Tag: content

In an exclusive interview, Honey Gugale, Implementation Manager, shares insights into the intricate process of integrating content into in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems. From content curation to quality assurance and final deployment, Honey discusses the steps taken to ensure passengers have access to a seamless and immersive entertainment experience during their flights.

1. Content Integration Process

Q: Honey, can you describe the process of integrating content into the in-flight entertainment system? What steps are involved from receiving content to making it available on flights?

Honey Gugale: The integration process is quite comprehensive and involves multiple teams working in close coordination. It all starts with our Content Team, which receives and curates content from studios and clients. The Video Team then takes over, encoding the content to ensure it meets the specific technical requirements of our IFE systems. Next, our Metadata Team provides the necessary images and descriptions, which play a crucial role in enhancing the user experience.

Following this, the Development Team steps in to deliver the required software tailored to the client’s specifications. The Design Team also plays a significant role by creating client-specific designs that align with the airline’s branding. Finally, my team, the Implementation Team, integrates all these components to ensure everything functions smoothly. Once everything is in place, the Logistics Team ships the SSDs or servers containing the completed content to the client, ready for deployment on flights.

Q: How do you ensure that the content formats—video, audio, and text—are compatible with the in-flight systems?

Honey Gugale: Ensuring compatibility is critical, and we take this very seriously. Every piece of content undergoes rigorous rack testing, which simulates the actual in-flight entertainment system environment. This allows us to catch and resolve any potential issues before the content is deployed, ensuring that it performs flawlessly in the air.

2. Quality Control and Testing

Q: What measures are in place to ensure that all content is of the highest quality before it is deployed on flights?

Honey Gugale: We have a robust quality control framework in place, which involves several key measures:

• Rigorous Quality Control: Every piece of content—whether video, audio, or text—undergoes comprehensive quality checks. This includes encoding verification, format validation, and a thorough content review to ensure it meets our high standards.
• Rack Testing: Content is subjected to rack testing, where we test it in an environment that closely mirrors the actual in-flight entertainment system. This is crucial for ensuring compatibility and optimal performance under real-world conditions.
• Metadata Verification: We carefully verify all metadata, including images and descriptions, to ensure accuracy and alignment with the content, which enhances the overall user experience.
• Collaboration Across Teams: Our teams—content, video, metadata, and design—work closely together to ensure that all aspects of the content are aligned, consistent, and of the highest quality.
• Client-Specific Customization: We also customize designs and software to meet the specific needs and branding of each airline, ensuring that the content not only meets quality standards but also reflects the airline’s unique identity.

Q: How do you test the content to ensure it functions correctly across different devices and in various environments?

Honey Gugale: We take a comprehensive approach to testing to ensure content performs well across all devices and environments:

• Cross-Device Compatibility Testing: We test the content on a variety of devices, including tablets, smartphones, and different IFE systems, to ensure consistent performance across all platforms.
• Environmental Simulation: We create testing environments that simulate the various conditions the content might encounter, such as different network speeds, screen sizes, and operating systems. This helps us identify and address any potential issues that could affect playback or user experience.
• Rack Testing: As I mentioned earlier, rack testing is a key part of our process. It allows us to evaluate content on systems that closely replicate the actual hardware and software configurations used in-flight.
• Stress and Load Testing: We also conduct stress tests to evaluate how content performs under heavy usage or in scenarios with multiple simultaneous users. This ensures the content remains stable and functional, even under high demand.
• User Experience Testing: Finally, we conduct real-world testing with actual users in different environments. This helps us gather feedback on functionality and performance, allowing us to make any necessary adjustments before final deployment.

3. Content Updates and Refreshes

Q: How frequently is the content updated on the in-flight systems, and what drives the need for these updates?

Honey Gugale: The frequency of content updates varies depending on the airline, but it’s typically done on a monthly or quarterly basis. Several factors drive these updates:

• New Content Releases: We update the systems regularly to add new movies, TV shows, music, and other entertainment options, keeping the in-flight experience fresh and engaging for passengers.
• Content Licensing Agreements: The expiration or renewal of licensing agreements often necessitates updates, either to remove expired content or to introduce newly licensed material.
• Passenger Feedback and Preferences: We analyze passenger feedback and usage data to identify popular content and introduce new selections that align with passenger preferences and demographics.
• Technological Advancements: Updates may be required to ensure compatibility with new devices, formats, or in-flight system upgrades, such as improvements in screen resolution, audio quality, or interactive features.
• Seasonal and Thematic Changes: We also update content based on seasonal events, holidays, or specific themes to ensure that entertainment options are relevant and timely.
• System Enhancements: Finally, updates are necessary when new software features or system enhancements are rolled out, requiring content to be re-encoded or adjusted to meet new technical specifications.

Q: Can you explain the process of rolling out new content across an airline’s fleet? How do you coordinate these updates with the airline’s schedules?

Honey Gugale: Rolling out new content across an airline’s fleet is a complex process that requires careful coordination. Here’s how we do it:

• Content Preparation and Encoding: Once new content is selected, it undergoes encoding and formatting to meet the technical specifications of the airline’s IFE systems. This includes video, audio, and metadata preparation.
• Quality Assurance and Testing: Before deployment, the content is subjected to rigorous quality assurance testing, including compatibility checks and rack testing in simulated environments, to ensure it will function properly across all in-flight systems.
• Logistical Coordination: The content is then loaded onto SSDs, hard drives, or servers, which are prepared for distribution. Our Logistics Team coordinates with the airline to schedule the physical delivery of these drives to various locations, ensuring alignment with aircraft availability and maintenance schedules.
• Monitoring and Support: Following the rollout, we closely monitor content and system performance, addressing any issues promptly and providing ongoing support to ensure a smooth experience for passengers.

As the demand for more immersive and diverse in-flight entertainment grows, Honey Gugale and the implementation team continue to innovate, ensuring that passengers enjoy a seamless, high-quality entertainment experience that meets the evolving needs of the airline industry.

Dublin, Ireland, 22 May 2024 – Inflight Dublin, a leading provider of inflight entertainment solutions, is pleased to announce a multi-year contract renewal with Condor, Germany’s leading leisure airline known for its exceptional service and commitment to passenger satisfaction. This agreement extends the ongoing successful partnership between the two companies exceeding 10 years, ensuring Condor passengers continue to enjoy exceptional onboard experiences.

“We are extremely proud to extend our longstanding partnership with Condor,” said Phil McCarthy, Commercial Director of Inflight Dublin. “We have accomplished quite a lot together over the past 10 years and look forward to this next chapter with excitement. Working with a team that has innovation and passion at its core aligns perfectly with our values, and we remain committed to working closely with the Condor team in the evolution of the IFE product.”

Building upon an already robust relationship, Condor will continue to leverage Inflight Dublin’s end-to-end service offering and collaborate closely to provide passengers a tailored selection of high-quality content. Inflight Dublin’s unique ability to provide everything under one roof will also enable Condor to synergise the onboard experience across the fleet of new and existing aircraft, through content, hardware and software solutions.

The extended partnership reinforces both companies’ shared vision of delivering excellence in inflight entertainment.

About Condor:

As Germany’s most popular leisure airline, Condor has been taking its guests to the world’s most beautiful holiday destinations since 1956 – from Germany and Zurich as well as Basel in Switzerland to around 90 destinations all around the world. Condor operates a fleet of over 50 aircraft, which are maintained by the company’s own maintenance operation, Condor Technik GmbH, according to the highest safety standards at the Frankfurt and Dusseldorf locations.

About Inflight Dublin:

Inflight Dublin is a leading provider of inflight entertainment solutions, offering customisable content, digital advertising, and software services to airlines worldwide. The company has been delivering innovative solutions for over 30 years and has a reputation for excellence in the inflight entertainment industry. For more information visit www.inflightdublin.com.

Inflight Dublin, a leading provider of inflight entertainment solutions, is pleased to announce the extension of its partnership with SriLankan Airlines for another three years. The decision was made after a comprehensive review of Inflight Dublin’s performance and the quality of its services.

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, has been a valued partner of Inflight Dublin for several years. The airline has always been committed to delivering the best possible inflight experience to their passengers, and Inflight Dublin’s innovative inflight entertainment solutions have been a key component of this commitment.

“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with SriLankan Airlines,” said Barry Flynn, COO of Inflight Dublin. “We are proud of the exceptional service we have provided to SriLankan Airlines, and we look forward to continuing to work together to deliver a world-class inflight entertainment experience to its passengers.”

Inflight Dublin has been instrumental in delivering the latest and greatest inflight entertainment content to SriLankan Airlines’ passengers, offering a wide range of movies, TV shows, and music. The company’s innovative and customisable solutions have allowed SriLankan Airlines to offer a truly personalised inflight entertainment experience to its passengers.

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Inflight Dublin,” said  Maria Sathasivam, Manager Product Development of SriLankan Airlines. “Their inflight entertainment solutions have consistently met and exceeded our passengers’ expectations, and we are confident that this partnership will continue to deliver outstanding results.”

The extended partnership will ensure that SriLankan Airlines’ passengers continue to enjoy a superior inflight entertainment experience that will help make their travels more enjoyable.

About SriLankan Airlines:

SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Sri Lanka, operating flights to over 110 destinations in 58 countries around the world. The airline has a strong reputation for providing excellent service and is committed to delivering a seamless travel experience to its passengers.

For more information visit www.srilankan.com

About Inflight Dublin:

Inflight Dublin is a leading provider of inflight entertainment solutions, offering customisable content, digital advertising, and software services to airlines worldwide. The company has been delivering innovative solutions for over 30 years and has a reputation for excellence in the inflight entertainment industry.

For more information visit www.inflightdublin.com

MGA (Mavi Gök Airlines) has selected Inflight Dublin as their inflight entertainment (IFE) partner for the supply of content, and Wireless IFE, where they will utilise Inflight Dublin’s end-to-end solution, Everhub™.

This 3 year-contract will see Inflight Dublin (IFD) service MGA’s B777s with content licensing, metadata, and audio-visual post production services for their seatback IFE system.

In addition, one of MGA’s B737 aircraft will be equipped with Everhub™, the most robust wireless IFE solution in the market. Everhub™ enables passengers to stream media through their own smartphones, tablets or laptops. With a single Everhub™ server, a B737 full of MGA passengers will have access to a tailored content and games package on an interactive user interface that is aligned with MGA’s brand.

“Inflight Dublin is delighted that MGA has chosen us to be their content and wireless provider. Being their single point of contact for both service lines will ensure smooth communications and enhanced operational efficiencies. Moving forward, our goal is to expand the content offering for seat-back, and feature set on Everhub™, so that MGA passengers continue to have an enjoyable and seamless entertainment experience no matter what MGA flight they are on.”– Barry Flynn – Chief Operating Officer – Inflight Dublin

ABOUT INFLIGHT DUBLIN 

We are a leading global provider of inflight entertainment solutions for both wireless and seat-back systems. Established in 1984, we combine CSP expertise with state-of-the-art hardware and software solutions. With full access to early window Hollywood content, a fully-fledged design department, and one of the most comprehensive end-to-end wireless IFE platforms, Everhub™, featuring our DO-160G certified next-generation hardware, we cater to each airlines’ tailored needs with every aspect of our products and services provided in-house.

Inflight Dublin adds FlightPath3D interactive moving map to its suite of Partner apps to Inflight Dublin’s award-winning Everhub wireless platform. Inflight Dublin will offer FlightPath3D’s product as an option to clients.

The integrated product is already being offered to mutual clients of both companies, in particular airlines that have selected Inflight Dublin’s Everhub wireless platform for their fleet. The first confirmed joint client is Sunclass Airlines.

About Inflight Dublin: IFD is a leading global provider of inflight entertainment solutions for both wireless and seat-back systems. Established in 1984, IFD combines CSP expertise with state-of-the-art hardware and software solutions. With full access to early window Hollywood content, a fully-fledged design department, and one of the most comprehensive end-to-end wireless IFE platforms, Everhub™, IFD caters to each airlines’ tailored needs.

About FlightPath3D: The Aviation Industry’s #1 Map Provider. Run your map with the map software experts, building software that’s integrated with ALL the leading IFE vendors. Any Device. Any Platform. Fast Set-Up. Integrated. Personalized. Selected by more than 70 airlines in just 7 years.

FlightPath3D has designed the most compelling and innovative interactive travel solution for both passengers and airlines. With augmented views and relevant flight information, the inflight journey is captivating. A smart, immersive travel guide and route map enables passengers to explore in-destination experiences and inspires them to discover places to visit and research flights. Through their actions, searches, and map interactions, passengers provide airlines and airports with the knowledge of what interests them most about a location and what future destinations excite them for loyalty and strategic planning.

Betria Interactive LLC (dba FlightPath3D) has the industry’s largest specialized map team providing customized map software, application development, and maintenance. For additional information, please visit http://www.FlightPath3D.com or contact crew@flightpath3d.com.

Inflight Dublin has been selected by MIAT Mongolian Airlines to provide inflight entertainment (IFE) Content and Wireless solutions.

Inflight Dublin will be deploying its Wireless IFE solution, Everhub™, on four of MIAT’s aircraft including three B737’s and one B767. The DO-160G certified hardware will be complemented by the Everhub™ browser-based software which features a Graphical User Interface (GUI) in both Mongolian and English. MIAT will have access to the back-office Control Centre which enables them to manage aspects of the Hardware, Software, and Content offering as well as update their own advertisements.

MIAT will also have access to detailed analytics with IFD Insights and manage Duty Free and Food and Beverage orders through the dedicated Crew App.

Next up in the ‘Sitting Down With’ series is Inflight Dublin’s Metadata Team Lead and expert, Rika Argadireja. She discusses the importance of high-quality metadata in the IFE industry, challenges faced, and predicted trends for the future of IFE metadata. Enjoy!

How much importance is placed upon IFE metadata when it comes to working with airline clients?

Metadata management for inflight entertainment is essential – without good metadata, content may never be chosen to watch! Any data that we put onboard will be seen by the client and most importantly, their passengers, so it is a core selling tool to entice passengers to view the content. At Inflight Dublin, we ensure that any information, synopsis, or images we provide are of the highest quality and are age and culture appropriate based on the airline’s requirements. Furthermore, we do a number of internal quality checks before signing off the metadata to be delivered to the airline.

What are the main challenges the Metadata team faces each cycle and how do you tackle them?

No two days are the same in the metadata department. We face a range of challenges during every update, from managing strict overlapping deadlines during busier months, to having to edit the content images we’re putting onboard so they’re SFW (safe for work). Fortunately, we can rely on our ever-improving time management and task planning, and there’s nothing a little Photoshop magic can’t solve!

Is there any unique processes or methods that IFD uses to ensure the delivery of accurate and timely metadata?

To ensure complete accuracy, we do thorough quality control for every airline client. Once we’ve completed the metadata entry on the integrator’s documents or portals, we would manually check the information we’ve uploaded, make any necessary changes, and double-check again after any corrections have been made. We also work with other internal departments in Inflight Dublin, such as the Account Management department, to do final metadata checks before signing off.

And to deliver metadata in a timely manner, we meticulously record and track all the deadlines we have for the month in our internal system. The Metadata team also work very closely together and keep a constant communication stream open to work as efficiently as possible – in some instances where there are tight deadlines, the team will work collaboratively with tasks so deadlines are always met without any delay.

Do you predict any changes or trends in the future of metadata in terms of what passengers expect or want to see on their seatback screens or personal devices?

Another responsibility of the Metadata team is the managing of our clients’ microsites. These have become even more popular to have as it allows airlines to provide an up-to-date and interactive content catalogue to excite their passengers before their flight and encourage engagement with the system.

The popularity of Wireless Inflight Entertainment systems is also growing rapidly. These require additional Metadata requirements that Inflight Dublin has extensive experience with, particularly with our own wireless IFE system, Everhub. I think passengers are starting to expect multiple ways to view and learn about the content on board, such as they do at home. This will result in more thought going into how the content and metadata is displayed and accessed by passengers to give them the most immersive and enjoyable inflight entertainment experience.

Want to learn more about Inflight Dublin’s services? Get in touch mail@inflightdublin.com

Inflight Dublin has received a Technology Award for its Everhub iPad Solution in the PAX Tech International Awards.

With the ceremony taking place in Hamburg during AIX, Inflight Dublin was on site to accept the award that was chosen by PAX International subscribers over a number of months.

This is another award that Inflight Dublin has won for its Everhub product, after being placed on the Top 10 Aviation Solution Providers list by Aerospace Defense Review in 2021.

The Everhub iPad Solution

The Everhub iPad solution is an extension of Inflight Dublin’s reputable Wireless IFE solution which leverages the robust infrastructure to deliver content remotely to a server anywhere in the world. As well as this, the flexible Everhub software has been future-proofed as it can easily be configured to any IFE system, including iPads. The Everhub iPad solution is an innovative way for airlines to provide additional inflight entertainment options on board, with passengers having access to pre-loaded content chosen by the airline on the latest generation iPad devices.

Inflight Dublin’s cloud-based CDS (Content Delivery System) uses AWS and the latest technology and has been developed and fine-tuned over the years to continually enhance the content delivery process. To further support this product, Inflight Dublin developed a native app version of the distinguished passenger application to host the content on iPad devices. As with all Wireless IFE clients, the airline can have this native app fully customized to reflect their brand and layout preferences. The sync and charge station also has the capability to charge and update up to 32 iPad devices simultaneously, making the turnaround time in between flights swift and efficient.

The Benefits

• Content delivery efficiencies – Content is quickly and seamlessly delivered remotely to the server anywhere in the world, allowing airlines to load content and get it on board in the quickest turnaround time.
• Dynamic IFE offering – Inflight Dublin uses the latest generation of iPads for the ultimate content-viewing experience. It gives airlines and passengers additional ways to enjoy IFE on board as well as traditional seatback screens and Wireless streaming to passengers’ own devices.
• Seamlessly blends and aligns with the airline’s other IFE systems – Inflight Dublin can customize the native app to the finest detail required by the airline so that all IFE systems are synergized under the one brand.
• Cost-savings – Airlines save time and money due to reducing the delivery of drives and other physical items, as all content delivery is done over the cloud.

Flying with: Qatar Airways Group

Initially being chosen to supply the Everhub iPad Solution to Qatar Executive, the project was expanded to service Qatar Airways and Qatar Amiri Flight after a successful initial rollout.

Inflight Dublin initially delivered over 200 pre-loaded iPads to the three airlines in the Qatar Airways Group in September 2021, and this has later grown to 500+. The interactive media application features a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that is designed to replicate Qatar Airways’ illustrious IFE brand, Oryx One, making it a truly immersive and brand-aligned experience. The pre-loaded iPads are available to Qatar Airways Business Class passengers on selected flights as well as on Qatar Executive and Qatar Amiri Flight.

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.

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