INFLIGHT CONNECTIVITY (IFC)
ANALYSIS TOOLKIT
Tracking Performance for a Winning Experience
Jump ahead of the RFP process with industry- backed metrics that matter
The IFC Toolkit provides a clear set of features and measurements to recognize and manage the IFC service quality. Included you’ll find a suite of easy-to-use documents and comprehensive Compliance Criteria Matrix that can be used by:
- An airline to simplify the process of assembling an RFP, comparing responses, and opening discussions with both current and prospective suppliers
- A provider to prepare and understand the measurements required to meet the established Seamless Air Alliance recommendations for airlines who require QoE results. This also prepares a provider for in-depth discussions throughout the RFP process.
PUBLISHED: JUNE 2022
340 pages | Format: PDF and Excel
AVAILABLE LICENSES
Airline: $0 (with free membership)
Non-Airline: Standard $4,795
Enterprise: $8,795 (includes 1 update)
Our guests are returning to our flights with the expectation that they’ll be able to complete the same tasks they do on the ground while in the air.”
These are the metrics that you should be tracking.
The metrics contained in the IFC Toolkit, in totality, provide a true picture of passengers’ experience with your IFC system. The IFC Toolkit will help you establish metrics related to application, service, and network performance, in terms of reliability, availability, scalability, speed, accuracy and efficiency.
Is your service provider tracking the End-to-End passenger experience?
Many IFC system providers today track pieces of the experience – but not the wholistic, end-to-end experience. Individual failure points are often lost in aggregate metrics that measure performance in the broadest sense of the term – is it working or not? Can this one task be completed. To truly measure the quality of experience, you must track every link in the chain from the passenger’s request to the end result they see.
Expertise you may not have internally…
For small airlines, and even big ones, the IFEC manager cannot be expected to know all the intricacies of network design. Even internal network teams find that IFC system challenges are not within their expertise. The IFC Toolkit ensures you have the knowledge and standards needed to ensure you are tracking the right metrics.
The IFC Toolkit enables a data-driven approach to measure and ensure IFC Service Quality
Doc: EXP-1 Specific Application Service Quality
Passengers perform a wide variety of tasks using inflight connectivity through multiple applications and functionality within those applications. For example, when selecting a messaging pass, the passenger experience would be based solely on the ability to send and receive messages through the approved messaging application. The performance of any other application the passenger attempts to use would not be considered a factor.
Doc: EXP-2 Measuring Browsing Service Quality
Passengers will attempt to access a wide variety of websites with internet access. Each website has different demands and functionality; a news website may simply display photos and text, whereas Office365 is predicated on the ability to interact and create documents.
Doc: EXP-3 Measuring Streaming Service Qualitywsing Service Quality
Passengers choosing to listen to and/or watch streamed audio or video content have a clear definition of what they consider a quality streaming experience, quick to launch, and clear and continuous playback of their content.
Doc: EXP-4 Measuring Wi-Fi Slice Service Quality
Addresses the need to reliably communicate and transfer data between the onboard Wi-Fi network and a passenger’s device.
Doc: EXP-5 Measuring Backhaul Service Quality
Backhaul involves transmitters on the ground (or in space) establishing, maintaining, and transmitting data to and from aircraft within its range. Connecting data between an aircraft and the ground is challenging. With multiple aircraft sharing the same data connection, the usage of any one aircraft can affect the performance of other aircraft.
Doc: EXP-6 Measuring Portal Service Quality
An inflight webpage, or portal, is used by passengers to connect to the inflight connectivity services offered on their flight. An inflight portal provides airlines with multiple options such as; entertainment content, airline merchandise products, display revenue-generating advertisements, host inflight help resources, and other types of content. The functionality of the portal is critical to delivering the services offered by an airline, and resolving issues encountered by a passenger.
Doc: EXP-7 Measuring User Device Service Quality
Passengers travel with a wide variety of devices, some of which may be incompatible with the inflight connectivity system. Additionally, some applications and software versions may not be permitted for use on the aircraft’s network.
Doc: EXP-8 Measuring Application Service Quality
A passenger’s expectation is to complete the task they set out to do. While the inflight connectivity system provides the necessary internet connectivity, a passenger’s request needs to reach the appropriate application server that can complete the task. An application server is the destination of the passenger’s request and must be reached to get the expected result.
Doc: EXP-9 Measuring Wi-Fi AAA Service Quality
Passenger devices must be approved to connect to the inflight connectivity system, the same as any other Wi-Fi network. If the authentication and authorization approval process (AAA), is not done correctly it can; 1) limit a user’s access to the system, 2) allow malicious devices to connect, 3) inaccurately track devices, and 4) increase the time it takes for the device to connect to the network.
Doc: EXP-10 Measuring Product AAA Service QualityDoc: EXP-9 Measuring Wi-Fi AAA Service Quality
When passenger devices connect to the Wi-Fi network, there’s an additional authentication process to allow the use of the network to connect to the internet. The authentication and access approval process ensures that; 1) the passenger has properly paid for or been granted free access to the service, 2) the service gets activated and terminated as intended, and 3) the passenger usage is accounted for properly for billing purposes.
Doc: EXP-11 Measuring Platform Service Quality
Inflight connectivity systems are complex and include many physical and software components that can impact a passenger’s ability to use the internet for a period, or throughout an entire flight.
Doc: EXP-12 Quality Control Agents
An onboard agent or “fake user” that regularly performs tests to record the performance of the system. The “fake user’s” experience is not reflective of any specific passenger experience but will provide data to help understand the overall performance of the system and troubleshoot issues.
Inflight Connectivity (IFC)
Published: June 2022
AIRLINE: $0
(with free membership)
Inflight Connectivity (IFC)
Published: June 2022
NON-AIRLINE: $4,795
Standard License
