APEX Tech 2026 Agenda

Ice Breaker Happy Hour

Registration & Coffee

Welcome & Opening Insights

Keynote Address: Infinite Content, AI, and the Reinvention of Flight

Virgin Atlantic opens APEX TECH 2026 with a bold exploration of how it continues to lead creatively in IFEC. From the VERA entertainment platform to seamless Virgin Red integration and an identity that champions style with substance, Corneel outlines Virgin Atlantic’s ongoing pursuit of personalized innovation.

Airline Panel: Airlines Defining the Next Wave of Connectivity and Content Integration

Speed Networking & Coffee Break

Case Study: Implementing Starlink LEO Successfully

This case study showcases the rapid integration of SpaceX Starlink Low Earth Orbit connectivity across JSX, Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways, demonstrating its adaptability for different aircraft types and operational models. Airlines leveraged Starlink’s high-speed, gate-to-gate internet to enhance passenger experience, from JSX’s regional jets to Hawaiian’s A321neo and A330 aircraft, and Qatar Airways’ 54 Boeing 777 widebodies. The successful large-scale deployment highlights Starlink’s role in setting a new global standard for inflight connectivity technology in commercial aviation.

The Latest in IFC - Is LEO Going to Eat Everyone's Lunch

This panel will examine the rapid advances in Low Earth Orbit satellite connectivity, spotlighting real-world airline deployments that redefine inflight internet performance. Leaders will explore how emerging LEO solutions from providers such as SpaceX Starlink, OneWeb, Telesat Lightspeed and Amazon Project Kuiper, alongside established GEO and MEO providers including Viasat, Intelsat, SES and Eutelsat, are transforming passenger experience, operational efficiency and competitive positioning across diverse fleets. Discussion will address whether LEO’s speed, reliability and scalability position it to surpass or integrate with traditional geostationary, medium Earth orbit and hybrid IFC models in commercial aviation.

Lunch Break

Workshop: In-Flight Connectivity Disruption - From GEO to LEO and the Hybrid Horizon Group

Coffee Break

Keynote Address: Bridging Continents, Connecting Experiences

Turkish Airlines Vice President, Customer Experience Mustafa Mucahitoglu, outlines the airline's global digital strategy, where IFEC is infused with cultural intelligence, language diversity, and next-generation passenger engagement powered by AI, personalization, and a seamless digital ecosystem.

Redefining the IFC Experience - Portals, Performance and Personalization Driving the Next Era of Airline Revenue and Loyalty

This panel will explore how airlines are redefining the inflight connectivity experience through next-generation portals, high-performance Quality and Experience (Q&E) technologies and advanced personalization strategies. Visionary leaders will reveal how they create seamless digital touchpoints that engage passengers with real-time, tailored content, services and offers from gate to gate. Participants will gain insight into how these innovations boost loyalty, enhance operational efficiency and open powerful new revenue streams, positioning airlines to lead in the next era of connected travel.

Edge Caching and Streaming - Focus on Supply Chain Technology, Standards, Market Dynamics, and Technical Implications of Different Business Models

Over time, as connectivity bandwidth increases and its costs decrease, less content will be locally-cached on the aircraft and more content will be delivered from the cloud. Emerging delivery methods codified by the Streaming Video Technology Association (SVTA)--with whom APEX enjoys a liaison relationship—will enable faster deployment of content to the aircraft, and offer content providers the ability to have greater control over both prioritization of content in the supply chain, and management of the business models. But are those business models changing? Is the concept of “consumers provide the content, airlines provide the pipe” premature? Where will the technology and business models intersect, and what does that mean for the future of IFE?

Day 1 Wrap-Up & Feedback

Networking Reception

Join fellow APEX members and TECH attendees for an engaging networking event with drinks, light appetizers, and great conversations.

Welcome & Opening Insights

Keynote Address: Designing the World’s Best IFE

With Cathay Pacific named Skytrax 2025 winner for Best Inflight Entertainment, the airline reveals the interface principles, multilingual innovations, and personalization strategies that elevated their IFEC offering to global acclaim.

Case Study: How Fast Can Media Content be Deployed to Aircraft Today - at Scale?

IFE has always enjoyed an Early Window of availability, just weeks or months after theatrical opening, and prior to other ancillary markets. But as the time between theatrical release and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) streaming has shrunk, out-of-date Content Integration practices have cost IFE its Early Window. But cloud-based delivery coupled with smart metadata—already the subject of some APEX Working Groups—offer the opportunity to regain some windowing primacy. Come join a robust discussion on cloud-based capabilities, smart metadata, and edge caching.

APEX STREAM - Accelerating from Studios to Onboard

Sometimes technology changes business models, and sometimes business models require changing technology. The emerging Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model, coupled with streaming technology, has vaulted D2C into the highest market in the media & entertainment industry, relegating theatrical to second position at many of the studios who have embraced D2C. Cloud-based delivery has opened new opportunities for time-sensitive content. While some may have once believed that IFE would surrender to D2C, new B2B models are emerging in which the APEX Technology Committee and potential Working Groups will be involved to codify a distribution architecture that enables content owners to enforce the business models that they prefer. Will IFE become a D2C market, or will it remain B2B? Come participate in paradigm-changing conversation.

Speed Networking & Coffee Break

Workshop: APEX STREAM - How Studios, Airlines, Connectivity, CSPs, and the Value Chains Interact

Lunch Break

Thinking Bigger - Looming Technology and Use Cases That Will Impact Passenger Experience Onboard Advertising, Ecommerce, and More

Thinking “outside the box”—maybe even thinking outside the fuselage—has never been more important for providers of the passenger experience. Earlier in the day, robust conversations about cloud-based content delivery, smart metadata, edge caching, content integration, regaining Early Window, and new approaches to IFE as a B2B market will have taken place. But there is more. IFEC is becoming more data-driven; new technology can enable content delivery with embedded metadata that triggers ad placement and ecommerce opportunities. Cloud-based supply chains not only deliver content to the aircraft faster, they also collect and offload data faster while ad impression data is worth a higher CPM. Using EIDR as a content identifier not only speeds delivery, but ad impressions that are identified by Ad-ID coupled with the EIDR number of the content against which the ad was seen are worth a significantly CPM rate. Come discuss the future of IFEC.

Studio Panel: Personalization at Scale with Studios and CSPs Adapting Content to Passenger Demand

Keynote Address: The Next Generation of Delta Sync to the Future

Discover how Delta Air Lines is redefining the connected travel experience through the next generation of Delta Sync, merging technology, personalization, and seamless connectivity. This keynote explores how innovation in the sky is setting new standards for engagement, loyalty, and the future of digital travel.

Coffee Break

Parallel Sessions

Day 2 Wrap-Up & Feedback