Santan and Soft Space Take Inflight Retail to New Heights

Innovative upgrade enhances transaction efficiency, empowering AirAsia cabin crew to deliver seamless inflight service.

AirAsia cabin crew facilitating inflight purchases using Fasspos on upgraded Zebra tablets.

KUALA LUMPUR, 19 DECEMBER 2024 - Santan, the inflight catering and food and beverage subsidiary of Capital A, in collaboration with Soft Space Sdn. Bhd. (Soft Space), the world’s leading fintech-as-a-service (FaaS) provider, is proud to unveil a major upgrade to its inflight retail solution, Fasspos. This innovation reaffirms Santan’s commitment to revolutionising the inflight dining and shopping experience.

Since 2020, Santan has been at the forefront of adopting technological solutions to improve inflight operations, becoming the first to implement SoftPOS technology for contactless payments on AirAsia flights. The Fasspos system empowers AirAsia cabin crew with a streamlined, all-in-one solution for inventory tracking, in-seat orders, and payment processing.

Building on this foundation, the latest upgrade introduces Zebra Technologies’ enterprise-grade ET45 tablets to enhance Fasspos’ capabilities. The tablets feature larger, easy-to-navigate displays and robust Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology, reducing transaction times by over 50%. These features enable cabin crew to focus on providing exceptional customer service, ensuring passengers enjoy a seamless delivery of Santan’s signature meals and beverages.

Catherine Goh, CEO of Santan, said "At Santan, we are always striving to enhance the inflight experience, and technology plays a pivotal role in making it truly seamless. By integrating innovative solutions like Fasspos, we elevate the overall guest journey while empowering our cabin crew to work more efficiently. This ensures the smooth delivery of our delicious Santan offerings, transforming every flight into a memorable experience for our guests."

The introduction of the ET45 tablets also aligns with Santan’s broader vision of becoming ASEAN’s leading aviation supply ecosystem. With over 20 million inflight food and beverage units sold annually, the upgraded solution further supports Santan's goal of delivering high-quality, efficient service across AirAsia’s extensive network.

Joel Tay, CEO of Soft Space, said "Fasspos’s unique dual ordering and payment functionalities on one device will streamline AirAsia’s inflight sales operations, shorten transaction times, improve cost efficiencies and could potentially boost sales transactions on all of AirAsia Group’s fleet of airplanes." 

Christanto Suryadarma, Sales Vice President for Southeast Asia (SEA), South Korea, and Channel APJeC, Zebra Technologies, added "We are thrilled to partner with Soft Space and Santan to enhance the inflight retail experience for AirAsia’s passengers. Our enterprise-grade tablets are specifically designed for robust performance and durability, fastest Wi-Fi and cellular speeds with Wi-Fi 6 and 5G and built-in barcode scanner and NFC, yet lightweight. This makes them ideal for the demanding environment of inflight operations. By integrating our technology with Soft Space’s innovative Fasspos solution, we are empowering AirAsia’s cabin crew to deliver efficient and seamless service, ultimately elevating the overall customer experience. This collaboration underscores our commitment to providing cutting-edge technology that meets the evolving needs of the airline industry, enabling smoother transactions and unlocking new potential for ancillary revenue streams.”

The global in-flight retail market is set to grow to US$11 billion by 2032 from US$7.2 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.45% during the period.  The industry is expanding because of the increased travel trends after the pandemic, rising popularity of high-tech planes and the proliferation of online distribution channels. The convenience of in-flight shopping is increased by the availability of a wide range of goods, including food and beverages, perfumes, gifts and crafts, apparel and accessories, books and periodicals.

END

Key leaders from Soft Space, AirAsia, Santan, and Zebra, alongside AirAsia cabin crew, mark the celebration of this strategic collaboration.

L-R : Mr. Windsor Guadalupe Jr. Group Digital Solutions and Projects Specialist AirAsia, Mr. Andrew Kim Product Management Director of Zebra, Mr. Julian Khoo, Business Development Consultant, Soft Space, AirAsia Cabin Crew, Mr. Joel Tay CEO of Soft Space, Mr. Bo Lingam Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group Limited, Ms. Suhaila Hassan, Group Head Cabin Crew Department AirAsia, Ms. Catherine Goh CEO of Santan, AirAsia Cabin Crew

About Santan

Santan, the F&B business under Capital A Aviation Services Group (CAPAS) is committed to redefining culinary experiences both in-flight and on the ground. Started in 2015, its strategic focus is on inflight catering services extending beyond AirAsia, retail ventures offering coffee and frozen meals, and corporate catering services. Backed by a strong product development team, Santan is poised for market domination, including expansion plans to Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and providing inflight services to third-party airlines. Santan's commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions ensures a culinary journey that transcends boundaries.

Media Contact:  Aziz Laikar | azizlaikar@airasia.com

About Zebra Technologies 

Zebra (NASDAQ: ZBRA) helps organizations monitor, anticipate, and accelerate workflows by empowering their frontline and ensuring that everyone and everything is visible, connected and fully optimized. Our award-winning portfolio spans software to innovations in robotics, machine vision, automation and digital decisioning, all backed by a +50-year legacy in scanning, track-and-trace and mobile computing solutions. With an ecosystem of 10,000 partners across more than 100 countries, Zebra’s customers include over 80% of the Fortune 500. Newsweek recently recognized Zebra on its list of Global Most Loved Workplaces, and we are on Fast Company’s list of the Best Workplaces for Innovators. Learn more at www.zebra.com.

Media Contact:  Daniel Chan | Daniel.chan@zebra.com 

About Soft Space 

Founded in 2012, Soft Space is a leading fintech player headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Serving over 90 financial institutions and partners across 30 global markets, Soft Space offers both merchants and consumers a range of solutions, such as contactless payment through mobile devices as well as comprehensive white-label e-wallet services. These technologies enable the easy adoption of digital payments while helping financial institutions better understand and address their customers' needs. Soft Space's goal is to leverage its mobile contactless payments expertise and patented technology to reshape finance, domestically and globally.  For more information, please visit: https://www.softspace.com.my 

Media Contact: David Ho | communications@softspace.com.my