“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
Hawaiian upgrades to digEplayer XLP
Hawaiian Airlines has signed a new four year contract extension with handheld inflight entertainment provider digEcor, to upgrade the airline’s IFE offering from the digEplayer 5500 to the digEplayer XLP.
digEcor president Brad Heckel commented, “The implementation of the digEplayer XLP is the first step in a longer term strategic partnership between Hawaiian and digEcor. We are dedicated to providing our clients with a robust IFE solution including flexible hardware, low cost content, and revenue generative programmes. These customer benefits are a result of the continuous improvement programmes, such as lean manufacturing and software development, that we have implemented.”
The first phase of the new agreement includes the replacement of approximately half of Hawaiian’s current digEplayer 5500 inventory, with the remaining stock being replaced in phase two. Also, the digEplayer XLPs will be initially offered on longer, premium routes.
Fully committed to revenue sponsored entertainment, the agreement also includes provisions to implement new revenue generative programmes such as shopping and advertising. “Hawaiian has one of the most impressive and well-oiled IFE rental programmes that we have seen in the industry,” Heckel observed. “Currently, the revenue just from the rental programme makes the digEplayer one of the best ancillary revenue programmes that Hawaiian has inflight. The addition of our new programmes will further increase the profitability for Hawaiian.”
digEcor content administrator Jed Thompson noted, “Our close relationship with the studios allows us to pass content cost savings to Hawaiian and our other customers.”
Hawaiian’s vice-president Louis Saint-Cyr added, “The wide range of inflight content choices that we are able to provide our customers through our digEplayer programme is one of the great reasons our customers love our IFE.”
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money]()
-
![Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline]()
Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
-
![Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons]()
Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
-
![UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour]()
UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour
A report from the Council on Geostrategy argues the UK should move away from a traditional balanced force and shift investment to naval, air and space capabilities, backed by a larger fleet of attack submarines and deeper AUKUS integration.
-
![Thales: deployment speed to determine winners in ‘production versus production’ era]()
Thales: deployment speed to determine winners in ‘production versus production’ era
At its technology summit in London, attended by Shephard, Thales UK examined the importance of speed to delivery, the growing focus on cross-domain capabilities and how procurement reform could be crucial for future battlefield advantage.
-
![Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain]()
Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.
