Research and Markets: In-flight Entertainment Going from Strength to Strength in 2005.DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c20666) has announced the addition of The In-flight Handbook to their offering For a branch of the entertainment industry, the IFE Ife (ē`fā), city (1991 est. pop. 262,000), SW Nigeria. Located in a farm region, the city is an important center for marketing and shipping cacao. According to tradition, Ife is the oldest Yoruba town (founded c.1300). business has more than its fair share of dismal jimmies. Not only are they not very entertaining themselves, but they also take a dim view of anything new, fresh and, well, entertaining. Take one of the big success stories of 2004 - the handheld digEplayer. The jeremiahs had a field day when inventor Bill Boyer and his young team set off in search of customers not much more than 12 months ago. "No studio will trust them with content," they squawked. "The players will all be stolen. The flight attendants will be driven to distraction. The sky will surely fall." Hit the fast-forward button and what do we hear? Yes, the voice of Michael O'Leary Michael O'Leary is the name of a number of prominent people:
A nasty moment for the doomsters, and not the only one last year. Broadband connectivity has been the cause of much tooth-sucking in recent times. As have onboard cellphone (CELLular telePHONE) The first ubiquitous wireless telephone. Originally analog, all new cellular systems are digital, which has enabled the cellphone to turn into a smartphone that has access to the Internet. and a well engineered scheme to get rid of pesky IFE seatboxes once and for all. Well, sorry all you Nostradamuses out there, it's been nothing but blue skies for the three of them lately. Broadband trailblazer Connexion by Boeing Connexion by Boeing (CBB) was an in-flight online connectivity service from Boeing. This service allowed travellers to access a high-speed internet connection while on board a plane in flight through a wired Ethernet or a wireless 802.11 Wi-Fi connection. now has four airlines offering service, with another four in the pipe. Chief competitor Inmarsat is due to launch its first broadband satellite this spring, has been named as the Airbus solution of choice, and is hearing from its equipment and service community that the airlines are queuing up for what they have to offer. Having feasted heartily on the failure of in-flight phone over the years, the vultures were looking forward to tucking into onboard cell phone by way of dessert. No such luck: providers ARINC/Telenor and OnAir are sure they've cracked the technical problem and are knuckling down realistically to the hard work of winning the approval of the airworthiness air·wor·thy adj. air·wor·thi·er, air·wor·thi·est Being in fit condition to fly: an airworthy helicopter; airworthy avionics. and national telecoms authorities. "Out of sight and out of harm's way beyond the danger limit; in a safe place. - Latimer. See also: Out " is the philosophy behind Inflight Canada's iCACHE system for the underfloor installation of the IFE kit that currently sits beneath the seat, to the detriment of passenger comfort and its own serviceability. Despite the plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face good sense of iCACHE, it was stonily ignored by the industry right up until October, when the reborn Air Canada declared that from now on all its seatboxes were going under the floor. What's more, the carrier is using iCACHE to take IFE into terra incognita in·cog·ni·ta adv. & adj. With one's identity disguised or concealed. Used of a woman. n. A woman or girl whose identity is disguised or concealed. - its fleet of brand-new regional jets. And here lies the real significance of Air Canada's swashbuckling swash·buck·le intr.v. swash·buck·led, swash·buck·ling, swash·buck·les To act as a swashbuckler, as in a movie or play. [Back-formation from swashbuckler. move - the word is out that embedded IFE has now been squeezed down to weight levels and form factors that make it a realistic option for the low-fare and regional carriers who are casting around for service differentiators. Which is why this year's In-flight Passenger Entertainment and Communcations (IPEC IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour IPEC International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council IPEC International Power Electronics Conference IPEC International Power Engineering Conference IPEC Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium ) conference in London is yoked with the new Low-Fare and Regional Aviation (LARA LARA Land Access and Recreation Association (UK) LARA Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004 LARA Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft LARA Lakeland Agricultural Research Association LARA Labor Aerospace Research Agenda ) Summit. The events of the last 12 months make this event a marriage made in heaven. So if your tastes run to sackcloth, ashes and half-empty cups, please go and find another parade on which to rain - IFE/communications is in the shape of its life and looking to go from strength to strength in 2005. The In-flight Handbook contains: - Directory of international airlines who operate in-flight passenger entertainment and communications systems onboard, including fleet info and contacts. - Directory of worldwide suppliers and manufacturers and in-flight entertainment and passenger communications systems and products. - Industry trends articles For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c20666 |
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