Stellar extends content partnership with Azerbaijan Airlines
Azerbaijan Airlines and Stellar Entertainment have extended their agreement through to 2029
Stellar Entertainment has announced the expansion of its partnership with Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL). Building on Stellar’s appointment as Azerbaijan Airlines’ exclusive Content Service Provider in 2025, the latest agreement extends the relationship beyond content to include creative concept design, editorial production and inflight advertising sales running through to 2029.
At the heart of the expansion is a creative concept for Azerbaijan Airlines’ inflight entertainment, built around a simple idea: At the Heart of the World. Azerbaijan sits where Europe, Asia and the Middle East meet, and the screen in front of every passenger is the perfect place to tell that story. The experience brings Azerbaijan’s landscapes, culture, identity and modern ambitions into the onboard journey. A year-round program of creative themes keeps the experience changing with the seasons, national celebrations, major events and destinations, giving passengers something that feels distinctly connected to Azerbaijan on every flight.
The concept is first launching on Panasonic Astrova, which entered commercial service with Azerbaijan Airlines earlier this year alongside Panasonic’s Modular Interactive platform. Stellar is the first content service provider to design and deliver a full passenger-facing interface via Panasonic MI Studio, changing what the airline can do with the screen. With MI Studio, layouts, visual treatments, landing pages and featured collections can all be refreshed mid-cycle, so a campaign launch, a new route or a seasonal push can go on screen without waiting for the next content load. The same creative concept is also adapted across Azerbaijan Airlines’ wider inflight entertainment systems, creating a more consistent passenger experience across the fleet.
Sam Allen, Chief Executive Officer at Stellar Entertainment, said, “When we started working with AZAL last year, the ambition was always bigger than a content catalogue. This next step lets us shape the whole experience, the look, the feel, the story it tells. Being first to build a passenger interface through MI Studio means we can keep that experience alive and evolving, flight after flight.”
Highlights of the expanded partnership include:
- First to launch through MI Studio – Stellar is the first content service provider to design and deliver a full passenger-facing interface through Panasonic MI Studio. Welcome pages, landing pages, category layouts, and featured collections can be updated mid-cycle, independently of the full content load, making the screen a live marketing channel for Azerbaijan Airlines that can respond to holidays, events, and campaigns as they happen.
- A living creative concept – Six themes run across a 12-month calendar, each with its own visual treatment, tone and curated content collections. The screen reflects what is happening in Azerbaijan throughout the year, not just what is new in the catalogue.
- Discover Azerbaijan – A mini digital magazine on board showcasing the culture, nature, food and drinks, innovation, arts and music of Azerbaijan. Working closely with the Azerbaijan Tourism Board and Azerbaijan Airlines’ marketing team, Stellar manages the editorial process from research and image sourcing to writing and translation.
- An inflight entertainment microsite powered by pixL™ – Passengers can explore what is showing on board before they fly, with the entertainment line-up updating automatically as each content cycle changes.
- Inflight advertising sales – A new advertising program across Azerbaijan Airlines’ seatback and wireless entertainment platforms, creating new opportunities for brands to reach passengers while opening an additional revenue stream for the airline. Stellar manages the programme from advertiser engagement and campaign coordination through to delivery and reporting.
Jonathan DeOliveira, Director of Customer Experience, Azerbaijan Airline, said, “Our inflight entertainment is more than part of the onboard experience. For many passengers, it is also their first introduction to Azerbaijan. Together with Stellar, we are creating an experience that brings Azerbaijan’s landscapes, culture and identity to life throughout the year. As Azerbaijan Airlines continues to expand its global network, our inflight entertainment provides another meaningful platform to showcase Azerbaijan to the world.”
The expanded partnership reflects a shared ambition to make inflight entertainment a more dynamic part of the passenger experience, combining world-class content with a distinctly Azerbaijani identity, on every flight and every route, the October 1 press release said.
