As mobile check-in, mobile boarding, and SMS notifications through passengers’ hand-held devices all become more common, this new OnAir service closes the last remaining gap in communications with air travelers.
The majority of today’s passengers carry portable phones, smartphones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) or laptops when they travel and want to stay in touch with business contacts, family or friends. OnAir’s technology gives airlines a new way of adding value to passengers while increasing their loyalty and satisfaction, particularly among premium clients.
This ability to re-book a missed connection, issue a new boarding pass and gate number while passengers are still in the air, will bring a new proactive and efficient service to passengers. OnAir communications technologies also give passengers the opportunity to benefit from inflight promotions such as discounts on products and reservations for concerts or theaters, all of which are redeemable in the passenger’s destination city.
“This new system is another technological step forward in establishing the future of mobile communications in the aviation industry, as passengers come to expect a seamlessly interconnected world of phones, entertainment and information during all the phases of air travel,” says Benoit Debains, Chief Executive Officer of OnAir.
“Halys is delighted to be involved in expanding the reach of OnAir’s communications offering by drawing on our unparalleled systems expertise and experience of SMS technologies,” says Arnaud Henry Labordère, Chairman of the Board of Halys.
The system will be operational from the first quarter of 2010 and integrated with OnAir’s dedicated ground network infrastructure hosted by Monaco Telecom. Today OnAir has 20 announced customers on four continents, including Ryanair, British Airways, TAM, Qantas, Hong Kong Airlines and Royal Jordanian.