Passengers looking at their boarding passes may in the future find themselves also looking at advertisements tailored to their personal interests.

A new device, Adnexa, is designed to pair passenger information held by airlines with relevant campaigns from the airline’s advertising partners and display ads at opportune moments to travelers.

The system, devised by Ireland-based Comtrade Digital Services, was launched at this week’s Aviation Festival in Singapore.

Comtrade estimates its system could earn an airline €6 million ($7.4 million) annually, based on 20 million passengers a year, implementing Adnexa on three channels and selling advertising to 50% of its passengers at 20 euro-cents per impression.

Adnexa uses the “big data” owned by airlines on their passengers and matches this up with relevant ad campaigns from advertisers that have a relationship with the carrier.

An airline can specify the channels where passengers see the advertisements—for example, on a printed or mobile boarding pass, on its IFE system or with confirmation emails.

An average passenger looks at their boarding pass at least eight times over the course of a return trip, providing opportunities for advertisers to get their messages across.

Through the platform, airlines will have control over what advertising content their passengers see.

Comtrade argues that, as well as creating additional revenue, Adnexa will improve the passenger experience by allowing travelers to only see advertising content that is relevant to their personal profile and travel preferences.

The system uses an advanced algorithm that allows advertisers to submit pre-paid campaigns that make use of passenger data.

“The airline business is being commoditized and pressured for profits. Airlines need to look into their digital assets and monetize them properly, Comtrade VP/GM-mobility & travel Marko Javornik said.

“The platform not only allows airlines to improve the experience of the customer and capitalize on advertising space, it also enables advertisers to deliver campaigns to specific audiences and leverage valuable data.”

Source: ATW/ MAR2018

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