Major Amenities for Regional Cabins

Welcome to Wired!

To the traveling public the hours spent strapped in a jetliner’s seat are the same whether they are in a big Boeing or Airbus or a regional jet like the Embraer EMB-145. In this confined world, what makes or breaks a flight are the amenities—or their absence.

Cabin services are what separate regional from major carriers—until now. ASIG earned a supplemental type certificate (STC) in April that adds a power supply for passenger personal electronic devices (PEDs) to the EMB-145. It completes Phase II of ASIG’s three-part program that upgrades regional cabins with major amenities.

Rare is the passenger who doesn’t carry at least one PED. Ranging from smart phones and netbooks to tablet computers (like the new iPad) and full-size laptops, business travelers often carry more than one—and they all need power. With the ASIG PED power supply STC, the launch customer can now deliver it.

ASIG built its system using Astronics AES Empower units, which includes FAA-approved sockets on the lower sidewalls that accept plugs from 145 nations. Passengers simply plug in their PED’s AC converter. Serving up to 50 passengers, the system can be divided into as many as 12 zones. The custom ASIG control panel (with fault indication) manages the zones individually, allowing operators to monetize the service.

Regional carriers that energize and recharge their customers will have the edge because market research shows that they are flying longer routes for their major airline partners,” says Luke Ribich, ASIG’s managing director. Using himself as an example, regionals deliver him to the hubs surrounding ASIG’s home in Little Rock, Arkansas, and “it’s an hour to Dallas, two hours to Houston, and almost three hours to Atlanta.”

Before giving passengers uninterrupted power, ASIG’s regional cabin improvement program brought them hot meals. In January 2010 it earned the STC that installed TIA convection ovens in the launch customer’s EMB-145s. It is now selecting equipment, completing the certification plan, and reviewing the final details with the launch customer for Phase III, a cabin IFE server that will Wi-Fi music, movies, and other entertainment to PED web browsers.

“Installing a full blown in-flight entertainment system in a regional jet is not cost effective,” Ribich says. But the opposite is true if the passengers bring their own screens. “Smart phones will lose their 3G signal at 10,000 feet, but like any Wi-Fi device, from portable games to laptops, when you open the web browser it’ll look for—and find—the cabin Wi-Fi enabled server.”

Satellite-based Internet access is a Phase III option, as is the credit card screen that appears when passengers log into the cabin entertainment server. The server will download the billing information to the airline’s accounting system after landing, Ribich says.

Phase III should be completed by the end of 2010, and ASIG is in the process of adding the 37-seat EMB-135 and 44-seat EMB-140 to its Phase I and II STCs. Individually or combined, each regional cabin amenity will set that flight apart from the rest in minds of passengers.

Until next time stay 5x5, Mission Ready & Wired!