Guestlogix offers ancillary revenue opportunities

Onboard retail solutions provider GuestLogix has moved beyond its baseline transaction technology to offer airlines a new retail dimension that has the potential to significantly enhance ancillary
in-flight revenues.

GuestLogix’s Mobile Virtual Store™ already serves more than 30 per cent of glo-bal airline passenger traffic, enabling airlines to operate as onboard retailers, largely through the provision of food and beverages. The technology, which allows the airlines to accept payment and manage their onboard inventories, is in use with seven of the largest 10 global airlines, including Air AsiaX, Ryanair, American Airlines, Air Canada, Delta, British Airways and KLM. Via its Singapore office, the Canadian-based company is intent on expanding its customer base in the Asia Pacific region – and has recently signed roll-out deals with Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways.

The new product, On Touch™, is a global in-flight merchandising service that currently offers five programs, including entertainment (theatre, concert etc tickets), airport transfers (taxi, bus, train bookings), communications (web connections, phone cards, phone rental etc), catalogue products (for home or destination delivery), and a concierge package that covers personal itinerary management, travel updates and offers via email and SMS. Airlines can select the packages they wish to provide – and are not required to carry any inventories.

In Asia Pacific, OnTouch™ is being launched with partners in Singapore and Hong Kong.

John Devins, director GuestLogix Asia Pacific, is confident the uptake of the new technology in the region will be rapid, with airlines desperate for new revenue streams as passenger loads continue to weaken.

“What we came to realise was that there was a bigger and better opportunity, and that was to provide additional products and services that the airlines would see through the technology they were already using,” he said. “We provide the service at no extra cost to the airlines and it’s pretty much all profit, as commission comes with very little cost. It only involves some training for the flight attendants. But we plan to extend that so that it is integrated into the in-flight entertainment system and the order can actually take place without the flight attendant. Though the Mobile Virtual Store handhelds will probably still be used to transact the payment to fit with credit card regulations.

“Now that we have the three airline customers in the region we will roll out the point-of-sale technology first and make sure that the flight attendants are comfortable using that system. Once we have done that the plan is to roll out the OnTouch program so that we can start selling products and services.

“For the most part it is the low cost carriers that gravitate towards it...  Some of the legacy carriers are still not at a point where they are ready for it, but as we roll out our trials in the US it is likely this will get a lot more attention paid to it and I believe those legacy carriers will start to think very differently about it.”