for an airline’s brand.

In 1972, Southwest Airlines was only a year old and operating solely within the state of Texas. It had just posted a loss of $1.6 million and sold one of its four planes to avoid bankruptcy. The airline was left with three Boeing 737 jets to service Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The fledgling startup airline got a dose of innovation from an old hand in the industry: Bill Franklin, Southwest’s first vice-president of Ground Operations, who brought with him a wealth of experience working with Frontier Airlines and Trans-Texas Airways. His big idea: reduce the refueling, cleaning and turnover time – “the turn” – for the remaining aircraft to a mere 10 minutes, thus maintaining the passenger capacity once managed by four aircraft. Making the 10-minute turn a reality required getting everyone with hands on the aircraft – from flight attendants to ground crew – to believe it was possible in the first place. Franklin’s somewhat forceful management style was a key factor here: inspiration peppered with a bit of fear, according to those present during early meetings about this strategy. The 10-minute turn was carried out like something between an assembly line and a NASCAR pit stop, beginning as soon as the plane stopped moving. Flight attendants would race through the cabin, removing passengers’ luggage from the overhead bins so the plane could be emptied more quickly. As arriving passengers left the aircraft, departing passengers would board. Meanwhile, ground crews would be refueling the plane and emptying the trash. The 10-minute turn saved Southwest from bankruptcy; 96

Experience

eight years later it expanded service to other US states, an expansion that would later include Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America and the Caribbean. It was a different era: The aircraft would push back from the gate before passengers even took their seats, there were no satellite connectivity issues or seatback screens to fix and there certainly wasn’t the looming threat of coronavirus. In the wake of COVID-19, airlines the world over are spending extra time during turns sanitizing aircraft interiors. In 2018, Southwest managed an average turn time of 35 minutes. At the height of the pandemic, that number ballooned to 50 minutes as crew painstakingly wiped down seatbelt buckles, armrests, window shades, reading lights, vents, tray tables and lavatories between flights. As the airline slowly ramped up its schedule in August, it began delegating the majority of those tasks to the nightly cleaning crew, who would spend six to seven hours deepcleaning the aircraft. “We are optimizing our cleaning tasks to fit into the scheduled turn times, as the amount of extra staff available to clean during the turns decreases as we increase our flight schedule from March, April and May levels,” Southwest spokesperson Brian Parrish says. Today, even the fastest turns make Franklin’s brainchild seem like a fever dream. But his legacy lives on in the carefully choreographed way that refueling, restocking and cleaning are still conducted today.

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PHOTO: SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

by JORDAN YERMAN

PIONEER THE FUTURE We are looking forward to brighter skies ahead. We can’t wait to partner with you in the future, to make ﬂying an experience that everyone looks forward to, again.