What inspired you to co-found Altura?
Most suppliers define themselves by the services they provide. At Altura, we wanted to define ourselves by the problems we solve.
For years the industry has assumed airlines face a binary choice: outsource onboard retail or build everything themselves. We don’t think that’s true; every airline is different. Some need help managing complexity, forecasting, logistics or specialist commercial expertise. Altura was created to challenge that assumption. We wanted to build an independent business that allows airlines to choose exactly the expertise they need.
Do you believe an independent approach to onboard retail delivers greater value for airlines?
Independence changes the conversation. When a provider owns every part of the value chain there is an understandable incentive to sell more of the products or services within that value chain. We have deliberately taken a different position. Because we’re independent, we can recommend the solution that genuinely delivers the best outcome for the airline – even if that means supporting existing suppliers rather than replacing them.
We’re seeing airlines ask not “who should run my retail programme?” but “which capabilities should we own and which should we buy?”
You’ve said that airlines should focus on fixing operational costs before chasing new ancillary revenue opportunities – why?
Because losing less money is often easier than making more. The industry understandably spends a great deal of time discussing new products, AI-driven personalisation and digital retailing. Those things matter. But many airlines are still carrying avoidable operational costs every single day through inefficient loading, excess stock, waste, shrinkage and unnecessary logistics.
If you’re loading 30% more product than passengers actually buy, every new ancillary initiative starts from a weaker financial position.
The airlines achieving the best commercial outcomes increasingly understand that retail performance isn’t just about selling more. It’s about building a more efficient operating model first, then allowing new revenue initiatives to compound those gains.
How is LoadIQ helpinga airlines rethink onboard retail operations?
LoadIQ applies predictive modelling to determine what should actually be loaded onto each individual flight, reducing unnecessary inventory while maintaining availability for passengers.
What’s particularly interesting is that airlines often begin the conversation wanting to improve sales. They finish it recognising that inventory efficiency, logistics and working capital have a larger impact than they expected. It’s a reminder that commercial performance is created as much in the supply chain as it is in the cabin.
Why is crew engagement just as important as technology?
Because passengers don’t buy from software and technology doesn’t sell coffee! Technology can recommend products, optimise loading and provide insights but the moment that really matters still happens between a crew member and a passenger.
The best retail programmes recognise crew as commercial partners rather than simply operators. That means giving them better information, sales training and making it easy for them to influence continuous improvement.We’ve invested heavily in technology but we’ve learnt that technology succeeds only when it makes people’s jobs easier. If it doesn’t change behaviour, it doesn’t create value.
What have your recent projects across Europe and Latin America revealed?
The principal change isn’t technological – it’s strategic. Airlines are becoming much clearer about what they want to own themselves and where specialist partners add the greatest value. We’re seeing more interest in Merchant of Record services, optimisation tools, implementation support and advisory work, rather than simply outsourcing everything.
That reflects a more mature market. Airlines want flexibility. They want to retain control where it creates competitive advantage while accessing specialist expertise where it doesn’t.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities for onboard retail over the next five years?
The biggest opportunity isn’t another app. It’s moving away from thinking about onboard retail as a single outsourced service and towards viewing it as a collection of specialist capabilities that airlines can assemble to suit their own strategy.
We’ve spent twenty years asking who should operate onboard retail. The next twenty years will be about deciding which capabilities airlines should own, which they should buy and which will simply disappear as technology evolves.
Altura provides bespoke modules to solve airline onboard retail challenges. Learn more at alturaservice.com
Profile:
Neale Jouques OBE is Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder of Altura, leading enterprise and growth. Previously he founded onboard retail provider Versilia Solutions and prior to that was MD EMEA at gategroup where he ran retail programmes for the likes of easyJet, Wizz Air and Vueling.
