ARINC’s Lee Costin demonstrates Cabin Connect
The first of the three was outfitted at SR Technics in Zurich in January with the second completed at Gatwick in March. All three A330s will go live with the system on a 12-month trial from late April or early May on Virgin’s transatlantic flights.
Lee Costin, director of ARINC’s satellite solutions and cabin services, speaking at Aircraft Interiors Expo said that the system uses the aircraft’s existing Cobham HGA 7001 antenna, Honeywell MCS7200 terminal and a single-channel Inmarsat SwiftBroadband connection. These have previously only been used on the aircraft for satellite operations from the cockpit.
“The first and second installations went very smoothly,” said Costin. “We also had to complete the certification testing, including TPED tests that involve seeing if high levels of radio frequency energy in the cabin interferes with any of the aircraft’s equipment.
“Needless to say, the system passed the stringent tests with flying colours.”
Virgin Atlantic became the launch customer for the Cabin Connect product last year. Three A330s will initially be equipped and operated on a trial basis over a 12-month period. Rollout across the carrier’s remaining A330s, as well as its A340s, and possibly Boeing 747s, could follow.
Cabin Connect provides a wireless internet “hotspot” in the cabin. The installation includes the server and four wireless access points that provide connectivity.
The system allows the airline’s passengers to access the internet directly from their own personal devices, including laptops, smart phones, tablets and gaming devices.
Users simply log on to the system through a hotspot portal, just as they would in a hotel. As well as browsing and email capability the system can also be set up to provide news, sport, and weather updates, as well as useful connecting flight and arrival information.
The cost of the service is not known and will be set by Virgin Atlantic. “We are selling this as a service to the airlines – it is up to them how they price it. Virgin is likely to test a number of different price points during the trial period,” Costin said.
“A single 432kbps SwiftBroadband channel is sufficient for most passengers’ needs, but multi-channel SwiftBroadband is also an option,” he added.
He said that the cabin interface conforms to both ARINC 781 and ARINC 791 standards and an upgrade path to Inmarsat’s upcoming Global Xpress Ka-band service, due for full launch in 2015, was guaranteed.
Costin added that Cabin Connect is a particularly cost-effective connectivity solution for single-aisle operators, where embedded IFE is less likely to be fitted.
“And we think that where there are embedded IFE systems Cabin Connect can be complementary.
“Having demonstrated that we can fit the system to the Virgin Atlantic A330s we are now clearly in a better position to offer the system on other airframes,” he said.
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