Bluebox gets STC for aircraft powered IFE system
Bluebox Aviation Systems announced today a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) has been granted for the aircraft-powered version of its wireless in-flight entertainment (W-IFE) system, Bluebox Wow.
Issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to Design Organisation Approval (DOA) holder Aerospace Engineering Solutions, the STC applies to all the A320 family aircraft. The STC was approved after testing was completed with a soon-to-be-announced customer in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The granting of this STC is an exciting and major milestone for us as we continue to sign up new airline customers eager to return to the business of delivering exceptional digital in-flight experiences to their passengers," said James Macrae, CTO, Bluebox in today’s announcement. "Our original version of Bluebox Wow, with its swappable battery system, has been a game-changer in the IFE market, introducing a cost-effective way to deploy IFE to airlines that might never have considered it before due to the high costs involved with installing fully embedded systems. But as the demand for W-IFE has grown – in conjunction with the development of our more powerful digital platforms that our customers can use for engaging their passengers and earning ancillary revenue – we’re attracting the interest of airlines with larger fleets. By utilizing aircraft power, Bluebox Wow devices can deliver the same digital IFE services without a battery present, eliminating the need for logistics management of batteries, and still offering a considerably lighter and lower-cost system than fully fitted W-IFE."
Macrae added: "The STC also includes automatic Pause on PA functionality that pauses playback in the event of announcements from the flight deck or cabin crew. Further, by removing the battery completely from this version of Bluebox Wow, we avoid the need for complicated battery/flight status logic and control and the possible risks involved with that – making it much easier to ensure our system is DO-178 compliant. It’s a simple and elegant approach."
