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While being employed by British Airways we gained a lot of experience working on projects where we had to select the suitable IFE platform and company that would finally be installed on all the long-haul BA fleet. This started with a review of six IFE companies which were all based in the USA.

We set the criteria for the ideal IFE product that was to be installed on the fleet, then broke it down into sections such as technical, product, terms & conditions, and cost. We constructed a matrix that could be modelled to identify the best IFE fit for the BA requirements. Within the mix was the seat manufacturer which, although had already been chosen, could be adapted into the whole project of IFE and cabin reconfiguration as there would need to be the integration of the IFE within the seats, control centre and space for all the associated equipment.

Once the IFE supplier has been selected, then a project plan would need to be put in place for the manufacture of the seats, integration of the IFE equipment, installation of the rest of the IFE into the aircraft along with cabin reconfiguration.

Important things to consider are – Where will the installation take place; how long will it take and what happens to the cabin items that are removed during the reconfiguration? If this reconfiguration takes place at an MRO, then there would need to be an application for an STC on the first installation which can be used for the follow-on aircraft. Can the vendors support multiple installations after the STC has been issued?

The complete IFE system needs to be thoroughly tested in the vendor’s facility in a purpose-built Lab/Rack to ensure that the system meets the full capacity of the aircraft installation.

This type of reconfiguration is necessary whenever an operator is installing an IFE system onto an aircraft for the first time, or the current system requires an update. Cabin reconfiguration is often just about the seats and upholstery; however, it can sometimes be cost effective to update the IFE system at the same time as the seats would have to be designed to fit the new hardware. Hiring an experienced consultant can bring a fresh set of eyes to the project, saving you time and money.

If you wish to arrange cabin and IFE reconfiguration, please get in touch via our contact page.