FROM THE MAGAZINE: How connectivity is rewiring Asian aviation

Somewhere between Manila and Singapore, a passenger settles into her seat, scans a QR code and begins streaming a film on her iPhone before the aircraft has reached its cruising altitude. On a long-haul departure from Changi, a banker logs into complimentary Wi-Fi and clears urgent emails as the aircraft taxis. High above the South China Sea, aboard a business jet bound for Jakarta, a family office principal joins a video conference mid-flight. Across Asia’s skies, the cabin has changed. In-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC), once seen as luxury enhancements, are fast becoming part of the foundational infrastructure. In the world’s most dynamic aviation region, digital access at altitude is no longer a novelty, it is an expectation. Although the transformation is unfolding unevenly, shaped by economics, regulation and competition, one thing is clear, that in Asia, the connected aircraft is becoming the norm. EVOLUTION On my first truly long-haul flight in the early 1980s I flew from Edinburgh to Sydney via London, Split, Belgrade, Dubai, Mumbai (then Bombay), Singapore and Melbourne, on a well-worn JAT (Yugoslavian Airlines) DC 10, and most of it in seat number 13A. In what now seems like far off and edgy days of flying, on those ‘adventures’, the in-flight entertainment consisted of one movie projected onto a pull-down screen in the economy bulkhead, and a set of what just passed as headphones. If you could see the screen through the haze of cigarette smoke generated by fellow passengers, it at least took your attention away from the whining engines for 90 minutes. As for connectivity, the only person connected would be the cockpit crew, you hoped. Today, leading-edge IFEC is a given, not a perk, not a differentiator, but a baseline expectation embedded in the economics of modern airline competition. This is an excerpt from Asian Aviation. To read the full article, click here. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]