Perspectives

Resilience in the Time of COVID-19

12 Aug 2020
5 minutes

Since the onset of COVID-19 and the extremely difficult times that have followed for our airline partners, we have inevitably experienced reduced customer content cycles and a reduction in staff. While this was a difficult decision, the changes we continue to implement allow us the opportunity to review our business practices in order to be best placed for short-term recovery and long-term rebuilding. With the support of our parent company WPP plc, we are plugged into the changing needs and demands of passengers as the world progresses through this unprecedented time.

In this context, and while keeping the health and safety of our employees as a priority, we have implemented a global digital transformation plan that delivers improved efficiency and content planning, better flexibility for budgeting and even higher quality of service.

The key business actions driving this transformation are:

  • New technology for our cloud ingestion, encoding and delivery pipeline to enable cost- and time-savings for our clients;
  • Proactive negotiations with content partners for short-term savings and new models which are flexible and scalable for the future;
  • Accelerated development of digital tech projects including the Q4 launch of our real-time content automation and distribution platform Sprint™;
  • Launch of a centralized content library and department dedicated to data integrity and improved workflow for client delivery functions;
  • Investment in Buzz™, our new end-to-end Content Management System;
  • Continuity of service and delivery of our technical services thanks to the adaptation of a remote working protocol at The Hub in California.

In addition, our and our partners’ efforts across IFE pricing and negotiations have produced approximately 70% cost-savings for our clients since the onset of COVID-19.

As part of WPP, Spafax is the strongest and most stable CSP in the market. Despite the difficulties we all face in the aviation market and wider economy, WPP  is supportive of us as we continue to invest in systems to improve efficiency and automation.
Simon Ogden, Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Spafax

We understand that this is only the beginning of a longer journey to recovery and we are committed to staying right by your side every step of the way. We welcome the opportunity to help the airline industry rebuild and we are equipped and ready to do so for a long time to come.