As airlines introduce sweeping economies to offset soaring fuel costs, Flybe has introduced a novel way of boosting ancillary revenue. The low-cost carrier has inked a deal with inflight advertising company InviseoMedia to install seatback advertising on its 70+ fleet of aircraft.InviseoMedia operates in the German market with Germanwings, the low cost airline that is 49% owned by Lufthansa, and on a pan-European basis with Ryanair.

InviseoMedia provides airline tray-tables set with a panel for printed advertisements. Revenue from advertisers is shared with the airline, helping keep passenger ticket prices low.

Recent advertisers such as Microsoft, Nokia and Sony Ericsson have all benefited from InviseoMedia’s ability to deliver an audience for a guaranteed minimum dwell time of at least 40 minutes.

Marc Mendoza, Managing Partner of MPG, said “Consumers on the move and in particular airline passengers have always been an interesting audience for advertisers. Being able to execute campaigns on a country basis together with a pan-regional option is an extremely positive development.”

Commenting on the deal, Simon Lilley, Flybe’s Director of Marketing said: “Flybe is very excited to be the first UK airline to install seatback advertising with Inviseo. This deal shows once again that Flybe are market leaders in finding new ways to drive airline ancillary revenues.”

Dominic Stead, CEO of InviseoMedia, said: “With the addition of Flybe to our existing network of European carriers, we now offer advertisers unparalleled dwell time with millions of domestic and international airline passengers.” He adds: “Such is the simplicity of our business model, we are also now experiencing high levels of requests for our services from carriers based in the United States and Asia, and we hope to soon sign a deal outside of our traditional European heartland.”
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