The InterLinkd platform could be available as early as the end of this year.

An inflight retail platform for airlines and travel providers claims to have introduced the first solution that can turn an airline’s onboard Wi-Fi into a full-scale digital shopping showroom, connecting travellers to more than 20,000 brands in the air.

Four-year-old InterLnkd, which powers white-label digital shopping malls, says that its two platforms – TravelStylist for pre-departure, and AirMall for inflight – will “unlock a new ancillary revenue stream” from consumer purchases across categories like fashion, beauty, and travel essentials.

The plug-and-play solution from the UK-based startup is said to integrate into existing onboard portals, with passengers using their own devices to browse and buy. Purchases are then delivered directly to their home or travel destination.

Barry Klipp: “Our vision was to build the largest digital shopping mall for the travel industry.”

Airmall – which might launch as early as this quarter through airlines partnered with Viasat (a WiFi connectivity provider that was cleared to acquire Inmarsat in May 2023) – removes onboard stocking and airport delivery constraints while giving passengers more choice. The platform is deployable across an airline’s entire route network and offers carriers a way to offset the cost of inflight connectivity. It also uses a proprietary matching engine called MotiVatedData so that each mall can curate personalised product recommendations based on a passenger’s profile and destination.

InterLnkd + Viasat = 60 airline options

The tech provider is a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2025, and CEO Barry Klipp told TRBusiness: “Viasat can monetise the consumer behaviour based on how they shop with a revenue stream back to the airline; it’s a commission model. This solution enables airlines to make the most of their Wi-Fi investments.”

The Viasat deal opens up their 60 airlines to InterLnkd, but there will be agreements with each airline. The tech startup has also signed off on a partnership with an airline that has Starlink. “That will go live next year, but I can’t reveal which carrier,” said Klipp. So far, Starlink, owned and operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has partnered with a number of airlines, including British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways, and Virgin Atlantic.

Inflight vision

On a theoretical Airmall-equipped London to New York flight, passengers will have the option of shopping in either the UK or US mall, “the digital equivalent of Westfield,” said Klipp. “Our vision was to build the largest digital shopping mall for the travel industry to monetise from, and that meant opening up the world of High Street retailers and e-commerce retailers, be they Next or Amazon, Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s.”

Klipp told TRBusiness that InterLnkd is currently in talks with seven airlines globally. As for the existing inflight concessionaire model, the CEO said AirMall would be complementary to those operations, but totally separate. “Ours is not the world of duty-free,” he said.

If InterLnkd takes off, it will signal the evolution, even shake-up, of inflight retail into a tech-driven, omnichannel, personalised experience. The model enables airlines to offset high connectivity costs, and gives retail brands direct access to a premium audience in the air, while passengers can shop to their heart’s content, if they want to.

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