United - Trayvertising

United - Trayvertising

Despite the costs and trouble to introduce wireless in-flight entertainment (IFE) and/or in-flight connectivity (IFC) onboard, many airlines forget to make passengers aware of the availability of these services onboard, with most mentions tucked into seat pocket cards, lost between the in-flight magazine, duty-free, and in-flight menu.

The fact that many passengers are simply unaware of the new service, is a lost opportunity for passenger satisfaction and revenue. Simple tactics such as tray table ads, notifications on napkins and seat covers can do the trick.

For example, United is currently building awareness about its wireless IFE product using print ads on its tray tables. With more than 150 of its aircraft offering Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) entertainment as the only IFE option available, the carrier has found that passengers who are aware of the service rate the airline better in passenger satisfaction. The airline has also used the large space of the traytable ad as an opportunity to promote its destinations with panoramic images.

On a similar note, Singapore long-haul LCC Scoot promotes its onboard Wi-Fi with specially printed headrest protectors .

For those airlines which might want to use a more high-tech approach to promote the service to customers, SITA OnAir revealed plans at this year’s APEX EXPO to do so with a dedicated app and beacons , located at the airport and on the plane, which push messages offering connections to passengers’ mobile devices.