AI Flight Feed Boosts Context, Revenue Potential of FlightPath3D Moving Map

It is no secret that the moving map is a top draw for in-flight entertainment systems; Southwest Airlines passengers spend roughly a third of their wireless IFE time engaged with the FlightPath3D maps on board. And now the supplier is angling to make that experience more engaging – and more profitable – with its AI Flight Feed overlay.

We’ve built this suggestions engine. People sit and stare at the map. We can now feed them content based on the context of their flight. What they’re flying over and things to do at the destination are interwoven with advertising and airline promos. And everything is clickable.

– Duncan Jackson, President FlightPath3D

Adding content – and ads – to the map

The current version of the map feed includes points of interest pins, allowing travelers to zoom in on details along the route or at the destination. The AI Flight Feed overlay amplifies the content opportunities, bubbling up a range of details for passengers to interact with more easily.

Most of the potential content for the feed comes from the existing pool of information. Bubbles scroll by telling travelers where they are, what’s nearby, and offering them destination-specific recommendations. But the system also seamlessly integrates airline and approved third-party promotions as well. Not only can the airline target travelers with ideas for their next trip, but it could be a higher margin vacation package promotion rather than just a flight. Or it could be an advertisement for a partner, including other travel companies, co-branded credit cards, or anything else the airline chooses to include.

Most importantly, the FlightPath3D interface allows airlines to tune the experience to best match their desired branding and marketing goals. Some airlines may choose to focus only on the location and destination content, skipping over (most of) the sponsored content. Others might max out on potential revenue, feeding ads more frequently. 

FlightPath3D president Duncan Jackson also notes that the offering extends well beyond the aircraft. Because all the modules offer a share mechanism, a passenger can send a flight link to someone on the ground and they can view all the same data, on the FlightPath3D interface, in a browser on the ground. It can be used by airports or airlines on the ground to market their broad range of destinations.

That expanded range of use cases also means a broader variety of teams – notably outside of the IFE groups at airlines – helping to drive features.

“It is really cool to have more consumer digital departments working with us,” explains Jackson. “We’re maturing as a company because these digital teams outside the IFE world are pushing us much harder, and in different ways.”

The IFE team was often content to display flight data, and occasionally an ad. But as digital marketing teams advance the ability to sell more flights, activities, and other partner-driven offers boosts the map’s relevance and value.

Two airlines have already signed on to deploy the AI Flight Feed update. Jackson expects them to be live early in 2024, though one might accelerate deployment to later this year.

Data-driven decisions

While the map is what everyone interacts with, data is truly the backbone of FlightPath3D’s value proposition. Every point of interest included obviously has significant metadata associated with it. But FlightPath3D is also constantly collecting data from passengers and their interaction with its maps.

This means it can surface recommendations based on context. For the version on an embedded screen that could mean shifting the default offers by class of service. Imagine leading with the premium credit card option for travelers in first class, the mid-level offer in extra leg room, and the no annual fee version in economy class. It can also be customized down to the individual user if they’re logged in. Perhaps they don’t get the credit card push because the airline knows they’re already a cardmember; the ads could lead with partner offers instead.

Content costs climbing

“Google Travel is mashing up flight schedules and other recommendations, Instagram and TikTok #Travel have 100 billion plus engagements,” he shares. “I have to go and play in that pool, and content is required to do that.” But this content does not come cheap. Jackson acknowledged quality is what keeps consumers engaged, and the company is “spending a lot on content” to make that happen.

Video content is not the company’s only new expense. The information bubbles are populated from the company’s massive datasets, with many of them using Generative AI along the way. But the underlying data for the attractions is fully validated by humans and managed in an isolated environment. The company has learned its lesson about depending too much on “free” data. Jackson shared that more than 21,000 data points were validated in the past quarter, all by humans.

Fortunately, the promising early engagement and conversions convinced some partners to join the creation efforts. Destination Marketing Offices and others are now working with the company, integrating their content – either organic or paid – into the feeds in some cases.

While it is something of a fine line to ensure that the quality remains compelling, getting partners to pay FlightPath3D to include their content rather than the company having to pay to produce it is certainly a financial win, both for the company and potentially for the airlines using that sponsored content.