Category: Airlines

Over at the Cranky Flier there's an interesting article that takes a close look at how an inflight entertainment (IFE) system gets installed on an aircraft. Having spent several years defining and deploying such systems for a major North American carrier in a previous life, over a decade ago, it's always interesting to see if and how the process has changed. Over the years IFE equipment has certainly become lighter and much more powerful and functional. This is good news for the airlines -- less weight equals less fuel burn -- and better for customers. On the other hand, defining, planning and installing IFE systems has remained much the same. Through necessity the regulatory hurdles and requirements to installing such equipment onboard an aircraft are immense. Combine this with the…