The Airline Passenger Experience Association is born

The

The World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) didn’t really like its name. The company felt its name did not reflect the role it plays in delivering the passenger experience for the world’s commercial airlines. So, with a two-thirds majority vote, the WAEA membership has approved a new name – Airline Passenger Experience Association.

The WAEA, which is a not-for-profit association, was founded over 30 years ago, by a group representing the inflight entertainment community. Since then, systems installed on aircraft have moved from simple overhead projection equipment, to highly advanced, networked systems that provide on-demand entertainment, as well as inflight information and telecommunications, retailing and revenue generation, and much more. Today, this industry segment represents an investment by airlines of over US$2 billion a year, globally.

“As our industry evolves, it is the association’s obligation to stay ahead of the curve and accurately capture the pulse of our membership,” said WAEA/APEX president Patrick Brannelly. “The word ‘entertainment’ in our name was somewhat limiting the association’s ability to define its’ future, although, of course, entertainment is very much our heritage and will remain at the heart of our activities.”

Brannelly announced the new name today in Hamburg, Germany, at the WAEA Conference focusing on airline seats and inflight entertainment systems. More than 250 delegates from airlines and systems and seat vendor companies attended this event, which was hosted at the Airbus facility.

APEX’s website address will be www.apex.aero .

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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