April 11, 2008 – DELTA Beta Inflight? Ibises International? Where are they now? The early years of the decade have seen some gallant efforts by new entrants to crack the oligopoly at the top end of the IFE system market. But in the end they all foundered on the rocks of airline conservatism and lack of financial staying power.

Now, though, a new generation of aspirants is emerging, and they show some early signs of being able to give the big boys a run for their money. One such is AlsterAero, founded in Hamburg in 2005 and with two customers already to its credit in the form of a pair of VIP Airbus operators.

“We are putting our combined IFE/communications system into an A318 and an A319,” managing director Malte Lafrentz told Inflight Online at last week’s Aircraft Interiors show in Hamburg. “And we’re talking to a number of airlines about retrofits in their existing fleets.”

The brainchild of some ex-employees of cabin systems leader Lufthansa Technik, AlsterAero has a staff of just 15 people – “though we’re constantly looking for more as our workload builds up,” said Lafrentz. This small team has come up with a package that has attracted the praise of Airbus cabin specialists for its combination of versatility, performance and compactness.

The complete AlsterAero offering comprises passenger communications and IFE subsystems and a cabin management capability. Customers can opt for all three, or for one or two of them. The data backbone is Ethernet arranged in a tree structure designed to minimise cable runs. Flexible connection schemes and power transmission via the data cabling further simplify installation and have allowed the elimination of traditional seat electronic boxes.

The system boasts a software architecture that allows functions traditionally handled by analogue hardware – audio/video switching, multiplexing, mixing, the addition of audio channels for tasks such as passenger address – to be handled entirely in software.

The passenger communications capability is based on the all-digital IPTCU (IP cabin telecommunications unit) server and the Ethernet switch, which together can support Inmarsat and other satcoms bearer systems and applications such as wired and wireless Internet and VPN access, VoIP to cordless handsets, and ISDN data. An analogue adapter allows a fax machine and corded phones to be added to the network. Passengers can interface with the system via handsets, laptops and in-seat touchscreens, while cabin crew have one or more dedicated control panels.

The IFE subsystem centres on a cluster of 2MCU servers, each capable of delivering audio, video, moving-map, games and other content to up to 50 seats. The AlsterAero architecture also makes possible less ambitious installations based on a DVD drive distributing its content over the same digital network. Any subsequent upgrade to a server-based arrangement is straightforward, the company says. Analogue content sources can be integrated via encoders.

When it comes to cabin management, AlsterAero’s philosophy is to provide a module linking its network with existing cabin management hardware via standard RS-485 and ARINC 439 interfaces. The company’s own software then supports functions such as the control of lighting scenarios and window shades via individual passenger control units and one or more cabin crew screens.

Configuration work on the system following installation can be completed with a laptop running a standard Internet browser. In service, system health monitoring and built-in test equipment (BITE) information can be displayed either on a laptop or a cabin crew screen.

The company pins its hopes for high reliability on the use of clustered servers. The applications software and data storage capacity are distributed evenly across all of the servers, so that in the event of a failure of one of them the remainder can transparently take up the slack. Similarly, there is no direct relationship between one server and a fixed group of in-seat displays. If one server fails, the rest will ensure that there is no loss of service to any in-seat display. This arrangement also eliminates the power demands and weight associated with a hot-standby server. Finally, the network backbone incorporates back-up paths for use in the event of the failure of a switch or other intermediate connection.

Setting aside the kaleidoscopic handheld sector, the IFE hardware scene seemed until recently to have settled into a new equilibrium, with Thales and Panasonic contesting the top end and Rockwell Collins circling its wagons to stay in the single-aisle game. But now some credible wild cards have come sailing on to the table in the form of not only AlsterAero but also Intheairnet with its Sharkfin (Inflight Online, September 21, 2006) and complete newcomer SkyGem, the Hong Kong-based company that popped up at Aircraft Interiors with a system called Sky1000.

Will the news boys make good or will they go the way of Delta Beta and Ibises? An early acid test will come this September, when the really serious ones can be expected to lay out their wares again at the co-located WAEA and Aircraft Interiors shows in Long Beach, California. Inflight Online will be there, asking the million-dollar questions about customers and commitments.