Lufthansa Technik (LHT) is showcasing its latest innovations for business aircraft this week at EBACE 2024. They include an update for its Networked Integrated Cabin Equipment (Nice) inflight entertainment (IFE) and cabin management platform, a lightweight speaker system for business jet cabins, aeromedical cabin systems, new antenna radome, and an aircraft fuel system cleaning process that removes biofilm.
The company’s Original Equipment Innovation unit is on track to introduce the next generation for its Nice platform next year and is starting to install cabin systems on the latest additions to its line-fit portfolio—the Embraer Phenom 100EX.
More than 20 years after the maintenance, repair, and overhaul group took a leap into the niche cabin technology sector, it has now installed Nice and cabin management systems on more than 1,500 aircraft. These include multiple Bombardier and Embraer business jets, and at last year’s NBAA-BACE Pilatus selected LHT develop a platform for the PC-24 twinjet.
The next challenge for the company’s engineering team in Hamburg, Germany, is the advanced air mobility sector, for which it is working to scale Nice equipment down in size to fit into four-passenger eVTOLs. This week at EBACE, visitors can examine a prototype of a cabin management system for one of these air taxis. The concept is based on modular components that can be used in different models.
With each evolution of the Nice platform, LHT is looking to facilitate further upgrades to the capabilities of the IFE and cabin management systems. “The core system doesn’t have to be changed, and you can deliver new benefits at the software application level,” explained Wassef Ayadi, the company’s senior director for customer relations with the OEM & Special Engineering Services unit.
“It means that changes are simple enough as to be possible between flights, and that could work well for large fleet operators who want to customize service for different groups of passengers or even at the level of individual seats.”
LHT has started to introduce voice recognition capability on several Bombardier models. Ayadi explained that these will generally be used by crewmembers as digital assistants to control cabin equipment while performing other tasks. The technology can be trained to understand different accents and languages and, unlike devices such as Apple's Siri, does not use the web cloud.
Next-gen Nice is already being flight tested on an airliner operated by Lufthansa group carrier Discover. LHT can also install Nice systems on aircraft that are not part of its line-fit portfolio, and these have included Gulfstreams and Boeing Business Jets.
Assessing equipment LHT makes for aircraft for reliability is a task the company takes very seriously. “Along with safety, it is the most important,” said Ayadi. “We don’t deploy until it is ready, and that means testing for the whole life cycle of the product.
“For instance, we were not the first to offer a curved [entertainment] screen by choice because we wanted to offer something more reliable than a consumer electronics product. We don’t beta-test products with customers.”
LHT's Not-so-Nice Products and Services
Also being featured this week at the company's EBACE exhibit are the latest Omni-Fi speakers, which are intended to be invisible when installed in aircraft cabins. The ultra-thin, lightweight units have been developed to be fitted behind interior structures such as sidewall panels, delivering high-fidelity sound while not disrupting visible surfaces to give cabin designers greater flexibility.
Building on work completed for military customers, LHT is also presenting a patient transport unit that can be fitted in VIP aircraft to support aeromedical operations. The equipment is scalable to allow medical specialists to care for unwell passengers during flight.
Another new item being shown this week at EBACE is LHT’s TIOS Xgrade radome, which can accommodate both legacy antennas with movable parts and the latest electronically-steered antennas. The design is intended to help aircraft operators progressively upgrade their inflight communications equipment without having to add or change out radomes on the aircraft exterior.
Meanwhile, LHT is showcasing a fuel system cleaning process that removes biofilms that can cause corrosion, clogging, and other malfunctions.The company recommends the cleaning process for business aircraft that spend more time than average on the ground, giving the fuel more opportunity for biofilm growth. The aim is to eliminate risks such as fuel contamination and costly damage to aircraft structures.