What’s holding airlines back from supercharging co-marketing?

In our recent blog, Retail media: the untapped revenue engine for airlines, we explored why retail media is a natural evolution of airline co-marketing and one of the most powerful high-margin revenue opportunities available today.

But recognising the opportunity is one thing. Activating it is another.

Despite being uniquely positioned to lead in retail media, many airlines struggle to turn potential into performance. Real-world constraints; structural, technical, and cultural, often slow momentum before it begins.

Based on our travel retail media work with airline leaders across commercial, marketing, loyalty, and partnerships, here are six common barriers to progress, and how to begin overcoming them.

1. Legacy systems and organisational silos

Airlines often operate with disconnected technology stacks and siloed teams. Digital, loyalty, sales, and operations teams each manage their own tools and objectives, which makes it difficult to identify, package, and consistently sell advertising inventory across the customer journey.

How to move forward:

Start with a small, cross-functional pilot. Bring together IT, loyalty, and partnerships to monetise a single high-impact touchpoint, such as post-booking emails or loyalty dashboards. Use early results to demonstrate value and scale from there.

2. Disconnected or incomplete customer data

Retail media relies on strong first-party data. Airlines have a wealth of it, but it is often scattered across different systems—CRMs, booking engines, loyalty platforms, inflight purchases—with little integration or consistency.

How to move forward:

Begin building a unified traveller profile. Start by linking loyalty data with booking and digital behaviours. Focus on one meaningful, privacy-compliant segment, then expand gradually.

3. Privacy, consent and compliance concerns

With evolving regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and other regional laws, many teams are cautious when it comes to activating customer data, even when compliant use is possible. This risk-averse mindset, while understandable, can lead to missed opportunities.

How to move forward:

Work with partners that embed privacy and consent compliance from the start. A strong framework not only reduces risk but also increases confidence across internal stakeholders.

4. Economic pressure and margin sensitivity

In an environment of continued margin pressure, many airlines prioritise initiatives that affect load factors, ticket yield, or operational efficiency. Retail media is sometimes viewed as secondary or non-core.

How to move forward:

Treat retail media as an evolution of ancillary revenue. It leverages existing assets—your audience and digital channels—without major operational disruption. Consider monetisation models that require little to no upfront investment to prove the business case.

5. Lack of strategic ownership

Retail media often doesn’t have a clear home. Is it a function of commercial, marketing, loyalty, or partnerships? When ownership is unclear, momentum slows.

How to move forward:

Assign clear responsibility, whether through a dedicated lead, a task force, or a cross-functional working group. This alignment ensures focus, accountability, and ongoing traction.

6. A narrow, transactional view of media

Some airline teams still associate media opportunities solely with traditional formats like inflight magazines or seatback screens. This limited view overlooks the full potential of personalised, contextual advertising across the digital journey.

How to move forward:

Expand your definition of “media.” Digital booking flows, loyalty portals, ancillary offers, inflight connectivity, and even post-trip emails are all brand-safe, high-engagement channels. Position these as premium advertising opportunities with measurable results.

Overcoming resistance, unlocking growth

Retail media is more than a marketing or technology initiative. It represents a new business model that positions airlines as modern media platforms with scalable, high-margin revenue streams.

Each of these challenges is real, but they are also solvable. With the right ownership, a phased approach, and the right partners, airlines can unlock a new era of revenue and partnership value.

As we noted in our previous post: Airlines already have the ingredients. What’s needed now is the operating model to activate them.

Ready to move from challenge to action?

Download our free eBook, The runway to retail media success, and explore:

• A phased roadmap tailored to airline teams

• Case examples from early movers

• Practical guidance on data, operations, and monetisation strategy

Get the guide now.

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