October 20 2022  |  Tech & Hardware

Burrana's powerful future

By Mary Jane Pittilla

This is a special feature from PAX Tech's 2022 APEX EXPO Long Beach edition, on page 19.

Longer flights and passenger laden with tech provides means airlines are prime customers for in-seat power

Exclusive news reached PAX Tech in the run-up to the APEX EXPO 2022 in Long Beach regarding Burrana’s in-seat power system (ISPS). Two airlines have selected the company’s ISPS one with four 737 MAX aircraft in the Americas and another with four A321 aircraft in Asia.

David Pook, Vice President of Marketing and Sales Support at Burrana told PAX Tech in September that business opportunities abound for the products.

“As the industry emerges from the pandemic, in-seat power systems now seem to be required equipment on all new narrow-body aircraft, and even on some regional jets. Some of the larger hold-out airlines are now taking deliveries of new aircraft with ISPS that had never done so before, while others are initiating large retrofit programs,” Pook says.

He attributes this to aircraft flying longer routes, the rise in passengers using personal electronic devices (PEDs) and the increase in cost-effective connectivity options that encourage the use of PEDs.

Burrana announced in June that it was authorized to market in-seat power for line-fit on Airbus aircraft. The company has obtained Airbus’ approval to market its RISE in-seat power solution to airlines for the A320 aircraft family, following successful completion of the Airbus acceptance test in Hamburg. RISE Power is available for factory installation for aircraft deliveries starting in the second quarter of 2023.

Burrana has also secured an unidentified launch customer for the A320 and A321 aircraft types. Under the contract, Burrana will supply more than 50 aircraft with three-amp (15 Watt) USB-A and USB-C combo jacks at every seat, as well as 110 VAC Power outlets in Premium Economy.

Elegant innovation
The RISE solution has a simple installation architecture with minimal components. It has a small, lightweight unit housing either double USB jacks or 110 Volt plus USB outlets, compact seat power boxes and harnesses. Burrana is also providing product support and manages spares globally.

The solution aims to offer an innovative approach without compromising on space, weight, ergonomics and aesthetics. It provides airlines with the fast USB charging with 15 Watt (three-amp) charging via both USB-A and USB-C ports. The system can also be upgraded to 60 Watt USB-C ports by swapping out the jacks.

The RISE 48VDC architecture provides greater reliability with reduced size, weight and CO2 emissions. Intelligent power-sharing distribution and load shed management ensures greater utilization and efficiency of available power in the cabin, with multiple levels of redundancy bringing passengers facing failures to almost zero.

The seatback and overhead video components of the RISE platform from Burrana will in the future be developed for 4K.

The RISE overhead system can present videos and three-dimensional maps in 4K resolution. To do so requires only one-to-two simultaneous streams, says Pook. The platform supports up to 16 terabytes of content storage which he says gives it more than enough capacity to support 4K video. While acknowledging that 4K panels will use more power than a high-definition screen, Pook says they would still be more efficient than the previous generation HD monitor.

Burrana’s ultra-thin retract monitors measure 13.3 inches and deliver crisp resolution in high definition that allows passengers to see a clear picture from anywhere in the cabin. The displays are manufactured with anti-glare coating. Pook says that the mean time between failures (MTBF) on RISE is targeted to be 35 percent longer than previous generations.

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