airfree Announces a €2.3 Million Fundraising Closing and Plans a Commercial Launch at the End of 2019

airfree, the French startup that created the first inflight duty-free
product marketplace, received support from its first round business
angels, Shiseido, and the Starburst accelerator, for a total amount of
€2.3 million. airfree has just taken a new step towards marketing its
solution to airlines companies, with the validation of a technical Proof
of Concept, in partnership with Singapore Airlines' Krislab program.

airfree has developed an e/m-commerce platform, which deeply transforms
the experience of selling products inflight thanks to digital
technology. By making airport’s product & services available up in the
air, the global offer is dedicated to boost the sales of airport
duty-free retailers, increase airline revenues with an end-to-end
solution by reducing satellite connectivity related costs, with a simple
and optimized user experience for passengers.

• For airlines companies, airfree is an all-in-one solution (white
  label) that will allow their investments in connectivity equipment to
  be profitable, as well as offering a premium service to the
  passengers: a digital catalog more than 10,000 references.
• Duty-free retailers receive additional revenue from a targeted and
  qualified audience for an extended period of time (during the whole
  flight).
• Passengers enjoy a premium experience during flight time that gives
  access to all available products in duty-free shops, in transit or at
  the airport of arrival, on a click & collect model.
  
  “This
  fundraising is a new step in our development: we plan to drive a pilot
  in real condition and accelerate our commercial launch at the end of
  2019, explains Etienne de Verdelhan, co-founder & CEO of airfree. We
  are proud to welcome Shiseido, a key player in travel retail
  innovation, Starburst, which welcomed us in their acceleration program
  since the end of 2018, and our business angels, who have renewed their
  confidence since 2017”.

Towards commercial launch
During the first half of 2019,
airfree was selected to participate in the Singapore Airlines'
Accelerator Program - a selective program (only 5 startups chosen)
dedicated to new solutions that digitalise Singapore Airlines's business
operations. In partnership with Inflight Connectivity Suppliers, airfree
conducted technical tests (POC) which showed that the airfree platform
uses on average 50 times less satellite bandwidth than with a
traditional e-commerce website. This performance is made possible by
downloading data before takeoff, and thus using a limited online
connection onboard (during the checkout process). For airlines, it means
controlled bandwidth costs, and for passengers a premium experience with
a quality connection & fast browsing.

About airfree, Marketplace of the Sky :
Created in
2016 by three co-founders specialized respectively in duty-free
commerce, technology, digital and e-commerce. The team now consists of
about ten people, including a team of developers. Their goal is to
become the world's leading airline marketplace. www.airfree.aero

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