Airmall USA, the Fraport-owned developer and manager of airport retail space in the US, has selected Flio as its customer-facing app solution for commercial offers at Boston Logan Airport.

The off-the-shelf solution was a preferred alternative to building its own app, according to Michael Caro Vice President of Airmall Boston. “The Flio route made perfect sense for us. We know it’s possible to use technology available on the market to build our own e-commerce and CRM framework but there are significant time and cost implications.

“With Flio we know we can communicate with an international audience from day one, as well as avoid the time and expense of building an app from scratch and then maintaining it. More importantly for us though was the fact that Flio has an established group of international travellers already using the app as a one-stop shop for gaining information about an airport as they travel.”

Launching at Boston Airport initially, Flio claims it will give international travellers instant access to everything that Airmall needs them to know about the duty free and travel retail offer, food and beverage, and other services.

Andy Watson, Chief Relationship Officer and Co-founder of Flio [which launched in January 2015], says: “Airmall USA has been quick to spot the potential to reach an international audience prior to travel and once they arrive in their terminals. The Flio platform is highly sophisticated and continually extending its capabilities and can now serve as an airport‘s fully-fledged app solution.”

CHANGING AIRPORT VIEW OF APPS?

While many airports continue to develop their own apps for passengers, Watson says there has been a shift in attitudes. “We have seen a change in perception from airports since we entered the market a year ago. Airports now increasingly recognise the value of a single consumer solution that not only reaches their own customer base but provides them access to international travellers from all over the world,” he says.

Flio – which offers one-click access to the free wifi at 400 airports, including 50 in the US – now also partners some leading names in airport commercial services such as Fraport, Heinemann, ARI, SSP, Autogrill, Heathrow Express, Swissport, Plaza Premium Lounges, and most recently Dixon’s Travel.

With the Airmall Boston tie-up rolling out, Flio may, at a later date, be able to expand into Airmall’s other operations at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International, and Pittsburgh International.