Low-Cost Play Trials and Explore Innovative Inflight Retail Solutions

Icelandic low-cost airline, Play, is running a trial of Bluebox Aviation Systems’ onboard retail technology on its fleet of 10 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. The airline will initially run Bluebox’s Blueview onboard retail service via a battery-operated Bluebox Wow portable streaming system.

For the trial, Bluebox will integrate Blueview with retailing and payment platforms from Most, to enable passengers to access Play’s retail catalogue wirelessly on their own devices, enabling touch-free ordering of food and beverages. Upon successful completion of the retail trial, a full deployment would add additional services to the Blueview platform, including paid access to in-flight entertainment.

Play – which flies from Iceland to destinations in Europe and North America – is undertaking the trial to assess whether the Blueview solution platform can add new channels of revenue generation in support of its low-cost carrier strategy and at the same time enhance its in-flight experience.

“Though we’re trialling retail initially, Blueview’s impressive flexibility as a broader digital platform would give us plenty of scope to expand the portfolio of digital services we offer on board in future. Bluebox’s credibility in this sector and their willingness to deploy a solution that will evolve with us demonstrate they are the right partner to have on our side in this exciting and very challenging environment in which we’re growing Play,” said Birgir Jónsson, CEO of the airline.

Kevin Clark, CEO of Bluebox, added that, “We’re working closely with Play’s team to trial onboard retail to start, and following a successful trial, we will introduce new elements in future phases – from retail initially to retail plus other digital services; and from a battery-powered deployment on Bluebox Wow to an aircraft-powered solution. This kind of flexibility – both as partners and in the technology options we can offer – is crucial for airlines seeking new channels of revenue and additional value for their customers in the digital world in which we operate.”