The Press Box

Successful Trial Plays out with Full Deployment of Blueview across PLAY Airlines Fleet

Bluebox’s onboard retail system is a winner with both passengers and crew

After a successful trial of Bluebox’s Blueview digital services platform, PLAY Airlines has now deployed the onboard retail solution across its entire fleet of ten Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft. Iceland’s low-cost airline PLAY – which flies from Iceland to destinations in Europe and North America – has deployed the Blueview solution as a channel for increased revenue generation, supporting its low-cost carrier strategy.

The trial involved a successful integration of Blueview with the airline’s retailing and payment platforms, provided by their retailing partner MOST, to enable in-seat digital ordering of items from PLAY’s bistro menu and catalogue of products. To present PLAY’s retail offering on Blueview wirelessly to passengers on their own devices, Blueview has been deployed on the Bluebox Wow portable wireless network system. The combined solution met the trial’s primary objectives of increased revenues as well as a positive cabin crew and passenger in-flight experience.

“This was a fun addition to our in-flight service – one that earned praise from both our passengers and our cabin crew,” said PLAY’s Sonja Arnórsdóttir, CCO. “The hard metrics proved Blueview’s value in increasing revenue, but there were also other benefits – such as passengers on our overnight sectors simply being able to order products when they wanted to, and the Bluebox team’s exceptional support throughout the trial – that helped convince us that the onboard retail system is just the start in the value we’ll generate from having Blueview on board and an excellent partnership with Bluebox.”

“From the start of the trial, the positivity and commitment shown by PLAY and MOST to help ensure we achieved success made this a truly exciting project for the entire team,” said Kevin Birchmore, VP Global Sales, Bluebox. “For the full roll-out, we’ve focussed on refining the onboard retail service, and can now explore new ways to expand the potential of Blueview and different services which will add value for PLAY and its passengers. Discussions are already underway in terms of additional media, and other ancillary services.”

PLAY’s Blueview deployment is based on the platform’s onboard retail capabilities, but the airline also chose to include Bluebox’s patented moving map technology, games, and passenger survey functionality.

A 2023 recipient of the PAX Tech Readership Award for Technology, Blueview is an innovative software platform that provides both the browser-based portal through which passengers can view and access a range of digital services, such as onboard retail and in-flight entertainment alongside a moving map, as well as all the underlying functionality which ensures secure payment processing, third-party app integration, content management and analytics. It is a digital eco-system offering airlines the ability to engage and entertain their customers on board and earn ancillary revenue for the airline in the process.

Bluebox Wow is a cost-effective hardware platform that allows for rapid deployment of Blueview and provides the wireless network to deliver Blueview to passenger devices in any aircraft cabin. With a remarkably low cost of ownership, Bluebox Wow is a discrete, portable, lunchbox-sized unit stowed securely in overhead bins, and available in battery- or aircraft-powered options.

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