Spafax Collaborates With AirFi To Deliver An Innovative, Intelligence-Driven Suite Of Products

Spafax recently announced a collaboration with AirFi ­– a market leader in portable wireless inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) systems – on a joint suite of new products and services, with data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence at its core. 

Combining AirFi’s technologies and platform versatility and Spafax’s expertise across content creation, passenger communications and advertising, clients will now have an integrated airline advertising analytics tool that leverages on the latest AI technology; one that merges behavioural datasets with airline passenger demographics.

The tool will give unparalleled insight into the purchasing characteristics of passengers, allowing Spafax, AirFi and their brand partners’ targeted and personalised digital opportunities, to be displayed directly onto passengers’ connected devices.

Jean-Marc Thomas, Managing Director, Spafax Asia said, “We’re thrilled to be developing new business opportunities alongside AirFi. The services we individually offer to airlines are very complementary, and together we can deliver a cutting-edge IFEC experience onboard. AirFi is the market leader in portable onboard wireless technologies and brings in-depth knowledge of the industry. The company has designed a very intuitive platform for us to expand our content media and integrated revenue-generating solutions.” 

Job Heimerikx, AirFi CEO, added, “The revenue generation opportunity from digital platforms inflight is still massively untapped. Inflight entertainment has been well established for over 30 years, but remains a cost centre. Then came connectivity, but again the cost and complexity of delivery has overshadowed passenger experience and profitability. We are announcing a major global collaboration that will finally unlock the huge growth potential in onboard digital revenues through machine learning."

This collaboration with AirFi expands Spafax’s reach beyond traditional seat-back IFE and maximises the potential of the latest generation, fully-connected AirFi VENUS (Gen 3) portable IFEC system.  

This provides for content and media solutions that are customisable, flexible and easily deployed – from high bandwidth and secure streaming to any mobile device onboard, digital-rich media types and formats, to daily content refresh capability as well as embedded AI technologies and applications. Content and targeted advertising to passengers are also displayed in a controlled and secure environment, via AirFi’s fully GPRS-compliant onboard server.

 The Spafax and AirFi partnership is timely, as it directly addresses the fast-growing need in a post-COVID-19 environment to fully digitise aircraft cabins, enable zero-touch operations, and allow for deeper engagement  with customers and crew through intuitive, personalised machine interactions.

In a recent interview, Spafax CEO, Niall McBain highlighted how digital transformation is at the forefront of Spafax’s strategic re-haul.

“Spafax is working with new platforms and partners to give airlines new choices when the recovery begins, with cloud-based entertainment systems in the works that utilise creative, cutting-edge technology to connect with passengers in newer and even more exciting ways,” he said.