Airtext General Manager Jonathan Pinson provides an in-depth introduction of Airtext’s new Cabin IFE Server, Oasis, along with some updates on their best-selling Airtext+, with Editor-in-Chief of the Aero-News Network Jim Campbell live from the 2023 AEA Convention Floor.
Creating an Oasis of Relaxation
For years, Airtext customers have expressed a desire for entertainment functions to complement their existing connectivity. The result is Oasis, a product years in the making. Pinson describes the goal of the project as creating a “relaxation zone” where passengers can disconnect from the stresses of the ground.
Oasis facilitates a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) environment, allowing passengers to stream high-quality audio and video directly to their iPads or phones, utilizing their own noise-canceling headphones for a superior audio experience.
Key Features of Oasis:
- Media Server: Capable of storing large libraries of audio and video files.
- Satellite Radio: Features two channels of satellite radio for live news and music.
- Audio Inputs: Multiple audio inputs allow for auxiliary connections to be shared throughout the cabin.
- Connectivity: Includes a built-in Wi-Fi router.
- Hardware: A dense, compact unit weighing approximately 3 lbs, utilizing the same reliable chassis design as the Airtext router.
Revitalizing Legacy Airframes
One of the primary design philosophies behind Oasis was to solve the problem of aging technology in delivered aircraft. As Pinson noted in the interview, by the time an aircraft is certified and delivered, the cabin technology is often already five to ten years old.
Oasis offers a cost-effective solution to upgrade older airframes, bringing modern entertainment capabilities to Part 23 jets and turboprops without the complexity of a full Cabin Management System (CMS) overhaul.
Installation and Availability
Airtext is targeting a list price of approximately $20,000 for Oasis, filling a significant niche in the market between “all-or-nothing” expensive CMS solutions and having no options at all.
Installation is designed to be flexible. A basic installation (power and flight data) allows for wireless streaming, while digital I/O ports allow for more complex integrations, such as cabin lighting control. Estimated installation times range from 25 to 40 hours for basic setups. The initial STC is for the Citation X, with availability expected in June 2023.
Update on Airtext+
Pinson also provided an update on their flagship Airtext product. The system continues to break records, with approximately 1,200 to 1,300 aircraft now equipped.
Airtext remains a favorite among owner-operators and charter fleets for providing essential connectivity—Email, Talk, Text, WhatsApp, and Moving Map—at a fraction of the cost of full broadband internet. Pinson estimates that Airtext owners pay roughly $1,500 annually for connectivity, offering “90% of the functionality for 10% of the cost.”
Special thanks to Jim Campbell and the Aero-News Network for providing yet another year of fantastic live coverage from the AEA Trade Show and Convention. Check out the Aero-News Network for daily aviation and aerospace news at their website, along with their YouTube Channel.
Interview Transcript
Jim Campbell: I’d like to introduce Jonathan Pinson first from Airtext to talk about a new program that you’ve got. Fill us in first on what’s happening right now with the Oasis program and then from there to what’s happening with Airtext.
Jonathan Pinson: Yeah, so we’ve had our Airtext product line for a few years now, and we’ve had a lot of customers say they want us to do some entertainment functions with that. So we’ve tossed it around for a few years. We actually started this STC project back a couple of years back. So this has been a product that’s in the making for a long time.
Essentially what our goal was, is to create an oasis of relaxation in the cabin. We’ve had a lot of people when we try to talk to them about Airtext, they say, “being in the back of the aircraft on our trip is my time to disconnect or my happy time.” So we tried to really create a product that lets people use their own devices, lets them use really high-quality noise-canceling earpods/AirPods to where they can really just relax in the back of the aircraft until they get to their destination.
Jim Campbell: Nothing like being entertained en route.
Jonathan Pinson: Nothing like being entertained en route. First world problems, right?
Jim Campbell: Yep. Well, you gotta keep everybody behind the firewall happy one way or another. So, how are you building both the hardware and software for this? How’s this work out?
Jonathan Pinson: Yeah, so the… actually we have a box right here. We used a lot of the same principles as our Airtext box. It’s actually on the same STC.
Jim Campbell: Obviously a bit more bandwidth.
Jonathan Pinson: A bit more bandwidth, yep. So it’s on the same STC. But we’ve added a lot more functionality. So with Airtext we could do Email, Talk, Text, WhatsApp, we could do moving map functionality… we did a lot of pilot features. This is more centered or focused on entertainment content. And so we can do… it has multiple audio inputs so you could wire audio into it, like an aux in, and share it with everybody on board. You could load it up with audio or video files and anyone on board can stream and access those.
It actually has two channels of satellite radio. So you could have anybody on board tapping in to their favorite news channel or music station.
Jim Campbell: Howard Stern, where are you man?
Jonathan Pinson: There you go, where are you? So you’re listening to that on your own device and you’re using your own noise-canceling ear pods that give you a really good sound quality in the back of the aircraft.
We also have added some features… there’s a lot of people that say, “Hey, we want something that…” These airframes when they make them… when you deliver a brand new clean sheet airplane, the technology in the back is five to ten years old by the time the aircraft is delivered and certified. So another one of our goals was to be able to give new life to an older aging airframe. So you could put this box in…
Jim Campbell: Much easier to upgrade the older airframe than replace the old airframe.
Jonathan Pinson: Oh yeah.
Jim Campbell: Also cheaper.
Jonathan Pinson: Much cheaper. Big time. And so you can take this box and put it in the airplane and now as far as the entertainment and the technology, you’ve just brought it up a decade as far as technology is going. So it has a Wi-Fi router built inside of it along with those other features. We can also do hardwired moving maps…
Jim Campbell: You put 5 pounds in a 2 pound bag in this puppy, aren’t you?
Jonathan Pinson: It’s dense. You want to check… it’s right around three pounds but there’s a lot in there.
Jim Campbell: Holy smokes. HTML… okay, you got it all covered in there.
Jonathan Pinson: Yeah.
Jim Campbell: I need that in my office much less my airplane.
Jonathan Pinson: The idea is with Airtext we’re giving you a very low cost, high value connectivity solution. And then with Oasis, it does the entertainment stuff that Airtext didn’t do before. So with both of our products, now you put in two boxes, you have an all-in-one entertainment and connectivity solution for the whole aircraft.
Jim Campbell: Interesting. Talk to me about installation issues. Where, when, how, how much? And what are the shops telling you about the process?
Jonathan Pinson: So the box has so much to offer that you could really make the installation as easy or as difficult as you’d like. So just on the most basic side if you wanted to do a moving map Audio/Video server, it might just be give it power and hook up flight data to it and that’s it. Everyone accesses the content wirelessly through their devices so that’s a pretty simple install.
But we also have a lot of digital inputs and outputs and digital I/O so someone could, for example, drive some cabin lights with this thing. So depending on where the installer wanted to go with it and what peripherals the customer wanted to control with this thing, it could complicate the install. We’re targeting right around a $20,000 list price which we think… we just announced it yesterday so we’re getting good feedback that it’s going to fill a niche in the market where there’s not a lot of options. It’s either a huge really expensive CMS…
Jim Campbell: All or nothing.
Jonathan Pinson: All or nothing. Or there’s not a lot of options. So we feel like we’re going to fill a niche there.
Jim Campbell: What are the shops telling you?
Jonathan Pinson: Sounds easy. We’ve done really, really well with all the shops with our Airtext product. Typically an install for an Airtext is: you give it power, you give it flight data and you hook it up to an Iridium antenna. And I brought one here. It’s very small. There’s a lot of airplanes that already have the Iridium antennas already on them that maybe have been used with an older system. It’s easy to get engineering and put these on your aircraft. Some of the new stuff that we saw yesterday, the antennas were like bigger than a skateboard. And so for a lot of our customers, they’re flying Part 23 jets, turbo props… this makes a lot of sense for them.
Jim Campbell: Yeah, smaller is better especially when you start getting up into those flight regimes. Do you have a rough idea at this point on estimated installation times?
Jonathan Pinson: Um, I’m thinking anywhere between 25 and 40 hours would be an estimate if it’s a more basic install. Now if they’re going to be adding all this… doing the CMS control that this box can do… then I can’t really… I don’t know what that would entail. But just our solution, if you needed to put a satellite radio antenna and the box itself, it should be relatively easy to do.
Jim Campbell: Interesting. And where did this whole program come from? What was its Genesis?
Jonathan Pinson: So we had been tossing the idea around for an entertainment solution for a long time. COVID happened and business was booming and we had the chip shortage and so it kind of got put on pause for a little bit because… well you don’t want to design a new product if you don’t know if you’re going to be able to build it next month. And so luckily the chip shortage and some of that supply chain stuff has resolved themselves and we were able to identify the hardware platform. And based on what our customers’ requirements were, we were able to identify what this needed to be and what it needed to do. We were approached by an OEM that said “Hey we need a solution,” and they gave us a set of requirements. And so we’ve taken that but we’ve tried to expand upon that to be a great solution for the aftermarket community as well.
Jim Campbell: You guys have done some smart work heretofore. Let’s go back over the Airtext program at this point because it’s been a while since we’ve had you guys on air. Where is that program at right now? How’s it going and what’s new?
Jonathan Pinson: Yes, so Airtext is doing very well. We’re setting records every month, quarters. We’re probably around 1,200 to 1,300 aircraft now using Airtext.
Jim Campbell: Really? Excellent. That’s excellent penetration.
Jonathan Pinson: Yeah. We have… there’s now three OEMs that have it on airframes. It’s a line fit option on one airframe and factory options on two. And all the shops… we’re glad to see all of our dealers here but most all the avionics shops are installing it as well. We’re getting really good… the shops love it because it’s easy to install. But not only that, our customers love it. It provides a great value to them and it’s a low cost option. Our system doesn’t do full-blown internet so you’re not going to be going to YouTube or streaming. But it does allow you to do the key things that a lot of people are looking for which is Email, Talk, Text, Moving Map and WhatsApp functionality for a fraction of the cost.
One of our customers, we actually saw him earlier today but he said, “We give you 90% of the functionality for 10% of the cost.”
Jim Campbell: That’s a pretty good trade.
Jonathan Pinson: A lot of people are looking for just the basic communication without the thousands and thousands of dollars every month for their connectivity bill. So typically an Airtext customer might pay you know 1500 bucks a year is a good estimate for how much they would pay for their connectivity.
Jim Campbell: Drop in the bucket compared to other solutions at this point.
Jonathan Pinson: Yeah. And again like it’s not full-blown internet but a lot of these guys they don’t need that. They’re not looking to do all that stuff while they’re in flight.
Jim Campbell: Where do you go from here with that program?
Jonathan Pinson: At this point, they’re two separate boxes but we are looking and there’s some ideas… maybe we’ll be giving you some news next year… but integrating the Airtext with the Oasis box is something that we have on the horizon. Okay. And so we got some things we’re tossing around but nothing ready to announce yet.
Jim Campbell: And again going back to the beginning here, as I understood at the time, Airtext installations themselves are fairly simple.
Jonathan Pinson: Yep.
Jim Campbell: Installation times being about what?
Jonathan Pinson: 25 to 50 hours depending on the interior removal.
Jim Campbell: Okay. And then…
Jonathan Pinson: The hardest part is actually putting the antenna on the airplane. If they need an antenna, they gotta pull the headliner down and on some airplanes that’s much more labor intensive than others.
Jim Campbell: Plus just placement tends to be a real bear these days. Antennas are about as persnickety as ex-wives. It’s just really tough you know.
Jonathan Pinson: Luckily, and that’s why I brought this, it’s so small. It’s really easy to get this on a lot of different airframes. And so you won’t have to find a huge area to put the antenna on.
Jim Campbell: Well I’ll tell you what, we’ve been interested to see how this whole thing sprang out a couple years ago… It’s been fun to see it continue but obviously, it’s a big leap with the Oasis program. How can people get more information and what parts of the market are you targeting specifically?
Jonathan Pinson: So great questions, Jim. You can go to our website www.goairtext.com. Through there we have all kinds of resources on the web page. We actually have a dealer portal that most of the guys here have access to with some technical information. And then you can contact us directly through the website as well.
As far as Airtext… we’re about to finish the STC and then we should be ready to supply our STC… our OEM is working on their own STC. Ours, we’re targeting to be done by the end of May. And then availability for the aftermarket in June.
Jim Campbell: And what airframes are you targeting initially?
Jonathan Pinson: Our STC is on the Citation X but we’re targeting all cabin aircraft. We believe that with our STC and our data there’ll be a lot of people that can get it installed. But we’ll actually… we’re talking about doing an AML as well.
Jim Campbell: I was about to say, AML forthcoming?
Jonathan Pinson: Yep.
Jim Campbell: Interesting. Well, what else… you got to be thinking about what’s the next big thing for you guys. So just between you and me and ignore the camera… what’s next in the Airtext quiver of arrows here?
Jonathan Pinson: Yeah well we think we’ll have our work cut out for us just growing Oasis and getting that in many aircraft. Adding features and functionality and integrations with other systems. And who knows where we’ll go from there.
Jim Campbell: Again I enjoyed watching the process and the progress that has been made heretofore. We certainly appreciate the chance to talk to you and look forward to seeing what’s next next time we sit down and talk. Sure appreciate your time.
Jonathan Pinson: Awesome. Thank you, Jim.
