APEX/IFSA Expo to host more than 1,500 delegates in Long Beach
APEX/IFSA Expo 2022, a comprehensive end-to-end airline passenger experience marketplace, takes place on 25-27 October in Long Beach, California.
The event organisers anticipate more than 1,500 industry professionals attending the show, including executives, suppliers and decision-makers from airlines around the world. Companies will be showcasing their latest technologies, products and content at the show and share unique insights during the event which features a thought leadership conference, an awards ceremony and an extensive exhibition.
The conference also runs several breakout sessions on Thursday 27 October which focus on the following key topics:
The Future of Connectivity in the Passenger Experience: Connectivity is becoming a “must-have” service for many airlines. Some 17,000 new satellites will come online in the next ten years, and a plethora of new service providers are entering the IFEC space. What technologies are emerging? What business models are offered? Should airlines turn connectivity over to service providers, or buy bandwidth as a commodity? Come learn what the future holds for connectivity, and then stay for the next session to learn how connectivity and IFE are converging. A panel of experts will discuss these issues, moderated by Mary Rogozinski, Netforecast.
The Convergence of IFE and Connectivity: How edge-caching can be the bridge: IFE and connectivity are no longer separate services that airlines must figure out how to integrate. They are two paths to the same destination that are incrementally merging into a single service supported by a Digital Experience Platform (DXP). As bandwidth increases, and its cost decreases, content storage will begin to move off the aircraft and into the cloud. On the ground, this kind of streaming is provided by Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). But today’s CDNs do not reach far enough into areas of constrained bandwidth—like aircraft. Moving the edge of the network 30,000 feet into the air is a challenge, but one that is being addressed by passenger experience companies who have joined the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA)—now a liaison partner with the APEX Technology Committee—and its Open Caching Working Group. The next generation of IFEC is being built now.
IFE Content Security of the Future: Introducing the Trusted Partner Network—the Cloud Version: The Trusted Partner Network (TPN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), will make a major announcement at EXPO on the future course of content security in IFE. The focus of IFE content security in the past has been on physical facilities, like post-production and content integration. But as content management has moved into the cloud, TPN—under a newly re-organised structure—will now look at both. Learn about how this impacts IFE, a new tiered approach to assessment levels, and how IFE companies can become TPN members and meet the new content security guidelines that will roll out in early 2023. This is a “must-attend” session for content integrators, post-production providers, CSPs and content managers from every segment of the industry. Presented by Terri Davies, President of TPN and a panel of security experts from MPA companies.
The Future of the Biometric Passenger Experience: Biometrics has advanced across passenger experience, but the transformation is about to dramatically quicken. Airline biometric bag drops have already begun. Alliance airlines will be able to conduct data interchange. US TSA identification of passengers without any ID required occurs at airports across the US. Airports like LAX enable multi-airline biometric entry and have biometric payment stores coming soon. The end-to-end biometric passenger experience will create incredible opportunities to quicken and improve passenger experience while maintaining digital privacy rights.
Maximising Customer Service, Ancillary Revenue, & Loyalty: Airlines invest incredible funds into their products and services to entertain and engage their passengers. How can revenue be generated from that investment to cultivate an attractive ROI? This session will outline opportunities for ROI throughout the entire travel thread, while also addressing technical solutions and personalisation.
Designing Sustainable Passenger Experience Initiatives: Airlines each are taking their own angle of attack on sustainability, but the customer perception of airline sustainability varies dramatically. Surveys indicate that passengers care more about recycling than carbon offsets. They want to understand the sustainability of their airline in a way that connects with them. Leading airline executives will discuss the approaches designed to better connect with their passengers in the years ahead.
In addition, the IFSA Expo will feature airline executives and decision makers sharing unique insight and meeting with exhibitors highlighting some of the best food, beverage, and onboard services in the world, while offering attendees a peek into the new food and product trends.