Alan Pellegrini discusses the changing airline environment in the digital economy

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"Data & data analytics are predicted to be strong transformation factors for airlines,” said Pellegrini. “As airlines work to collect all the data being generated by an aircraft, we see benefits for things such as real-time predictive maintenance, targeted in-flight advertising, fleet optimization and better catering to passengers who are experiencing a flight delay."

The panel, comprised of peers from JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, ViaSat, Global Eagle Entertainment and Amadeus IT Group, provided the opportunity to discuss critical issues impacting airlines today and one topic resonated among others - cybersecurity. With aircraft becoming nodes in a connected airline environment, the panel looked at cybersecurity as a critical aspect of the new airline operating model.

Pellegrini honed in on the collaborative efforts being undertaken by air framers, suppliers, airlines and government authorities to monitor and better secure connected and electronic systems on board an aircraft.

Pellegrini was also quick to note that critical flight controls were already highly secured and protected systems. However there is a continued need to secure passenger details, payment information and intellectual property of on-board and streaming content.

Closing the panel on the reaction from lawmakers to cybersecurity, Pellegrini called for a measured and reasonable response because cybersecurity is a tiered threat environment which requires the appropriate level of risk mitigation.

Beyond the discussion of the connected airline, the all-day event allowed industry insiders to share viewpoints and assessments on innovation, technology, space travel, airspace management and airport operations.

For more information and to view an archive of the webcast from the summit, please visit: www.uschamberfoundation.org/aviation-summit.