This article contains promotional content .(March 2012) |
Industry | Media |
---|---|
Founded | 1985London, England | in
Parent | WPP Group |
Website | spafax |
Spafax is an international travel media network which provides content technology and media assets at scale for airlines, along with licensing rights to movies, TV, audio and video games for use in airline in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems.
Spafax was founded in London in 1985 and is now part of WPP Group PLC, in the Specialist Communications & PR division. [1]
Spafax started as Bath Spa Factors in Bath, England in the 1930s as a garage servicing Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars. From there, they evolved into a parts distributor with a European network. In order to communicate with the sales force, Bath Spa Factors decided to take advantage of Betamax to create films with local talents, from there a film division was born. Spafax Television was one of the earliest customized programme producers that built up a blue chip client base that included the likes of Reuters and Marconi. And then, Duncan Hilleary, one of Spafax's earliest contributors, arrived on the scene in 1986 and pitched a plan for an airline network.
He and filmmaker Jeremy Hunter partnered with the newly named Spafax Airline Network resulted in a contract to produce advertising and video productions for British Airways. The video production, a monthly magazine-style program called The World Traveler Show featuring different locations around the world, led to contracts with different airlines, including Singapore and Northwest.
In 1993, Hilleary pioneered the outsourcing of in-flight entertainment to British Airways (BA) with a dedicated team located in a BA office in Buckingham Palace Road and re-launched BA's IFE with a new programming strategy, a new graphic identity and media brand. This new approach was also one of the first to offer tangible benefits to the airline in the form of substantial savings against the BA (IFE) budget.[ citation needed ] From 1995 to 2004, Spafax has expanded to Canada, Asia, South America, and the United Arab Emirates. Spafax now has 8 offices worldwide from London to Dubai.[ citation needed ]
Spafax office locations:
Part of Spafax's services include publishing with a specialization in custom publishing.
Spafax's main clients are airlines, which started the company. They offer custom in-flight entertainment and branding services to their clients; from publishing to in-flight entertainment media.[ citation needed ]
Advertising and media sales is part of Spafax's services. This aspect of their service is created to sell advertising.[ citation needed ]
In lieu of current trends and digital development, customized digital branding is a part of the services offered by Spafax division, Spafax Studio.
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company to Richard Branson in return for unlimited free travel. The maiden flight from London–Gatwick to Newark took place on 22 June 1984.
Emirates is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates. Based in Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by the government of Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating more than 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. It operates to more than 150 cities in 80 countries across six continents on its fleet of nearly 250 aircraft. Cargo activities are undertaken by Emirates SkyCargo.
Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) is the flag carrier of Brunei, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei. Its hub is Brunei International Airport in Berakas, just to the north of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei.
Malaysia Airlines is the flag carrier of Malaysia headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airline flies to destinations across Europe, Oceania and Asia from its main hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport as well as a secondary hub at Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Malaysia Airlines Berhad is formerly known as Malaysian Airline System.
Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier of Singapore with its hub located at Changi Airport. A member of Star Alliance, the airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in the corporate branding segment and not significantly changing its livery throughout its history. Widely renowned as one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked as the world's best airline by Skytrax five times. The airline operates a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, namely the Airbus A350-900, Airbus A380, Boeing 737 MAX 8, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 747-400 Freighter, Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-10.
British Caledonian (BCal) was a private independent airline in the United Kingdom that operated from 1970 until it merged with British Airways in 1988. It operated primarily from London Gatwick Airport in south-east England. BCal was formed by the merger of Caledonian Airways and British United Airways (BUA). It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlines and was described as the "Second Force" in the 1969 Edwards report. The carrier slogan was Let's go British Caledonian in the 1970s and We never forget you have a choice in the 1980s. The BUA takeover enabled Caledonian to realise its long-held ambition to transform itself into a scheduled airline. The merged entity eventually became the UK's foremost independent, international scheduled airline.
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C., operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke network, flying to over 170 international destinations across five continents from its base at Hamad International Airport. The airline currently operates a fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Qatar Airways Group employs more than 43,000 people. The carrier has been a member of the Oneworld alliance since October 2013, and the official company slogan has been "Going Places Together" since 2015.
Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, trading as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by the airline Virgin Blue. Jetstar is part of Qantas' two-brand strategy of having Qantas Airways for the premium full-service market and Jetstar for the low-cost market. As of June 2015, Jetstar was carrying 8.5% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia.
Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, is the flag carrier of Fiji. It operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 27 destinations, and has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners, including Qantas, who also own a stake in the airline.
Landor is a brand consulting firm founded in 1941 by Walter Landor, who pioneered some research, design, and consulting methods that the branding industry still uses.
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The Emirates Group is a state-owned Dubai-based international aviation holding company headquartered in Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, near Dubai International Airport. The Emirates Group comprises dnata, an aviation services company providing ground handling services at 126 airports, and Emirates Airline, the largest airline in the Middle East. Emirates Airlines flies to over 150 destinations across 6 continents, operating a fleet of over 250 wide-bodied aircraft. The airline has 170 aircraft on order worth US$58 billion. The Emirates Group has a turnover of approximately US$28.3 billion and employs over 105,000 employees across all its business units and associated firms, making it one of the biggest employers in the Middle East. The company is wholly owned by the Government of Dubai directly under the Investment Corporation of Dubai and as part of Dubai Inc.
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