Press Release: PAX TECH HACK winners revealed

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The organisers of Passenger Technology Solutions (PTS), which returned to the Hamburg Messe 2-4 April 2019 during Passenger Experience Week, have today announced CloudLounge and BudJet as winners of its inaugural PAX TECH HACK, which saw around 50 international developers and innovators battle it out for their share of the €10,000 prize pool.

The PAX TECH HACK, backed by supporting organisation IATA, asked participating developers to respond to one of two challenges: the Inflight Passenger Community Challenge or Boost Airport Retail Challenge. After a short welcome and introduction to Passenger Experience Week, 12 teams were formed with developers uniting to combine ideas before undertaking 48-hours of non-stop coding on the PTS show floor.

Winners of the Inflight Passenger Community Challenge, CloudLounge, included first-time hackathon participants Tugberk Duman, Minja Silvennoinen and Tatjana Förster. Together they created an easy-to-use personal networking experience that enables passengers to use an IFE camera or QR code to join the virtual lounge of a fellow traveller.Speaking about the win, Tugberk Duman said: “It’s a great feeling to win, especially as a team of three when we’re competing against larger teams of developers and designers. We had a good focus throughout the challenge and clicked as a team. We believe the world is moving forward and instead of creating more Apps for our personal devices, we can make use of the industry’s existing infrastructure.”

Team BudJet, which included developers Evgeny Becker, Peter Martischka, Simon Hanke, Lukas Antesberger and Natalie Moschner were chosen as winners of the Boost Airport Retail Challenge for their solution which matches passengers with products available at an airport based on a designated budget. The App helps passengers navigate through an airport passing by shops of interest, helping maximum their time at the terminal, while driving revenue opportunities for retailers.

Speaking about the winners, expert panellist Sylvain Guilbon, Head of Customer Program Management, SITAONAIR, said: “As judges, what impressed us the most was the level of professionalism and quality brought to the final project presentations, after 48 hours of non-stop work. The presentations were not only polished and thorough, but took into consideration prototype functionality and clearly identified the pain points that the projects would address, as well as the potential business models to bring these ideas to market.

“Both teams addressed specific use cases in the passenger journey with an innovative approach and clear, concise, yet out-of-the-box, thinking. Being focussed on safety, first and foremost, the aviation industry tends to move at its own pace. It’s fantastic to see game-changing ideas like these that can enable air transport to be, not only safer, but faster and more enjoyable.”

Guilbon was joined by fellow expert panellists Pierre Charbonneau, Director, Passenger Experience & Facilitation, International Air Transport Association (IATA); Dr Stathis Kefallonitis, Founder & President, branding.aero and Noesis Analysis Labs; and Katie Murphy, Portfolio Director, Passenger Experience Week.

Speaking about the PAX TECH HACK, Pierre Charbonneau said: “I believe this industry has a unique edge over many others in the fact that most people travel for business or pleasure, and everyone has their own view of what could be improved. The next generation of aviation professionals are increasingly immersed in technology, and by working with digital suppliers and software developers, the pool for which new ideas can be facilitated is unlimited. Initiatives like the PAX TECH HACK are crucial in helping to stimulate innovation for the industry.”

Archana Sharma, Exhibitor Director, Passenger Technology Solutions, added: “All of our PAX TECH HACK developers deserve a huge round of applause for their hard work and determination. The solutions presented provided a unique insight into the opportunities offered by technology and a glimpse into the future of the passenger journey and what we can expect to see onboard.”

Passenger Technology Solutions returns as part of Passenger Experience Week 2020 from 31 March – 2 April to provide a platform that enables those responsible for cabin design, in-flight entertainment, connectivity, technology, passenger comfort, travel catering and onboard retail to deliver on the demands of the 21st century passenger.

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About Passenger Experience Week

Four leading events – the Passenger Experience Conference, Aircraft Interiors Expo, World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo and Passenger Technology Solutions – one week, one destination. Delivering content, driving innovation and developing connections to transform your business. Showcasing the latest in cabin interiors, inflight entertainment and connectivity, onboard technology, passenger comfort, catering and travel retail to create the ultimate passenger experience. Taking place 30 March – 2 April 2020 in Hamburg, the events attract more than 18,000 visitors including 2,000 buyers and decision makers from major full service, regional and charter airlines and rail operators and offers the opportunity to meet face to face with suppliers and manufacturers covering the full spectrum of the industry. 

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 500 events in over 30 countries. In 2016 Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 38 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customer across industries.