Moment has announced the acquisition of Airfree, the inflight e-commerce provider. The strategic move signals Moment’s ambition to transform the passenger experience and further innovative transport industry solutions, including opportunities for airlines to generate ancillary revenue.
With the acquisition, Moment has expanded its connected services and offers a tailor-made response to the new challenges facing transport operators.
Airfree was founded in 2016 with the ambition of reinventing the inflight retail experience. Etienne de Verdelhan and Agnès Debains, Airfree’s CEOs and co-founders, have a solid background in omnichannel commerce, IT and retail transformation.
They are convinced that in the post-COVID market, inflight sales must evolve to reach the digital standards passengers are used to at home. Airfree’s e-commerce solution has already been adopted by the likes of Singapore Airlines, meaning Moment is able to offer an onboard marketplace solution connected to over 350 duty-free stores worldwide.
Consequently, passengers can access a wide selection of products via seat-back screens or their personal electronic devices. They can order securely in real-time and select from onboard, at the airport or to their home delivery options.
Airfree has patented technology optimising inflight bandwidth. This enables airlines to offer a high-performance service in real-time, even with restricted connectivity. As a result, airlines have new opportunities to generate additional revenue while enriching their passengers’ user experience.
Since its creation in 2013, Moment has positioned itself as an inflight entertainment and digital services player. Cost-effective and quick to deploy, its onboard system, Flymingo, and Mood software platform can be deployed in the air, on trains and at sea. To date, Moment has partnered with numerous operators worldwide, including the train company SNCF, Malaysia Airlines, Saudia Airlines and Corsica Linea shipping company.
“In a rapidly transforming transport sector, marked by major decarbonisation challenges, we must constantly innovate to accelerate the digitalisation of onboard services and operations, for the benefit of passengers and airlines alike,” said Tanguy Morel, CEO of Moment.
“This initiative enables us to take a technological step forward in e-commerce and marketplace while strengthening our range of innovative solutions, designed to meet our customers’ needs,” he continued.
