OneFi is Inmarsat’s new digital passenger engagement platform that brings a variety of inflight services together for airlines. It was created to help airlines harness the full potential of inflight connectivity and uses data to drive a superior passenger experience while simultaneously creating new revenue generation opportunities for airlines.

OneFi is designed to extend the value of connectivity beyond simply offering Wi-Fi packages. Connectivity works like an engine to ‘power up’ the platform, along with a targeting engine, media and ancillary integration, enabling passengers to access a range of relevant inflight services and content features that deliver a high-quality, seamless connectivity experience. Crucially, it simultaneously enables airlines to expand revenue generation through targeted content, digital commerce and advertising allowing them to offset the cost of their connectivity investments.

SAUDIA, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, was the first airline to select OneFi in late 2021 for its upcoming fleet of 35 Airbus A321neo and Airbus A321XLR aircraft. OneFi will serve as a catalyst for SAUDIA to drive passenger engagement onboard by bringing a host of onboard services together within a single portal interface, enabling passengers to access various inflight services from the comfort of their seats in real-time, including food and beverage orders, duty free shopping, entertainment operations, up-to-date information on their flight and destination, and even sign up to SAUDIA’s frequent flyer programme. A second airline customer is set to be announced in the coming months.

Putting Airlines in Control

In the post-pandemic fight for recovery, airlines are looking to expand and diversify their revenue streams. The days of delivering an inflight connectivity (IFC) portal solution and leaving it as is are now over. With OneFi, airlines can adapt and evolve their propositions, using passenger behaviour to drive conversions and build brand loyalty for the long-term.

To further enhance OneFi’s revenue generation capabilities and scalability, Inmarsat announced OneFi bundles in October 2022, offering a modular approach to OneFi’s wealth of features. The core module, OneFi Connect, offers connectivity and ISP functionality. Airlines have the flexibility to add additional OneFi bundles: Airline ID, Loyalty, Entertainment, Media, Advertising, and Shop to build deeper engagement.

OneFi bundles give airlines more control over how they build a customised digital onboard passenger experience, where they can select and pay for bundles of features as and when they need them – with the ability to launch every bundle at once, or incrementally over time, in line with business needs. This provides an even richer end-to-end digital experience to support and enhance the airline passenger journey.

Continuous Optimisation Through Data

The platform is backed by advanced data analytics, and portal content can be updated daily based on passenger insights. Alongside this, OneFi also uses data from avionics systems, databases on the ground, and, if desired, frequent flyer programmes to better target content and integrated services. By making the airline audiences addressable, OneFi improves the attractiveness of the cabin to a broad range of suppliers.

Passenger interactions with the portal also help airlines increase their knowledge of their customers, enabling them to treat them as individuals and continuously improve all aspects of their offerings.

Open Technology Architecture

OneFi already houses Inmarsat’s ISP functionality and is integrated across multiple architectures. Services can be offered to passengers via software integration on board, API interfaces or whitelisting to the ground. OneFi can deploy new features via satellite updates, reducing the need to touch the aircraft after deployment. Portal content is hosted in the cloud and can be updated daily.