Screen Wars: scratching the surface of a much larger challenge that’s looming in the airline industry

The Aircraft Interiors Expo each year plays home to the latest seat, technology and interiors reveals. It’s the incubus for the future cabins of airlines the world over. While some companies will reveal concepts, looking for interest before spending the expense and time prototyping and certifying a product, other companies will also showcase their certified seats and screens, looking for orders. It’s hard sometimes to navigate the myriad of possibles and actuals, but one thing is for sure, it highlights any emerging trends. 

This year, it seems the industry is more conflicted than before, perhaps still reeling from the post-Covid shock. During the pandemic, most companies across the industry were grappling with the challenge of mapping out the future of passenger experiences. For example, all eyes two years ago were on concepts like Airshield which protects the passenger with a blanket of air to help stop airborne virus. Now humanity’s muscle memory has flexed once more, and we’re back to the same habits that we had pre-pandemic. 

Barely anyone wears masks, we are thumbing magazines, swiping on screens and happily sat next to our passengers barely aware of how this would have felt dangerous just a few years ago, and it feels good once again.

As part of the industry’s triumphant bounce-back, airlines are once again investing in cabins, seats and technology, vying to win over market share while airlines are happily posting some of their strongest results in their history. It’s a buoyant time, and even with a slight air of caution, its clear to see at AIX a sea of airlines testing new seats, negotiating in private rooms and generally excited about their near futures. 

What’s the future?

Well simply put, it seems no one really knows. We have technology giants hedging their bets on different hardware, connectivity providers trying to amalgamate to offer the best of both wifi worlds, and when it comes to seats, there’s never been a larger selection of “almost the same seats” across every catalogue. 

The companies that are putting their head above the parapet are certainly garnering some attention, but airlines are like lemmings, many opting for off-the-shelf established products rather than the more risky concept offerings, no matter how appealing they look on the showroom floor. 

After speaking with dozens of airlines, an even bigger challenge seems to be simmering under the surface. A clear lack of passenger experience and creative strategy, which looks beyond the four walls of their own airline and can advise on emerging trends, keeping the airline ahead of the curve, and advising and curating that sea of options, distilling it into a clear physical roadmap of each airline’s identity. It’s evident in the recent surge of airlines reaching out to me directly as an independent consultant to help them.

Airlines desperately need to first set their stall, working out who they want to be as a physical branded space, before opting for the latest technologies and offerings, provided by naturally self-serving companies trying to promote their flagship products, who are less interested in working out how they all mesh together in a passenger experience. 

Screen wars

Perhaps one of the most obvious examples of this were two seats I was invited to see displayed on AIX’s floor this year. The first, a partnership between Collins Aerospace and Panasonic, dubbed Maya, sets the scene for one of the most advanced digital first business class suite that we’re likely to see for the next few years. A massive curved screen envelopes the passenger, with new technology that allows the passenger to view the moving map or dining offerings whilst keeping the latest blockbuster playing, complete with haptic seats and built-in speakers for a 4D cinematic experience. 

The bells and whistles are impressive, in theory offering absolutely everything the guest could want including natural scenes to help us relax, except – as journalists were quick to point out – an actual window. The curved screen now so big, the area for actual windows was minimised to barely a single window per seat. 

Collins and Panasonic have obviously opted to play to their strengths for this concept, stretching their capabilities to the maximum, rather than seemingly basing this on any research that I could trust in. But that’s what concepts do, they try to push us as far as we can. Based on the recent news that United will now be maximising revenues from their IFE and app based on personalised content, doubling down on IFE and screens seems in tune with the needs of airlines currently. 

However, Stelia has taken a different tact with their latest Opera Essentials narrowbody seat. Admittedly the seat is designed for the weight conscious airline in mind, designed to maximise range by creating a light seat with no doors, electronic mechanisms and no IFE screen. This certified product is the antithesis of Collins concept. When asked about the choice to remove IFE in the show model and whether it could be added, Stelia mentioned there was no desire from them to offer a fixed IFE screen to airlines, instead doubling down on the premise that people now bring their own IFE with them. 

This again, seems to be a position, rather than based on fact, as my own quick research shows that tablet ownership is actually down 50% from 2017, as consumers move to a mobile-first digital interaction. For the 2.4% of the global population this new seat with a tablet cradle might work, but this seat is based on the fact that passengers will be happy to bring their own personal device. If I had to go against the grain of the 95th percentile and actively bring a tablet to be able to watch something on a long-haul narrowbody flight, it defeats the purpose of offering a fixed IFE screen in the first place. 

What the industry needs

While collaborations such as Collins Aerospace and Panasonic show how innovative two suppliers can be when brought together, what actually is required is a larger group of companies to truly breakthrough the noise and map out the true future of passenger experiences based on quantifiable data, not subjective views. 

Imagine a collaboration between an IFE supplier, an amenities company, a connectivity group, a seat manufacturer and an OEM, all working together to map out the future. But why isn’t this happening? Well, simply put… IP. It’s the single largest challenge to the airline industry that is holding it back. The digital industry outside of aviation has already leapfrogged the airline industry 10-fold when it comes to open APIs and collaboration. 

If there was an ‘Open-IP’ approach to the passenger experience, airlines would benefit greatly. It’s already clear that most airlines have the same kit of parts to pick from as their competitors, so there’s no real negative impact on the commercial landscape. But, with an open approach to IP, the airline industry can catch up with the rest of the world much faster, and bring its core heritage of innovation hurtling into the 21st century once again. 

But how can that happen? It’s down to the airlines to apply pressure to their suppliers to work together better, faster and in return airlines will see faster innovation, better integration and fundamentally bringing costs down, increasing profitability. 

I’m personally calling on various industries and airlines to step up to the challenge – much like the Green Alliance – there is a bigger war to be waged within the industry and it’s certainly time to do battle.

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