This company may have been launched "out of necessity" because of its location, but its goal is to provide services and products that go beyond necessity and offer a cost-saving benefit.

A commercial carrier in India has equipped its aircraft cabins with the Panasonic 3000i audio and video on demand (AVOD) system, a KID-System power unit for passenger laptop use and first- and business-class seats provided by two different manufacturers. For onsite or line maintenance, the airline had two choices: sign multiple contracts with the original equipment manufactures (OEMs) or sign on with a one-stop shop capable of maintaining all of its cabin systems. The Indian carrier is considering the latter and may sign a maintenance contract with Inflight Canada Inc.

The Montreal-based, cabin systems company isn’t the only one-stop shop. But it is one of the most comprehensive, providing products of its own design as well as installation kits for cabin interiors, onsite maintenance and data refreshment at Canada’s four major airports — in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver — and component maintenance, in which parts of a cabin system are removed from the aircraft for repair in a bench/shop environment.

Inflight Canada was established 31 years ago "out of necessity," according to George Smallhorn, founder and president of the privately owned company. "Canada is a huge country with a small population and very few domestic airlines, so it is typically not economically viable for the [cabin systems] OEMs to establish support facilities here." Onsite maintenance is largely provided to foreign carriers operating out of the four major airports. In addition, because they typically do not maintain their own facilities in Canada, the OEMs will subcontract repair work to Inflight Canada. All told, Inflight Canada’s activities generate more than $10 million (U.S.) in revenue annually.

Workload at Inflight Canada varies according to the airline industry’s economic conditions, though on average, about half would be for maintenance and half for modification work, which entails designing and producing installation kits and cabin-system support products. The two activities provide a convenient balance. Currently, airlines are enjoying economic health, which means many are looking to upgrade their aircraft cabins and this has enhanced Inflight Canada’s modification business. "When the mod business slows down, maintenance of existing [cabin] systems builds up," says Smallhorn. "Right now, we’re at capacity."

Growth in onsite maintenance is slow, according to Smallhorn, largely because the unionized maintenance technicians employed by legacy carriers deny outside maintenance personnel onboard the aircraft. The U.S. market does offer opportunities, however, as it is a large market with more airline startups than many other countries. "For example, you have Virgin America, which doesn’t have a legacy-like union environment," he says.

Work for Virgin

Smallhorn’s citing Virgin America is not surprising, since the startup carrier has provided Inflight Canada with its largest, and perhaps most challenging job. Most carriers have the OEM deliver new aircraft with complete cabin interiors, but when Virgin America ordered 34 A319 and A320 aircraft, it gave Airbus its exterior color scheme and had the manufacturer install lavatories and galleys, nothing else. The cabins are otherwise empty — no seats, no in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, no Internet service provider service (ISPS), no TV systems and no cabin components such as carpets, class dividers, window tint, emergency exit recline systems or mini-bars. For the design of those items’s installation, Virgin America came to Inflight Canada.

"This is very unusual," says Smallhorn. Inflight Canada is not a supplier to Airbus (or, for that matter, to Boeing or other airframe manufacturers). So, perhaps understandably, Airbus wouldn’t complete engineering to accommodate cabin systems installed by an Inflight Canada design — which is why the Canadian firm is responsible for most features in Virgin America’s cabins. Having a company other than the OEM design and install cabin interiors "doesn’t represent a trend," Smallhorn adds. "Virgin America is unique."

So, too, are Virgin America’s aircraft cabins. They are being equipped with mood lighting, pay-per-view movies, satellite TV, Internet connectivity and self-service mini-bars. Each plane includes an Ethernet network and multiple file servers. The aircraft cabins are cashless; all monetary transactions are done with the swipe of a credit card at the passenger seat.

What attracted the new airline to Inflight Canada was the company’s iCACHE system, one of its internal designs. With iCACHE, the seat boxes, power distribution units (PDUs) and all cabin wiring — essentially, every component but screens and cabin-attendant control panel — are placed below the cabin floor. This not only improves the cabin’s appearance and passenger legroom, but also increases reliability and reduces maintenance. The boxes and wiring are no longer exposed to kicking by passengers and to dust and liquid spills that can clog the heat vents in PDUs in typical seat-mounted boxes, causing overheating and failure.

Rick Sine, Inflight Canada’s U.S. marketing representative, reports that more than four years ago iCACHE was installed for testing in a Boeing 767, and since then the system’s boxes and wiring have yet to need repair. For inspection or should repair/replacement be required, the boxes are housed within clusters located under the main cabin floor, each with an access panel, for convenient accessibility by technicians.

Certified in October 2001, iCACHE was designed primarily for installation in fielded aircraft, including Airbus A310/320/330s, Boeing 767s and Bombardier CRJ-705s. "Our business is upgrade," says Smallhorn. American Airlines, for example, ordered the iCACHE system for its B767-300 business-class seat enhancement program involving 58 aircraft. He adds that he expects to have iCACHE designed and approved for the A330, A340 and B777 as well.

Virgin America isn’t the only airline equipping new aircraft with iCACHE, however. Air Canada will have the product installed with the Thales TopSeries i4500 AVOD lightweight/power system in its new JAZZ operated CRJ-705s as well as in all of its A319/A320/A321 and Boeing 767 main-line aircraft.

All told, iCACHE has been implemented for IFE and ISPS systems installation in more than 210 aircraft, and Inflight Canada reports contracts to equip more than 200 additional aircraft.

Despite its weight- and power-reduction advantages, Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier haven’t adopted the iCACHE design. Smallhorn says he’s been told it would involve substantial deviation from conventional methods of cabin-systems installation design, plus the under-floor system would shift a portion of the responsibility for the cabin system’s performance to the airframers. Currently, airframers simply install seats on which these systems are attached and the responsibility of performance rests solely on the shoulders of the systems providers.

Not Too Big

Inflight Canada has installed iCACHE in two Virgin America aircraft "to get the bugs out," says Smallhorn. But it is not completing succeeding modification work. Instead the company is providing iCACHE kits for installation in another shop. "We don’t take on large projects; 20 airplanes would be too big," says Smallhorn. "We don’t have a big hangar, and we don’t want to have one."

The company will take on small modification jobs at an aircraft owner’s facility. A typical modification job would be for a lease company that takes back an aircraft or two from one carrier and wants the cabin(s) outfitted for another carrier. "We would develop the kits and then install them on location," says Smallhorn.

The company controls its growth and maintains its focus. "Let’s be very clear," says Sine, "Inflight Canada does not manufacture IFE equipment: monitors, file servers, flight attendant control panels, the ‘dreaded’ seat boxes or software that the big three IFE suppliers [Panasonic, Thales and Rockwell Collins] provide."

Smallhorn believes that by remaining relatively compact, the company can provide better service. "Generally, we can move the LRUs [line replaceable units] to the shop for bench repair quicker and return it overnight," he says. He contrasts his company’s service with that of large aircraft repair shops that work on an array of avionics and may require shipping through busy airports.

Though the company is relatively small, its service is comprehensive. Its modification work includes training the customer’s technicians on how to maintain the new installation and providing the appropriate manuals and troubleshooting guides.

Component Repair

At its headquarters in Montreal, Inflight Canada has two buildings, one for design and component repair/manufacturing and a second dedicated to harness manufacturing. All component repairs takes place in Montreal and includes work on the gamut of IFE components including screens, power supply boxes, digital passenger control units (handsets), file servers, DVD players and satellite communication systems. The shop employs avionics technicians and inspectors who are qualified according to Transport Canada regulations.

It holds a Transport Canada maintenance and repair license — "We’re continually audited," says Smallhorn — and it has bilateral agreements with authorities in Europe and the United States. "We haven’t explored the Asian market yet," says Smallhorn. "We’re busy enough."

Inflight Canada has component-repair contracts with multiple airlines and maintenance agreements with the major cabin-system OEMs. In the latter case, the OEM has maintenance contracts with airlines but, because it may not have a base in Canada, subcontracts some of the work to Inflight Canada for convenience. "Say, a part is for a Canadian airline," says Smallhorn. "The OEM might select us because we’re close; he may even avoid a shipping charge." Seventy-five percent of the company’s maintenance work is component repair.

A challenge for Inflight Canada is staffing and equipping a shop that works on systems produced by multiple OEMs. Each OEM determines both the test equipment and test procedures for its products. As a result, Smallhorn says, "We have a lot of special test equipment along with standard oscilloscopes and the like."

The company regularly sends technicians to the OEMs to learn of new systems and diagnostic/repair procedures. The technicians, in turn, instruct others on the Inflight Canada staff of what they’ve learned.

Company policy has the technicians working a variety of jobs, doing bench work or product development one day and installing systems onsite the next. The intent of crossover duties is to cultivate rounded technicians.

Onsite Maintenance

Inflight Canada has established onsite maintenance bases at Canada’s four major airports, which collectively accommodate nearly every major U.S. and European carrier. These facilities include an array of test equipment, tools, vehicles and usually staff 10 to 12 technicians. Routine work while the aircraft is at the gate includes refreshing data — movies, news and sports reports, etc. — is usually performed by a single technician. Onsite maintenance work, for which two or three technicians are assigned, largely involves failure diagnosis and parts replacement or as Smallhorn describes it, "taking care of snags." A single seat not working would be a snag, something not critical to flight but essential for customer satisfaction and requiring quick turnaround. Only airlines contract Inflight Canada for onsite maintenance; the company currently has contracts with six non-Canadian carriers.

Toronto also is an engineering and design facility with a certification office for Transport Canada approval, which is recognized by most other regulatory agencies through bilateral agreements. It approves the designs of Inflight Canada products and kits from the drawings received from Montreal for product fabrication and production. In addition, the company established a Boston-based subsidiary, Inflight Modification Services Inc., in 2001 to secure supplemental type certificates for modification work in U.S. registered aircraft.

Product Offerings

Inflight Canada products, generally, are meant to reduce maintenance, increase system reliability or make repair more convenient. For example, the company has developed an emergency power switch (EPS) panel that, in the event of an urgent situation in the passenger cabin, allows the cabin crew to remove all power (115 volts AC) to all cabin systems by activating a single switch. It also assures that should the switch be inadvertently re-activated, power to these systems will not be restored in flight.

On the ground, only the line maintenance technician is allowed access to the "locked wired" panel. He can use the EPS to isolate problems within the cabin, even when multiple systems are powered by a single source. Inside the panel is a master reset switch to make power available but also a bank of switches that allow power to be supplied to each affected system. In aircraft such as the Airbus A320, the EPS also can be used to create and control an independent cabin system’s power bus when one is not available from the existing aircraft electrical system. So in case of an engine failure, all non-essential cabin systems are shed.

The switch meets the FAA guidelines for IFE installation that was released September 18, 2000 and addresses load shedding. In August 2007 the FAA issued a notice of proposed rule making (docket no. FAA-2007-29045) recommending an advisory circular that "would require installing new relay(s) and wiring to allow the flight crew to turn off electrical power to the IFE systems and certain circuit breakers through a utility bus switch...." The comment period ended in October. For the EPS approval, Sine says, "We’re applying for an alternative means of compliance through Transport Canada."

Another device meant to reduce repair costs through standardization is the Inflight Canada’s generic video system control unit (VSCU). Sine explains its benefits: "As more older aircraft — all equipped with different legacy, overhead cabin systems — are leaving legacy carrier fleets and being repositioned to other airlines, the new operator is faced with multiple aircraft and various cabin systems. Our VSCU will operate any ‘overhead’ IFE system regardless of the manufacturer, so the receiving airline can have a ‘standard,’ which will reduce their line maintenance costs." The VSCU, too, has an FAA-compliant master kill switch, as well as forced-air cooling to enhance the unit’s reliability.

In addition, Inflight Canada produces LePEDestal, a device that allows line maintenance engineers to "very quickly" install an AVOD/ISPS system without having to modify the cabin seats, says Sine. He adds that it is about 50 percent less costly than seat modification, and installation of LePEDestals require only about an hour per seat. Weighing 15 pounds, the self-contained unit can accommodate two liquid crystal displays (LCDs) mounted on articulating, folding arms; life vest stowage, and two power outlets for either 110 volts AC or 15 volts DC power. For airlines wanting only the ISPS system allowing passengers to use their hand-held devices, Inflight Canada offers its PED Power Module.

Looking Ahead

The company is on the lookout for other products it can design to reduce weight and required power while making line maintenance easier. "We are now looking at installing antennas inside the aircraft instead of on top of, and outside the aircraft," says Sine. "Where we run into issues is that any specific antenna only works with a certain and specific satellite provider. Our goal is to create a design that allows the airline to remove one antenna that may be ‘tuned’ to a specific satellite provider and replace it with another without major structural modifications." The design is based on Inflight Canada’s experience of creating certificated, false-tail sections within which antennas are housed.

How does Inflight Canada see the future of IFE maintenance? Essentially, Sine foresees little change in the basic design of IFE systems, and while this may be good news for Inflight Canada’s maintenance business, he maintains that it doesn’t favor the airlines. The carriers would be better equipped with systems incorporating an ISPS AC power supply, an AVOD distribution box and DC power supply that will provide service to as many as 40 passenger seats, not three or four seats as is the current case. Each box, of course, would have to have more capacity and more outlets, and there would be more wiring to connect the seats to the reduced number of boxes. However, says Sine, "For the customer it would mean fewer boxes and components, less required power, lighter weight and less maintenance.

"iCACHE is a clear improvement [to current IFE systems] with its clusters of boxes," says Sine. "But this would take the concept a step farther."