Aviation Innovation Awards recognise ‘trailblazing inflight connectivity solution’ for helping airlines to enhance their passenger engagement and unlock new revenue streams

Inmarsat received top honours at the Aviation Innovation Awards last night, after its ground-breaking OneFi passenger experience platform was crowned winner in the ‘New Technology Innovation’ category.

The accolade was presented during the Aviation Annual Gala Evening 2022 in Dubai. The judging panel commended OneFi as an ‘innovative step change’ for airlines, enabling them to enhance the digital onboard experience for passengers and maximise returns on their inflight connectivity investments.

The judges recognised OneFi’s continued impact on the aviation industry, praising its unique ability to bring together a diverse range of inflight services, content features and high-quality broadband access for passengers. OneFi was also praised for enabling airlines to expand and diversify their revenue streams through targeted content, digital commerce and advertising.

The award comes less than a month after Inmarsat unveiled the results of its 2022 Passenger Experience Survey, which found 77% of airline passengers globally describe inflight Wi-Fi as important to them. More than 80% said they would rebook with an airline that offered quality Wi-Fi.

Guillaume Vivet, Vice President Airline Proposition and Experience at Inmarsat Aviation, said “We have long been focused on helping airlines achieve the full potential of inflight connectivity, enabling them to strengthen their passenger experience and unlock important new revenue streams. Winning this award is testament to those efforts and a welcome recognition from the industry, especially because we developed OneFi as a direct result of the feedback we received from airlines about how they want to benefit from inflight connectivity.”

OneFi was launched last year and has been selected by SAUDIA, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, for its fleet of 35 Airbus A321neo and Airbus A321XLR aircraft. It will allow SAUDIA passengers to access various inflight services in real-time from the comfort of their seats. OneFi’s second airline customer is set to be announced in the coming months.

In October 2022, Inmarsat launched a series of bundles for OneFi that span loyalty, shopping and entertainment, supporting the ongoing recovery of airlines and providing even greater revenue opportunities. The bundles provide the added flexibility and personalisation that many airlines need to build a customised digital onboard experience for passengers. This means airlines can select and pay for bundles of features as and when they need them, with the ability to launch them all at once, or incrementally in line with their needs.