FlySafair recently launched a brand new pre-paid ‘snack allowance’ feature, which enables customers purchasing certain fare types to enjoy snacks on board without needing to worry about making payment.
The sale of catering and other items on board flights has always been an important ancillary revenue stream for low-cost carriers. Indeed, according to Ryanair’s 2018 financial report, ancillary revenues like catering, car hire, insurance and other services account for 28% of the leading, international low-cost carrier’s revenue.
“However, the challenge with offering pre-paid snack allowances has always been related to refining the technology used to execute the service efficiently and reliably, which includes putting the necessary protections against fraud in place,” explains FlySafair’s Head of Sales and Distribution, Kirby Gordon.
“This is why the simplicity of execution in FlySafair’s pre-paid snack solution is truly impressive. The technology provides a reliable and smooth customer experience without leaning on expensive bank-switching technologies.”
In December 2017, FlySafair became the first airline to introduce card payments for onboard sales. This service was executed in conjunction with technology partners at BlueMarket Retail Solutions.
This latest advancement is an extension of those same technologies.
Essentially when customers purchase FlySafair’s Premium Fare, they will be allocated an R60 food allowance. “This allocation is recorded on the point of sale device used by the cabin crew, so once they reach the passenger in question, the machine alerts them that the passenger has a credit available to them,” explains Gordon.
FlySafair’s snack allowance is presently only available when purchasing the “Premium Fare” available on the airline’s website. Allocations are only valid for the specific flight against which they are purchased.
“We hope to integrate the benefit into some of the fare structures sold by our distribution partners. We’re also working on developing the facility for passengers to top-up their allowance while on board should they want to purchase more than is catered for by the allowance,” added Gordon.