Finnair Equips Crew with Samsung Tablets for Payment Processing
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Don’t be surprised if you see a Finnair flight attendant approaching with a Samsung Tab 3 when you order some cologne or a bottle of champagne to take home on your next flight. The airline has deployed 360 Samsung Tab 3s throughout its fleet for flight crew to use for processing payment. The news follows the airline’s $33 million Wi-Fi investment.
The Android-based device with point-of-sales (POS) software and sleeve supplied by GuestLogix, allows the flight crew to sell food, beverage and duty-free items on what the ancillary-focused merchandiser says is the travel industry’s “most comprehensive mobile onboard retail solution to increase in-flight shopping opportunities.”
Brett Proud, president and CEO, explains that GuestLogix’ ability to customize consumer devices such as smartphones, tablets and phablets into POS terminals that can process a variety of payments securely, is what makes their solution so robust. As airlines adopt attendant devices, vendors like GuestLogix have been responding with the software and sleeves that are fitted to the unique size and specs of each of these devices.
Finnair’s Samsung Tab 3 is contained in a sleeve that is equipped with a printer, barcode and magstripe reader and near-field-communication (NFC) capabilities. From the passenger’s perspective, this means purchases can be made by entering a PIN instead of signing. A back end system to set prices and promotions plus the added capability of accruing and redeeming frequent flyer points will help to increase in-flight shopping. So will the larger screen that allows passengers to view and enlarge pictures of the merchandise, said Kari Pauro, manager, Travel Retail Applications, Finnair.
A back end system to set prices and promotions plus the added capability of accruing and redeeming frequent flyer points will help to increase in-flight shopping.
But accepting payment on a mobile device is just the first step the airline is taking to simplify passenger purchases as Finnair is already looking to embed seatback screens to further drive in-flight shopping. As explained by Proud, aisle-seat passengers are the most likely to make a purchase because it’s easier for them to see the product and engage with the flight attendant who is making the sale.
“Inevitably you got to get to a more self-service browsing shopping experience, especially if you’re going to drive sales from the middle seat and the window seat,” he said. “In reality, what’s the better way for purchasing onboard? Self-service. Either through the seatback screen or through the device you bring onboard yourself.”