Paying sky high above the clouds

Apr 04, 2018

Lufthansa Systems and partner optile launch pilot project to improve on-board payment process

Booking a hotel during flight, buying tickets for tourist attractions at the destination or purchasing gifts on board – in-flight payment based on BoardConnect will soon become even easier. Lufthansa Systems and its partner optile are launching a pilot project aimed at optimizing payment processes within the open aircraft IT platform BoardConnect. The pilot project focuses on enabling passengers to make convenient in-app payments for digital content and shopping services. Lufthansa Systems will be presenting a prototype of this innovative payment solution at AIX in Hamburg (April 10 to 12; booth #4B11).

optile’s open payment solution gives BoardConnect users a convenient option to make on-board purchases using their preferred payment method. Passengers only need to enter their payment data once when booking their ticket through the airline app. They can then make further payments using the previously chosen payment method. This considerably simplifies the purchasing process, increases security and allows passengers to fully focus on their requested content. Simplified payment processes for passengers also enable airlines to maximize their ancillary revenue potential.

“We at optile are very happy to collaborate with Lufthansa Systems in this pilot project since it will bring connectivity between airlines, their passengers, and external partner services to the next level,” said Jan-Oliver Stueck, Corporate Relations Director at optile.

The new technology has already proven itself in an innovation project run by Eurowings, Retail inMotion, Lufthansa Technik, optile and Lufthansa Systems. During a trial phase, Eurowings passengers used the simplified payment method provided by optile and BoardConnect in Retail inMotion’s on-board shop. With the wireless access point, Lufthansa Technik has supplied part of the necessary hardware.

“Partnering with optile allows us to offer our airline customers an open and flexible payment solution, enabling payment with a single click and supporting multiple payment methods (e.g. AliPay, PayPal, etc.),” said Jan-Peter Gaense, Head of Passenger Experience Products & Solutions at Lufthansa Systems. “Passengers will love the seamless payment process which makes is really easy to buy products and services. This will help airlines to keep the passenger in their ecosystem throughout the entire journey.”

Caption (copyright Lufthansa Systems/Manfred Nerlich): New on-board shopping experience thanks to simplified payment processes delivered by optile and BoardConnect.

Further images can be found in the download section of our website at:

https://www.lhsystems.com/gallery/flight-entertainment