FTE APEX Virtual Expo 2021 Thank you to everyone who joined us at FTE APEX Virtual Expo 2021. Let us know your feedback >>
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On-Demand Speaker Zone

In the Netflix era, when someone joins a virtual event they shouldn’t have to wait until a specific time to see the content they are really interested in. So, when you log in to Virtual Expo you will be presented with a wealth of ready-to-view content options. In addition to the Auditorium Conference, our OnDemand Speaker Zone will deliver high-level content with an array of pre-recorded contributions specially prepared for the show, allowing the speakers to dive deeper on key topics and case studies.

FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO conference image
FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO conference image
FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO conference image
FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO conference image
FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO conference image

The Agenda

Monday 26th April 2021 - Day 1

Monday 26th April 09:00 - 09:00 BST

Exclusive CEO and VP Interviews

Sean Donohue

CEO

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

Stewart Wingate

CEO

Gatwick Airport

Simon Hickey

CEO

Western Sydney Airport

Mariana Fonseca Medina

VP of Digital & Loyalty

Virgin Voyages

Monday 26th April 09:01 - 09:01 BST

AirAsia Guest Session on Transformation and “Bringing it back better”

AirAsia has used the downtime created by the pandemic to fast track its digital transformation with the mission of becoming “more than just an airline”.

This includes the introduction of numerous new products that provide more choice to customers and new revenue streams including the airasia super app, logistics, e-commerce, fintech, as well as new procedures and innovations such as biometric facial recognition which will not only make flying more hygienic & contactless, but will also uniquely support commerce ambitions going forward. The airline is also establishing teleport delivery & pilot training businesses leveraging drones, and its own air taxi business.

In our view AirAsia is the most transformative industry player out there right now which is why we are giving them their own dedicated guest session in which they will bring together forward senior executives from across their business, and key partners they are collaborating with, to deep-dive with our audience on how they are successfully reimagining what an airline business can be.

Javed Malik

Chair of the Advisory Board

Ink Innovation

Ben-Jie Lim

Head of e-Commerce

AirAsia

Pete Chareonwongsak

CEO

Teleport

Capt. Liong Tien Ling

Chief Safety Officer and eVTOL Project Leader

AirAsia

Monday 26th April 09:12 - 09:12 BST

FTE APEX Virtual Expo Transformation Honours List

The Transformation Honours List recognises the teams, departments and organisations that have embraced innovation and transformation, and displayed leadership to help prepare the industry for a brighter future post-pandemic. We received a huge number of entries and have whittled down the list to our final line-up of those Airlines, Airports, Vendors and Startups who will share their inspirational stories at Virtual Expo. In addition to the senior executives from Turkish Airlines, Los Angeles World Airports, JPA Design and Williams Advanced Engineering who will be speaking in the Auditorium Conference as part of this initiative, we are delighted to announce that the following pioneering organisations will present in the OnDemand Speaker Zone.

Airport Category:

Future Forward: The power of advancing talent and tech during the pandemic

Brian Cobb

Chief Innovation Officer

Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport

AI, Robotics, Computer Vision – Wielding technology to meet the challenges of COVID-19

Haider Arif Hayat

Head of Enterprise Information Architecture, Analytics & AI

Hamad International Airport

Brendan Martin Giblin

Senior Manager IT - Passenger & Security Systems

Hamad International Airport

Airline Category:

Transforming the future travel experience – Star Alliance Biometrics

Christian Draeger

VP Customer Experience

Star Alliance

Vendor Category:

Ancillaries to the Rescue – inflight ancillary revenue inspiration from AirFi and Scoot’s recent collaboration

Vimal Rai

VP Global Sales & Marketing

AirFi

Andrew Goh

VP Cabin Services

Scoot

Canada’s Chain of Trust Pilot: Safe & seamless travel now

Gordon Wilson

VP of Identity Verification

Entrust

Startup Category:

Immigration and touchless mobile biometrics

Antony Vendhan

Co-founder

Identy Inc

Marta Gomar

CTO

Identy Inc

COVID solution for transport operators

Renaud Irminger

CEO

Travizory Border Security SA

Monday 26th April 09:15 - 09:15 BST

Innovation Case Studies

A curb to gate vision by Lufthansa and US CBP using facial biometrics

Nael Samha

Executive Director, Targeting, Vetting and Biometrics Systems

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Patrick Sgueglia

, Product Development, Airport Experience, Biometrics, Regulatory

Lufthansa

Seamless & Safe Travel | Biometrics, Automation & Digital ID: The recipe for economic recovery

Jeff Lennon

Vice President of Strategic Sales

Vision-Box

How to RISE above airline challenges in 2021

David Pook

Vice President of Marketing & Sales Support

Burrana

A Day in the life of a Director of Aircraft Engineering #WomeninAviation

Jessica Woodlins

Director of Aircraft Engineering

Viasat

Isabella Lenhoff

Marketing Manager

Viasat

Bringing the cloud capabilities onboard: Axinom On-Board Cloud

Ralph Wagner

CEO

AXINOM

Envisioning the Future of Self Service

Steven Tate

CTO

Blndspt.com & Elevation Software

Restarting Global Travel with Digital Solutions

Rami Al-Haddad

CIO

National Aviation Services (NAS)

Redefining the baggage experience

Marlon van der Meer

Founder

BagsID

Smart, Living Air Purification

Andrew J Crawford

Co-Founder & CTO

Origen Air

Waves of Innovation – Following the COVID crisis

Josh Marks

CEO

Global Eagle Entertainment

Monday 26th April 09:17 - 09:17 BST

IFSA & Onboard Hospitality Interviews

Interviewee

Cabin Waste Management: What steps our industry needs to take to reduce waste onboard

Anne De Hauw

Founder

Air Travel Experience

Interviewed by

April Waterston

Assistant Editor

Onboard Hospitality Magazine

Monday 26th April 09:19 - 09:19 BST

IFSA & Onboard Hospitality Interviews

Interviewees:

Sustainable textiles and the importance of comfort in the post-pandemic cabin

Ellie Parkes

Business Development Manager

John Horsfall

Alex Allen

Design Manager

John Horsfall

Interviewed by

April Waterston

Assistant Editor

Onboard Hospitality Magazine

Monday 26th April 09:20 - 09:20 BST

IFSA & Onboard Hospitality Interviews

Interviewees:

Understanding the Needs of Returning Travellers In 2021 with Buzz Products

Miranda Mikrou

Business Development Director

Buzz

Tara Henthorn

Designer Director

Buzz

Interviewed by

April Waterston

Assistant Editor

Onboard Hospitality Magazine

Monday 26th April 09:40 - 09:40 BST

APEX TECH Sessions

The APEX Technology Committee has remained active during the pandemic, looking toward a post-recovery environment and the needs of airlines and the passenger experience community. Advances in metadata, CODECs, connectivity, programmatic advertising and satellite technology have all occurred despite the pandemic, and the content industry has undergone a revolution. APEX’s Technology Committee offers eight sessions to inform the passenger experience industry of these technological advances.

Investigating next-generation CODECs

The APEX 0415 Working Group that recently established new content security requirements for HD content in IFE, and drafted specifications for HDR in IFE, is now investigation next-generation CODECs that will follow H.264, including such candidates as AV1, VP9, HEVC, and VVC. The co-chairs of this Working Group offer three perspectives on this work in three 10-to-15 minute sessions.

PRESENTATION

Session 1: IFE and the potential benefits of new CODECS

Philip Watson

Chief Systems Engineer

Panasonic Avionics

This session offers an IFE vendor’s perspective on the progress of the APEX0415 Working Group’s progress over 2021, considering new CODECs and whether to add them to the specification.

The promise of lower encode rates for the same quality media is attractive, since it can result in room for more hours of content on existing IFE servers, or faster load times for the same content. But can we select a CODEC that won’t break the power/heat budget for installed IFE? Will there be any savings if we choose one of the “free to use” CODECs that don’t have license fees?

PRESENTATION

Session 2: Does compression mean more IFE storage capacity?

Juraj Siska

Founder & CEO

IdeaNova Technologies, Inc.

This Working Group has been evaluating modern compression algorithms such as AV1, VP9 and HEVC for future use in IFE. Theoretically, all of these algorithms promise storage requirements savings based on 30-50% file size reduction when compared to H.264. Does this really translate into IFE systems having more space on their head end servers? This presentation will provide an overview of the impact of CODEC selection on delivery of content to PEDs. Further consideration will be made to the requirements of content encryption and in browser content delivery for standard and higher quality content, such as HD, 4K and HDR.

PRESENTATION

Session 3: Cost versus Value – Do Hollywood’s CODECs fly?

Andy Rosen

Media Consultant

Sequence Key

There are meaningful options for making memorable passenger impressions. But exemplary media delivery technology is no longer a “one size fits all” proposition. You have to ask, what does this design give me? No two airlines have the exact same go-to-market strategy and messaging. You might save time and money by exactly matching the content providers’ largest new technology plays. But, is that in the best interests of your airline? Your unique brand is a passenger engagement bet, and it should be reflected in the architecture of your onboard entertainment system.

All of the leading-edge technology alternatives represent tradeoffs. You can focus on seat backs, passenger devices, operational costs, seamless passenger device engagement, or stunning new features like HDR. There are great tools that target each of these, but no one solution is the perfect way to optimise them all. This session puts the newest tools on display. Then each one of you gets to decide what message you really want to erect by using them.

PRESENTATION

The current state of programmatic advertising and its vital role in the airline recovery

Matthew Blay

Director

Inadvia

A look at how the pandemic has accelerated change and precipitated a paradigm shift in the advertising industry from traditional media to digital, and the increasing role of programmatic advertising. Matt will take a deep dive into trends impacting inflight advertising ahead of the recovery, as well as share insights from advertisers and brands from Inadvia’s Attitudes to Inflight Media: Impact of COVID-19 survey. What do all these mean for inflight advertising, what is the opportunity and how can airlines benefit?

PRESENTATION

Google deletes the cookie: Inflight advertising’s big opportunity

Matthew Blay

Director

Inadvia

The end of the third-party cookie is already having an enormous impact on the advertising world. Here, Matt will look at the repercussions of Google’s decision to terminate the third-party cookie by 2022 and how this represents an incredible opportunity for inflight advertising. How can aviation capitalise on its accelerated digital transformation to deliver much-increased advertising revenue?

INTERVIEW

Are we entering a world where the passenger provides the content and the airline provides the pipe?

Patricia Wiseman

Editor & Co-Founder

IFExpress

Michael Childers

chair, APEX Technology Committee, member of the APEX Board of Directors, and Chief Consultant, Content and Media Strategy

Lufthansa Systems

The inflight entertainment segment of the passenger experience industry is currently facing the convergence of two unprecedented and disruptive forces in the provisioning of IFE content – the reprioritisation of content markets by the major motion picture studios, and the acceleration of that reprioritisation by a pandemic that closed movie theatres, and disrupted content production and distribution pipelines. As the passenger experience industry enters a post-recovery environment, how will IFE be changed by this? A comprehensive conversation on the future of IFE content.

PRESENTATION

A report from the Seamless Air Alliance (SAA)

Jack Mandala

CEO

Seamless Air Alliance

The Seamless Air Alliance (SAA) has been an advocate for enabling airlines to deploy open systems for inflight roaming. The group released an inflight connectivity standard in October 2020. SAA’s Jack Mandala reports on the group’s activities since that release.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at FTE APEX Virtual Expo 2021.

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Industry messages of support

The team at FTE APEX, staying true to their beliefs of bringing the aviation industry together at scale, connecting the ecosystem with smart, exciting and creative methods of engagement, have not stood still. I believe they are creating a truly unique opportunity for suppliers, airlines, airports, solution providers, product developers and manufacturers, by embracing and adapting key technology developments, which will spur new thinking and many more creative approaches to how we can all experience products and services in our new contactless world. So come on, join the new world of distanced, but connected, engaging experiences through the FTE APEX Virtual Expo.

Javed Malik, Group Chief Operations Officer, AirAsia

“This industry needs a major virtual trade show this year while it cannot meet in person and FTE is exactly the right organisation to be delivering it this December. I look forward to being involved, and to all the engagement and announcements I know that FTE APEX Virtual Expo will generate.”

Clyde Hutchinson, Partner, Journey Partners & Founder, Viva Air Labs

“The recent FTE APEX virtual events have been extremely helpful for the airline ecosystems to share information, to cope with the Corona situation, and to prepare for the new normal. Taking that premise to the next level with the FTE APEX Virtual Expo is exciting indeed and the Japan Airlines team look forward to being involved”.

Akira Mitsumasu, Vice President - Global Marketing, Japan Airlines

“More than ever at a time like this, the industry needs to come together to collaborate and find ways of working that can facilitate new revenue streams and efficiencies. I strongly encouraged the FTE Team to pursue its virtual strategy because very few air transport stakeholders can travel to conventions this year, but we still need to engage. I think FTE APEX Virtual Expo will draw a huge crowd and become one of the most important initiatives in FTE’s 15-year existence.”

Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Bengaluru International Airport

FrontM participated in the recent FTE APEX Ancillary Virtual Event. Throughout the whole lifecycle – before, during and after the event – the FTE team were professional, friendly and focused on helping our participation be as successful as possible. Since our pitch slot, we have had great conversations with a number of prospects and other attendees, which we wouldn’t necessarily have been able to have without FTE. Highly recommended!

Ian Carruthers, Vice President, FrontM

FTE and APEX did a great job delivering timely content to a broad global audience through their recent webinars, in one of which I was proud to participate. I am really looking forward to the FTE APEX Virtual Expo this December. Given the current situation with the pandemic, this is a creative way to offer all industry stakeholders the chance to come together to talk, to listen, to learn and to engage in ways that will advance our common causes.

Christina A. Cassotis, CEO, Allegheny County Airport Authority

“The FTE APEX team have done a brilliant job with their virtual pivot, and I really enjoyed being part of their recent Ancillary webinar. The FTE APEX Virtual Expo looks like a great logical next step, and I am sure it will deliver a lot of value to all involved.”

Andrew Middleton, Commercial Director, easyJet

“We are in a new normal everywhere. SEA will be sharing new ideas and approaches to help overcome the challenges created by COVID-19 at the FTE APEX Virtual Expo. We will be looking forward to hearing others share their experiences, and learn from each other. “

Dave Wilson, Director, Airport Innovation, Port of Seattle

We are incredibly excited to host this truly dynamic and global virtual event, and we are looking forward to offering much more than straightforward webinars, which have become commonplace in recent months. The industry wants more than that now and FTE APEX Virtual Expo will provide the sector with a large-scale digital trade show that will creatively offer real engagement, networking and business development opportunities for everyone involved.

Daniel Coleman, Founder & CEO, Future Travel Experience

FTE APEX Virtual Expo will act as a beacon for our industry’s recovery and bring global stakeholders together en masse to inspire one another. Our stakeholders want to connect and engage to share ideas, propositions, visions and learnings. This announcement also marks another important milestone in the integration efforts between APEX and FTE. Our ambition is to deliver a unified approach and increase the value the association provides to the entire air transport industry, both in the air and on the ground.

Dr. Joe Leader, CEO, APEX/IFSA
fte-apex-virtual-expo logo

FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO 2021

Future Travel Experience (FTE) and the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) will jointly host the industry trade show with the widest global attendance in 2021, FTE APEX Virtual Expo. Through a diverse exhibition showcasing the industry’s most forward thinking vendors and all-encompassing conference sessions, Virtual Expo will deliver a wealth of networking opportunities and inspiration across the most pertinent topics – from transforming the travel experience through digital health passports and automation at the airport, through to enhancing the onboard experience through inflight entertainment and connectivity, interiors, service and catering, hospitality and retail.

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