We were thrilled to attend Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) 2025, our largest commercial aviation event, in Hamburg, Germany last week. This global gathering brought together industry leaders, innovators, and partners to explore the future of aviation technology. Throughout the event, we engaged in insightful discussions that shed light on key trends shaping the passenger experience. From advancements in inflight connectivity to smarter cabin solutions, we’re partnering with key players to enhance comfort, convenience, and entertainment for travelers worldwide. Here’s a look at some of the most exciting takeaways from our conversations at AIX.
Smarter cabins are coming
There was a lot of interest around the smart cabin this year. A smart cabin refers to an aircraft interior equipped with advanced, connected technologies. This includes real-time data exchange between systems—such as lighting, seating, galley equipment, environmental controls, and inflight entertainment—powered by a centralized or distributed computing platform.
We discussed how it leverages things like sensors, open software architectures, and wireless connectivity to enable more personalized passenger services, streamlined crew operations, and even predictive maintenance.
Challenges for airlines
We spoke with major airlines about the challenges they face in gaining better visibility into each seat—such as knowing whether it’s occupied or if there's an issue. Today, (surprisingly!) many airlines still rely on flight attendants to manually report problems, like a broken screen, or wait for passengers to complain. These issues are typically logged by hand, with no automation or real-time monitoring in place, making it difficult to proactively address maintenance and improve the passenger experience.
We were delighted to show them how they could benefit through improved efficiency and differentiation, while passengers enjoy a more intuitive, responsive, and comfortable travel experience—this of course, is all part of the aviation industry's broader push toward digital transformation and connected aircraft ecosystems.
Advanced hardware designed specifically for data-driven environments
We’re typically known for our powerful airborne servers, gateways, CWAPs (Cabin Wireless Access Points), modem managers and power supply units and how they form the backbone of in-flight connectivity and real-time data flow.
For smart cabins specifically, these systems collect and transmit data from seats, entertainment units, and other onboard systems, allowing airlines to monitor seat occupancy, identify faults (like malfunctioning screens or ports), and track usage patterns—all in real time. People who stopped by our AIX booth were fascinated by the rugged reliability and high processing power of our systems on display.
Our experts onsite demonstrated how seamless integration with our Device Management software, helps transform traditional aircraft cabins into intelligent, responsive spaces.
Software demonstrations at our booth were a hit!
It was clear to us that airlines need more than just hardware—they need smart software that simplifies operations, improves efficiency, and enhances the passenger experience. We went through countless demos of our Device Management software for avionics and KontronOS.
Many key players were impressed to learn that we provide a centralized, intuitive way to monitor, control, and update cabin systems and connected devices across fleets. And they were able to see live, how the integrated software layer of our operating system (OS) supports faster deployment of new services, improves reliability, and reduces maintenance effort.
Kontron OS
Our software experts showed attendees how KontronOS for Avionics (KOSA) offers significant advantages by simplifying and accelerating the deployment of applications across their fleet. As a flexible middleware solution, KOSA makes porting applications seamless, quick, and easy—reducing development time and ensuring faster time-to-market.
Its hardware-agnostic design means the same applications and configurations works across all platforms running KOSA, streamlining operations and maintenance. With built-in support for virtual machines and containers, KOSA offers a scalable foundation that can adapt to a wide range of application needs.
Visitors were delighted to see that when combined with Kontron Device Management for Avionics, airlines gain a comprehensive fleet management solution that enables over-the-air (OTA) telemetry, remote system management, and simplified updates of field-loadable software and content —ensuring efficient and consistent operations across the entire fleet.
Device Management software for avionics
Our Device Management software empowers airlines to expertly manage their global fleet devices with confidence, ensuring efficient and secure operations at scale. The platform provides instant alerts, real-time monitoring, and remote diagnostics, allowing operators to quickly identify and resolve issues before they impact service.
What attendees were able to see was that it enables seamless remote updates and management of onboard system content, making it easy to keep systems current without requiring aircraft downtime. The fact that it is fully customizable and extensible, and adapts to unique deployment needs really resonated with visitors.
Additionally, it can integrate effortlessly with Kontron platforms running KontronOS for Avionics and also works with third-party systems—offering airlines a powerful, flexible solution for maintaining system health and performance across diverse aircraft configurations, which peaked their interest.
More to come in 2026
Our successful showing at AIX 2025 reaffirmed just how much momentum is building around the smart cabin—and we're just getting started. As the industry evolves, Kontron remains committed to delivering open, flexible hardware and software solutions that empower airlines to unlock richer data, streamline operations, and enhance the passenger experience. We’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the connected cabin, working hand-in-hand with our partners to shape a smarter, more seamless future that passengers and operators alike will love.
If you’d like more information on our hardware and software solutions, we would love to continue the discussion. Email us at [email protected] to reach our experts in inflight connectivity and entertainment.
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