Burrana Teases Digital In-seat Billboard Platform

Screens in seats is not a new concept. Neither is advertising on those screens. But as major IFE players and airlines continue to make those systems more interactive and engaging Burrana took a decidedly different and low-tech approach. The RISE Engage platform concept, introduced at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2026, will turn the seatback into an advertising billboard.

It is an inflight entertainment system with almost no entertainment enabled. And it potentially meets an important airline need: Driving revenue, with a targeted price point 80% lower than traditional in-seat screens weight savings to match.

We believe static advertising has reached its limit. By bringing proven high-performance sport-grade technology into aviation through our collaboration with Seamless Digital, we’re introducing a completely new model and product sector, and we want the industry to help shape what comes next.

– Andy Fellows, VP Airline Programs and Airline Services at Burrana

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Bringing e-Ink Screens to the Seatback

The company favors passive e-Ink displays (e.g. Kindles or other e-readers) rather than the various LED options if inflight entertainment. No touch or swipe (nor power button – “You cannot turn off a billboard”) on these screens. At best, expect a QR code that passengers would scan with their personal device to continue the transaction.

It has to be something that’s going to be at least 80% lighter than a traditional IFE system and 80% less cost to make it viable. – Andy Fellows, VP Airline Programs and Airline Services at Burrana

The display technology and the underlying ad serving platform come from Seamless Digital. That company has the e-Ink panels and marketing concept proven over several years in Formula 1 racing. The strict vibration, flammability, and other requirements already demonstrated give Burrana confidence it can adapt (relatively) easily into the aviation certification world. And Burrana’s experience with certifications is part of the “secret sauce” the partnership delivers.

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Searching for Opportunities

Inflight advertising is a disjointed market, with opportunities at many touchpoints. At the high end, United Airlines positions its Kinetic platform as the pinnacle of inflight user targeting. Delta Air Lines sees its Sync solution similarly. Both have claimed solid performance numbers, but the systems are relatively young by industry standards.

In the middle are more typical digital ads in airline web portals. These are augmented by inflight retail offers and affiliate booking links from third parties. After a decade of effort these programs still deliver less than impressive results, frustrating airlines with low returns and passengers with poorly targeted content.

At the most basic level sit the stickers and adverts on overhead bins, seatbacks, and tray tables. Burrana sees this as a sweet spot for Engage. VP Airline Programs and Airline Services Andy Fellows explains, “We’re still looking at the numbers, but the amount of time and cost it takes for an airline to replace the stickers on however many aircraft and however many seats they have is going to be significant. In terms of just the change cost, the update cycle, and trying to do special promotions with this thing for, say, Valentine’s Day … with our system technically could be very easy, even managed from headquarters.”

And once they can get it into the cabin, tremendous opportunity opens up. Burrana’s VP Customer Experience David Pook knows the history and the challenges well. “Nobody’s ever solved the advertising challenge on aircraft,” he shared at the company’s booth in Hamburg last week. “We’ve been talking about that for 20 years. Nobody’s solved that problem; nobody has come close. We know airlines can monetize this. Our primary challenge is figuring out how much this [seat-back space] is worth. We’re opening up a new product segment or market segment. Nobody really knows the value yet.”

Beyond the U/LCC Space

Burrana brought the system to life based on expected demand from the U/LCC market. The system was demonstrated on a Mirus Kestrel seat, indicating the (type of) target airline.

During the show, however, another segment emerged. Some full service carriers operate regional fleets without an IFE offering. Fellows shared that some of those were interested in this approach, thanks to its low cost and weight, as a way to deliver some very basic passenger services along with the ads.

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The company demonstrated options for a welcome screen, showing the seat number. There was also a safety card version, though that likely would not survive regulatory scrutiny. The company even worked with FlightPath3D to develop a mostly static inflight map that could rotate in during the ad cycle, adding value for passengers.

One consideration the company did not highlight: Engage requires power. It is an impressively tiny amount of power; just 200mA for a trio of seats and that draw happens only during a refresh cycle. But it needs power. Which means the seats need Burrana’s in-seat power offering installed. It could prove the catalyst for some airlines who otherwise would not deliver power to passengers to make that switch. In our digital era where power bricks are increasingly troubling inflight, that could be a notable passenger experience win.

So, Will it Fly?

The screens are passive, consuming almost no electricity. They are not back-lit to disturb a darkened cabin. They are, in many ways, similar to the stickers or placards some airlines use today. Still, they will change from time to time during the flight, making them more intrusive than current offerings. That is a challenge airlines must consider when debating the value. Plus, it still needs work before it can fly.

Fellows acknowledges that Burrana is “not yet committed to develop” Engage as a full product line. The introduction at AIX was more of an information gathering experiment. But he does anticipate a “couple of workshops with interested airlines” as a result of conversations during the week. There clearly is some interest in a better advertising solution from that side of the market.

And Burrana is confident “there’s enough there in terms of technology and the price point and the weight and power impact to make it a quite a viable, proper business proposition for an airline.”

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As a passenger, it is easy to see this as yet another step in the onslaught of advertising, one harder to avoid than prior versions. I don’t expect passengers will love it, even if airlines argue it is the reason air fares are so low.

But, from my geeky engineer perspective, it is an impressive offering. This one seems likely to make the leap from concept to reality, and I understand why.

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• Burrana Teases Digital In-seat Billboard Platform