- The company is successfully conducting in-flight trials on its A350-900 Flight Lab aircraft.
- The connected cabin ecosystem promises a better flight experience for both passengers and crew members.
Airbus, one of the largest organisation in the aerospace sector, has begun in-flight trials of IoT connected cabin technologies onboard an A350-900 Flight Lab aircraft.
Prototypes of the connected iSeat (manufactured by aircraft seating company, Recaro), the Connected Galley (by aviation logistics solution provider, Gategroup), a remote wireless cabin management control system and a large OLED display with an open software platform.
The connected cabin ecosystem will provide significant value-adding services for passengers, airlines and crews such as:
- Passengers will receive a more personalised travel experience specifically targeted to an individual’s needs and preferences. In particular this covers pre- and remote ordering of preferred meals, booking of private bin space, setting of individual seat positions as well as a personalised IFE (In-Flight Entertainment).
- Airlines will be able to generate additional revenues through personalised retail and advertisements as well as new services, all enabled by the IoT approach. Furthermore, airlines will also be able to improve their operational efficiency by applying predictive maintenance, avoiding waste and making crew services more efficient.
- Crews will find a better working environment and more efficient tools, digitally-enabled by real-time data from the IoT platform throughout the cabin. A mobile smart device will allow crews to monitor and operate all components.
The in-flight tests allow the assessment of various operations during a normal flight cycle, especially with regard to the robustness of end-to-end data flow between the systems.
