Microsoft and Lufthansa Systems show off Windows in-flight experience at Singapore Airshow

Microsoft and Lufthansa Systems have outlined the future of in-flight passenger entertainment systems with the new BoardConnect app for Windows 8, which was demonstrated at the Singapore Airshow 2014. 

Source: Lufthansa Systems, Boardconnect brochure

The interactive solution can be customised as an airline wishes, centralising everything that a passenger might want to do during a flight, watching movies, ordering food, and looking up information about destinations for instance. 

“We are making BoardConnect available on Windows 8 to give passengers even more choices to use the platform,” said Norbert Müller, Senior VP of BoardConnect at Lufthansa Systems. “This makes it easy for airlines to give their passengers a superior in-flight entertainment experience that allows them to watch a wide range of movies, look at flight information and shop, all from their seat.”
 
Microsoft and its partners are working to give airlines a mobile advantage, not just with in-flight entertainment experiences but also moving pilots to electronic flight bags in the cockpit with a solution called FliteDeck Pro from Jeppesen, a Boeing Company, and a cashless cabin/point-of-sale solution app with Avanade’s Mobile Airline Platform. 

“Airlines recognise that technological advances are a way to rise above the competition and be seen as innovators in the industry,” said Susan Hauser, Corporate VP, Enterprise & Partner Group at Microsoft. “We are excited to work with our partners to create a powerful set of devices and services that will help airlines be more efficient and productive and allow them to give their passengers a much better flying experience.” 

Lufthansa Systems’ Purser Mobile Device application, mCabin, will join BoardConnect on Windows 8 devices in the near future. MCabin provides airline crews with all relevant flight details at a glance. An interactive duty calendar, briefings, crew positioning, and passenger information and reporting help airlines improve their onboard services and, subsequently, customer satisfaction. This marks another area of cooperation between Microsoft and Lufthansa Systems.