Category: Blog

Inflight Dublin has been selected by Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines, the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan, to provide its end-to-end wireless Inflight Entertainment (IFE) solution, Everhub™.

As part of a 5-year partnership, Inflight Dublin will initially be equipping three of Drukair’s A319 and A320 aircraft with its Everhub™ Wireless IFE solution. Consisting of Hardware, Software and Content, Drukair’s passengers will have access to a wide range of content including Hollywood Blockbusters, Local Movies, TV shows, Audio, and frequently updated Newspapers and Magazines.

The GUI is available in the local Dzongkha language to make the platform even more accessible and user-friendly to Drukair’s passengers. An interactive catalogue of retail and food and beverage products will be available for passengers to place orders directly from their own devices. This will integrate with Inflight Dublin’s innovative Crew App which Drukair will be utilizing to manage and fulfil orders on board.

“This partnership with Drukair further extends Inflight Dublin’s stance in the Asian market as we continue to successfully partner with many reputable airlines in the region. The versatility of the Everhub solution is gaining the attention of airlines that need a full end-to-end IFE and retail capability and we look forward to delivering this and provide an engaging digital experience to Drukair and their passengers.” – John White, Inflight Dublin’s CEO.

After a successful trial, Inflight Dublin has been chosen by Wideroe to provide a full rollout of its Wireless Inflight Entertainment (IFE) solution, Everhub™, as part of a 3-year deal.

From May 2022, Inflight Dublin will expand Everhub to cover a fleet of 15 aircraft made up of Bombardier Q400’s and Embraer E2’s. The content package includes the latest Hollywood movies, TV Shows and Gladi8tor games. Wideroe will also have access to IFD Insights with reports detailing the performance of the Hardware, Software and Content offering on board.

As part of the expansion, Inflight Dublin has partnered with Global Onboard Partners to generate revenue for Wideroe through the promotion of destination services. “We are excited to be working with Wideroe and Inflight Dublin to bring all the destinations to life for Wideroe passengers on the Everhub solution. Wideroe Destination Explorer provides passengers with the opportunity to explore all destinations, win rewards, and receive special offers, while paying Wideroe ancillary revenue at 3-5x more than previous programs.” – Kirk Adams, Global Onboard Partners’ CEO.

“We are delighted to see another trial of Everhub turn into a full rollout. The integration with GOP will also be a great addition to Wideroe’s IFE offering. This is just one of many exciting integrations that Inflight Dublin will be introducing on Wideroe’s Everhub platform – adding a passenger-engaging and revenue-generating service on top of an already successful streaming platform.” – Barry Flynn, Inflight Dublin’s CCO.

Inflight Dublin has been selected by Philippine Airlines (PAL), the flag carrier of the Philippines, to provide a trial of its Wireless IFE solution, Everhub™.

Beginning in April, Inflight Dublin has equipped a range of aircraft within PAL’s fleet including A330, A350 and B777 aircraft with the Everhub™ solution. The package consists of Hardware, Software and Content, as well as Inflight Dublin’s intuitive data analytics platform, IFD Insights™. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is fully tailored to PAL’s brand requirements and is available in Tagalog, a new language added by Inflight Dublin to make the experience even more accessible to PAL’s passenger audience. The Content package includes Hollywood Blockbusters, Classic Movies, TV Shows and Documentaries, as well as PAL’s own promotional videos and a survey in the dedicated ‘Your Flight’ section.

PAL is the largest international carrier in the Philippines, servicing over 35 domestic and 42 international destinations. Its mission is to deliver safe, reliable, efficient and pleasant travel experience and to exceed passenger expectations.

“We are delighted to begin this partnership with Philippine Airlines and to further expand our services in the Southeast Asia region. It gives us great pride to demonstrate the remarkable capabilities of Everhub that allow us to deploy a robust solution to airlines in a matter of weeks. We look forward to delivering a compelling and engaging experience to PAL’s passengers in the coming weeks.” – John White, Inflight Dublin’s CEO

About Philippine Airlines

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the Philippines’ flag carrier and only full-service network airline. PAL was the first commercial airline in Asia and celebrated its 81st anniversary in March 2022. PAL’s young fleet of Boeing 777s, Airbus A350s, Airbus A330s, Airbus A321s and De Havilland DHC-8-400 Next Generation aircraft operate out of hubs in Manila and Cebu to 29 destinations in the Philippines and 31 destinations in Asia, North America, Australia and the Middle East. PAL was rated a 4-Star Global Airline by Skytrax in 2018 and was voted the World’s Most Improved Airline in the 2019 Skytrax worldwide passenger survey with a ranking of 30th best airline in the world.

Next up in the ‘Sitting Down With’ series is Inflight Dublin’s CTO, David Miller. He discusses the standout features of Everhub, Wireless trends such as advertising and integrations, and where he sees growth in the industry. Enjoy!

What steps does Inflight Dublin take to ensure they are up to date with the latest technology trends in the industry?

We closely monitor trends and developments in the industry, and conduct research to identify areas where we could innovate and develop our existing offering. A key source is client feedback and requests made for additional features. So, for example, we have seen a demand for hybrid systems where airlines want to mix both portable and aircraft-powered servers across their fleet. We have also seen a growth in the combination of wireless IFE with onboard connectivity. However, our deployment with Qatar Airways for the Everhub Preloaded iPad solution shows us there is still demand for native application support.

What are the standout hardware and software features of the Everhub solution that make it so versatile?

When we developed our own Everhub server we were able to learn from our experiences with other systems – what worked well and what didn’t. This allowed us to deliver a low-maintenance experience to our airline clients when it comes to implementation and operational management. For example, features like the swappable batteries without any downtime in-flight, and the touch screen interface makes life that bit easier and more efficient.

On the software side, we have focussed on rolling out a single product architecture and feature set which can be reused across all clients and on all supported platforms (including portable and fixed wireless systems). So, as we add new capabilities, we can make these available to everyone. Over the last two years, we have been building out Everhub as a platform for partner integrations, including Games, Advertising, Destination Services, and Payments. All these integrations have been modularized, allowing clients to “pick and mix” as required.

Think of Everhub as a shop, and we can have a variety of content and services available in the shop window.

How do you see the demand for Wireless IFE developing in the coming years? Do you think more airlines will adopt it alongside seatback?

Absolutely, based on the enquiries we are getting now we can see a trend growing for wireless IFE adoption. This has been driven by several factors including the increased rollout of narrow-bodied aircraft for long-haul routes, as well as the desire to offer more ancillary services to airlines using the wireless IFE product as a platform. In addition, COVID-19 has driven the growth in demand from a cost reduction, flexibility and hygiene perspective.

As mentioned above, we can see growing interest in the “extended platform” – where we not only provide IFE, but a means to deliver a range of services from ourselves and our partners.

What are some key areas that Inflight Dublin differentiates from its competitors in the wireless space?

Where Inflight Dublin stands out is the ability to deliver a one-stop-shop to clients. We offer exciting content, our own fully-certified hardware, and flexible software for multiple platforms and partner integrations, all delivered with our own implementation and design services from a highly skilled and experienced in-house team.

Our Everhub trial system has been very successful in growing demand and demonstrating the proven value the system brings to airlines’ inflight service. We can have a new client up and running in a matter of weeks.

Key to our offering is holding to a vision for an integrated baseline product that can be grown as required. Not only for the wireless streaming capability but also for the back-office analytics which all clients have access to as part of the offering. In addition, given our CSP heritage, there are several new initiatives we can drive to support the end-to-end life cycle for our clients.

Want to learn more about Everhub™? Get in touch mail@inflightdublin.com

Inflight Dublin has been chosen by Novair to provide its end-to-end wireless Inflight Entertainment (IFE) solution, Everhub™.

Beginning in February, Inflight Dublin will initially be equipping Novair’s fleet of A321 aircraft with a 6-month trial of its Everhub™ Wireless solution consisting of Hardware, Software and Content. The fully certified server houses the Everhub™ software platform which can be accessed via a web application on passengers’ personal devices. Customized to align with Novair’s brand requirements, the user-friendly GUI allows passengers to easily navigate the system and browse the latest Hollywood blockbusters, TV Shows, International content, Documentaries, Games and digitized Publications available on board.

Novair operates a fleet of A321 neos to both traditional Mediterranean destinations and long-distance destinations. Novair was recently sold to Danish Jet Nordic Group, who also operate Jet Time.

“With Everhub™, Novair will benefit from an innovative digital solution that generates revenue and reduces their environmental impact while also entertaining their passengers with a broad content package tailored to their unique audience. We are delighted to be working with Novair on this project and we look forward to engage and delight its passengers on board.” – Barry Flynn, Inflight Dublin’s CCO 

2019 seems a long time ago, right? Back then, it was smooth sailing for the movie industry:

• Audience numbers were up.
• Records were getting smashed at the box office.
• And fresh content was being greenlit left, right and centre.

Then a certain virus came on the scene and caused all sorts of trouble. Cinemas shut, productions stopped, and delays ensued. The world of movies – from creation to release to consumption – was turned upside-down.

Fast forward to today, some two-ish years later: where are we? Has the industry recovered, or is it stuck in the doldrums? Have any new trends emerged? What’s changed, and what’s stayed the same?

Let’s take a look.

The Return of the Blockbuster

2019 was a big one for blockbusters. Here are the top ten performers at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo:

What a time it was: nine titles broke the billion-dollar barrier, and the top two, Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King, are currently the 2nd and 8th highest-grossing films of all time.

As Variety reported here, the global box office return was a monstrous $42.5 billion – a new record that, I suspect, will last for some time.

Compare this to 2020.

The best-performing Hollywood title, Bad Boys For Life, brought in $42.5 million – less than a sixth of what the previous year’s number one (Avengers: Endgame) accrued. Tenet‘s return amounted to $36.3 million: Chris Nolan’s lowest since 2006’s The Prestige.

Overall, as per Deadline, the global gross dropped 71% to $12.4 billion from its 2019 heights. Ouch.

And 2021? The data certainly makes for interesting reading:

The year’s story was, of course, Spider-Man: No Way Home. The 6th highest-grossing movie ever (this could still improve: it’s still in the cinemas!), it outperformed its predecessor, Spider-man: Far From Home, by nearly $700K – despite the restrictions around the world. Excellent work, Spidey.

No Time to Die did very well too. The oft-delayed conclusion to Daniel Craig’s Bond stint was met with near-universal praise, and brought in the second-highest gross for an English language title.

Overall, it says something when the 9th best performing title of 2021 (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) brings in more than 2020’s number one. That “something” being:

• The movie industry is gradually recovering.
• Audiences are hungry for movies.
• The pull of the Hollywood blockbuster remains strong.

Marvel’s Enduring Popularity

According to the 2021 data, four of the year’s top 10 performers were part of the Marvel canon:

• Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Venom: Let There be Carnage
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and
• Eternals.

And then there’s the aforementioned Black Widow, which just missed out. Combined, the total gross for all five amounted to a princely sum of around $3.5 billion.

Evidently, fourteen years after Iron Man, the MCU still has immense pulling-power worldwide.

And, looking at the upcoming Marvel movies in 2022, this isn’t going to change anytime soon: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are all on the way, with more in the pipeline for 2023 and 2024.

Movie Genres

A lot has changed over the last two years, but then again, some things have stayed the same: like our love of explosions, guns and car chases

Action is, by some distance, the most popular genre globally.

Nine out of ten of 2021’s best performers were action-orientated, and the likes of Dune, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and The Matrix: Resurrections all made the top 30.

It’s a similar story in 2022. Chinese blockbuster Water Gate Bridge leads the way, with a hefty gross of $480 million. Bucking the trend of video game movies underachieving at the box office, Unchartered has a gross of $140 million (so far), while The 355 sits comfortably in the top ten too.

Onto animation. 2019 was an incredible year for the genre: seven made the overall top 20, and two (The Lion King and Frozen II) accrued the 2nd and 3rd top grosses of the year.

2020 was challenging, but things are getting better. Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto and Sing 2 did well in 2021, and with Lightyear, Sonic 2, Spider-man: Across the Spiderverse, Minions: The Rise of Kru, and Pinocchio on the horizon, 2022 could – whisper it – see a return to 2019 levels.

And what of the music biopic? So hot a few years back I even wrote a post about it (click here if you’re interested).

It does seem that demand has cooled lately. The Aretha Franklin movie, Respect, did decent business, but overall 2020 and 2021 were barren years for the subgenre. The heady days of Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody seem a while ago now.

However, there’s some in the pipeline for 2022: Austin Butler’s Elvis looks promising, and word is there’s an Ozzy Osboure movie on the way too. So you never know. Like Queen at Live Aid, a comeback could be on the cards.

Last but not least – horror.

With the likes of A Quiet Place, Midsommar, Get Out! and Hereditary, it’s been a vintage few years for the genre, both with the movie-going public and the critics.

The trend continued in 2021: A Quiet Place: Part 2 was the 14th highest-grossing movie of that year, and Halloween Kills exceeded expectations, bringing in $132 million.

However, most impressive (and perhaps surprising) of all is the confusingly-titled Scream: the 5th instalment in the self-referential slasher series, it’s the second best performing Hollywood film of 2022 so far.

The Rise of the Non-English Movie

When Parasite won the Best Foreign Language Golden Globe in 2020, director Bong Joon-ho memorably said this:

So, two years on, did we, as an audience, get over the barrier? Was Parasite the watershed cultural moment that many thought it would be?

Well, sort of.

On the one hand, there’s little argument that Hollywood titles still dominate the global box office. For instance, in 2021, just three of the top ten weren’t in English.

Still, it’s an upswing when you consider that, in 2018 and 2019, every title was an English-language one.

Also, as mentioned, the Mandarin movie Water Gate Bridge currently sits atop this year’s box office rankings, while behind it in 2nd is another from China – Too Cool to Kill.

The signs for independent features are encouraging too.

Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers and Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari outperformed a number of big-budget Hollywood titles, while Das perfekte Geheimnis was the second highest-grosser in Germany, surpassing F9: The Fast Saga and Dune.

All positive signs, for sure. We mightn’t have clambered over the one-inch barrier just yet, but we’re getting there.

Final Thoughts

So, strange and exciting times in the movie world.

Some things have changed, like the increased popularity of non-English titles, while others have stayed the same: the dominance of the action genre and the demand for Marvel titles, for instance.

Also, although numbers aren’t what they were in 2018 and 2019, it’s still encouraging to see grosses recover significantly in 2021 from the miserable lows of 2020.

And there are more reasons for optimism in 2022.

Scream and Unchartered‘s unexpected box office triumphs are a welcome boost, and there are so many big hitters still to come: The Batman,  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World: Dominion and Lightyear, to name a few.

Whatever happens, one thing’s for sure: it’s going to be interesting!

If you’d like to learn how we source the most on-trend content for our clients – and how we can do the same for your airline – get in touch at mail@inflightdublin.com.

After a successful temporary deployment on their B767 aircraft, Inflight Dublin has been chosen by Condor, a long-standing client of over 10 years, to provide a full rollout of its Wireless Inflight Entertainment (IFE) solution, Everhub, to cover their entire narrowbody fleet.

From April, Inflight Dublin will expand their wireless IFE solution to cover 35 aircraft including A321, A320 and B757 aircraft. Inflight Dublin’s proven platform is now even more user-friendly as passengers will be able to easily access the web-based app by scanning a QR code on the back of their seat. The content package includes the latest Hollywood movies, TV Box Sets, bespoke Audio Playlists, Life & Culture documentaries and local German content as well as Gladi8tor games.

This latest rollout is part of a broader strategy between Inflight Dublin, Condor, and other key stakeholders to create a seamless passenger experience and expand their retail and revenue generation capabilities.

After a successful year in 2021, we want to share our industry knowledge by interviewing the talented employees who make Inflight Dublin thrive.

Kicking off our first interview of the ‘Sitting Down With’ series with some industry insight and outlook for 2022 is Inflight Dublin’s CEO, John White. 

How did the pandemic continue to affect business throughout 2021? To what extent did you see it recover?

During 2021, Inflight Dublin (IFD) saw increased demand for its products and services as the world started to manage the pandemic better and airline activity increased.

At the beginning of 2021, the continuation of the pandemic dampened expectations in relation to the rate of recovery. However, with the increased rollout of vaccines throughout the world, the industry grew strongly during the northern hemisphere summer and into the latter part of the year. However, with the emergence of the Omicron variant towards the end of year there was a negative impact on demand.

At the year end, despite being in the middle of the Omicron wave, there was increased optimism that 2022 would be the year that we got on top of the Covid crisis and that there will be a strong recovery in business. Having finished 2021 with an increased level of business, we are confident that our business will grow strongly in 2022.

How did Inflight Dublin adapt to the ever-changing environment of the aviation & inflight entertainment industry during the second year of the pandemic?

IFD continued to focus on 3 key areas:

1. Product & service innovation
2. Delivering value to our clients
3. Enhancing our customer service

The pandemic has led airlines to review their businesses and identify new and more efficient ways to operate and deliver services to their customers.

At a very early stage of the pandemic, IFD recognised that there would be a paradigm shift in the industry and that greater levels of innovation, value and customer service would be required. Therefore, we invested in these areas. As well this, we reviewed our own business to ensure that we were optimising the way we operated, as well as ensuring that we were structured in the right way to exploit future growth opportunities.

What were Inflight Dublin’s biggest achievements & developments in 2021?

IFD’s biggest achievements during 2021 were working in partnership with our clients to help them successfully navigate the crisis: I’m delighted to report that none of our clients went out of business and that we didn’t lose any of them.

Moreover, we were delighted to win a number of new airline clients, including Qatar Airways, Ukraine International, Neos and others. We also expanded our partnerships with existing clients with the rollout of IFD’s Everhub Wireless system on Ethiopian Airlines, Sunclass Airlines and Azur Air.

In terms of developments, we invested heavily in our Everhub Wireless IFE solution and delivered a range of benefits, including: lower costs, remote updating of content, payment platform for on board retail, destination services, crew app and enhanced data analytics through our IFD Insights™ tool.

On the Content side of our business, we extended our Content management System (CMS) to further improve our workflow efficiencies and deliver in-depth cycle management and analytics tools to our clients.

Our hard work and success was also recognised through receiving the Top 10 Aviation Solution Provider Award with Aerospace Defense Review.

What is your outlook for 2022? What’s next for Inflight Dublin?

I am very positive about the outlook for 2022. I strongly believe that it will be the year that the world starts to overcome the Covid crisis and that there will be a strong recovery in the airline industry due to the pent-up demand for travel.

At IFD, we are very excited to be moving into a new state-of-the-art facility next month. We have equipped the new space with the very latest technologies and the highest levels of security, and have ensured that there’s enough space to accommodate our significant growth plans.

From a product and service point of view, we will continue to focus on delivering the highest levels of innovation, value and service to our clients. This will include the delivery of a number of new services on our Everhub wireless platform, which will include greater revenue generation opportunities for our clients, lower costs, enhanced flexibility, more in-depth passenger usage data, and increased hardware options. Watch this space!

As we say goodbye to 2021 and begin a new year, we are taking a look back at Inflight Dublin’s exciting developments over the past 12 months. From new partnerships, awards, and new clients for wireless and content services, 2022 is shaping up to be even better.

March

Gladi8tor Gaming Partnership

Inflight Dublin announced its exciting new partnership with innovative inflight games provider, Gladi8tor Gaming, enabling clients to enhance the passenger experience while also generating revenue through game sales and advertising.

April

Korean Air Wireless IFE 

The flag carrier of South Korea, Korean Air, chose Inflight Dublin to provide a 6-month trial of its wireless Inflight Entertainment (IFE) solution, Everhub™.

Wideroe Wireless IFE 

Inflight Dublin was selected by Widerøe to equip their Embraer E2 aircraft with the DO-160G certified Everhub™ Portable wireless server for a 6-month trial.

May

Air Peace Wireless IFE

Air Peace, a valued client for content services for over 4 years, chose to expand their partnership with Inflight Dublin with a trial of the Everhub™ Wireless IFE solution.

June

Sunclass Airlines Content & Wireless IFE

Inflight Dublin was awarded the contract for the provision of content and wireless IFE services by valued client, Sunclass Airlines.

Cabo Verde Wireless IFE

Cabo Verde Airlines chose Inflight Dublin to equip their B757 aircraft with the Everhub™ Wireless IFE solution.

July

Top 10 Aviation Solution Provider Award

Inflight Dublin was included in the 2021 Top 10 Aviation Solution Providers list by Aerospace Defense Review, which has an audience of 87,000+ digital subscribers including top tech decision-makers, engineers and corporate management within airlines.

September

Neos Content Services

Inflight Dublin was awarded the contract for the provision of IFE content services by Italian airline, Neos.

October

ASKY Content & Wireless IFE

ASKY, The Pan African airline, partnered with Inflight Dublin for the provision of content and wireless IFE services on its fleet of Boeing 737s New Generation aircraft.

Qatar iPad Solution

Inflight Dublin was chosen by Qatar Airways, Qatar Executive and Qatar Amiri to provide its Everhub™ iPad solution. The interactive media application is DRM-enabled and includes a fully customizable Graphical User Interface (GUI) that is aligned with Qatar Airways’ illustrious IFE brand – Oryx One.

UIA Wireless IFE

Inflight Dublin was selected by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) to provide its end-to-end wireless IFE solution, Everhub™. The multi-year deal sees Inflight Dublin initially equipping 15 of UIA’s aircraft with its DO-160G certified Everhub™ portable wireless server.

December

APEX Expo 2021 – Long Beach

Inflight Dublin attended APEX Expo in Long Beach, the first in-person event for the industry in 2 years.

We’re looking forward to meeting everyone face-to-face again in 2022!

Inflight Dublin has been selected by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) to provide its end-to-end wireless inflight entertainment (IFE) solution, Everhub™.

The multi-year deal sees Inflight Dublin initially equipping 15 of UIA’s aircraft with its DO-160G certified Everhub™ portable wireless server. The Everhub™ software platform will be accessible to UIA’s passengers through Inflight Dublin’s advanced passenger web application. The accompanying content package consists of Hollywood blockbusters, popular TV shows and Inflight Dublin’s revenue-generating games platform, Gladi8tor Gaming. Advertising will also play a key role in creating new revenue streams for UIA.

Underpinning Everhub’s™ engaging services is a bespoke data analytics platform, Insights®, where performance reports will be generated, reviewed and utilised to optimise services moving forward.

Ukraine International Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Ukraine. With its main hub in Kyiv, it operates flights to over 8 domestic and 33 international destinations.