Kontron Provides Airborne Equipment for Lufthansa Systems’ End-to-End Wireless On-board IFE Solution

Seattle, Washington and Poway, California – September 14, 2011 – Kontron (formerly AP Avionx) today announced it will be a supplier for BoardConnect, the wireless onboard in-flight entertainment (IFE) solution from Lufthansa Systems. The core equipment from Kontron includes an ACE Flight™ 600 airborne video server and a Cab-n-Connect™ cabin wireless access point (CWAP) with integrated Wi-Fi antenna. In addition, Kontron will provide a wireless Inseat Display that is also available for airline carriers.

The Lufthansa Systems’ BoardConnect solution is a full wireless audio/video on-demand system that allows airlines to interact with passengers to shape their own unique on-board experience. Kontron has developed broadband wireless systems for commercial aircraft from the ground up by designing the specified functionality and performance to meet stringent size, weight and cost requirements. Leveraging Kontron’s engineering expertise, the company is uniquely positioned to address the multi-faceted challenge of wireless-in-the-sky, requiring experience in wireless networking, radio transmission, hardware design and ruggedization for airborne operations.

"The airborne equipment that Kontron will deliver to Lufthansa Systems leverages our years of successful avionics and rugged system integration experience," said Andy Mason, Business Unit Manager, Mil Aero Products Group at Kontron. "With recent advances in processor, storage and wireless technology, Kontron is able to supply components to Lufthansa Systems that result in impressive system-level performance with significant cost and weight reductions for airline customers. Kontron is also able to meet Lufthansa Systems’ time-to-market and total cost of ownership goals."

As airlines are eliminating unnecessary weight from their aircraft, it is critical that wireless-in-the-sky deployments deliver the highest possible weight-to-revenue return. As a result, Kontron developed a modular CWAP unit to weigh about four pounds, minimizing size and cost. The bottom line for airlines is a fully certified wireless access point that is only two-thirds of the weight, size and cost of available alternatives.

BoardConnect gives passengers the ability to access information and entertainment using their own Wi-Fi-enabled personal electronic devices (PEDs) or the Kontron-developed Inseat Display Unit. Integrated into seatbacks, the Display Unit is an all wireless system that does not require any data wiring and features a minimal system footprint. It supports multiple passenger interfaces such as USB, analog video, and touchscreen.
"For too long, on-board infotainment has been a closed system, separate from all the other passenger services. BoardConnect changes the passenger experience by integrating everything that touches on entertainment and information into a wireless infotainment platform," said Dr. Joerg Liebe, CIO of Lufthansa Systems. "With the Kontron equipment, we are able to offer BoardConnect with a high-quality, low implementation cost that promises a virtually immediate return on investment."

The ACE Flight™ 600 airborne video server and a Cab-n-Connect™ cabin wireless access point (CWAP) used in the Lufthansa Systems BoardConnect solution will be on display in the Kontron booth #1222 at the APEX EXPO, September 12 – 15, 2011 in Seattle, Washington.