Hamburg-based start-up AERQ ceases trading putting 180 jobs at risk
November 5, 2024
The in-flight entertainment (IFE) start-up AERQ has announced that it will discontinue business activities due to “significant obstacles” and will immediately cease to develop its platform-based IFE system AERENA.
Founded in 2019, the company, which is a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and LG Electronics, has spent the last five years developing its IFE solution for commercial airlines. The company has been demonstrating transparent OLED screens for in-flight use since 2022, while an operational demonstration of AERENA had been launched on an Airbus A320 for Discover Airlines earlier this year.
AERQ was touting the transparent OLED screens as cabin dividers which could be set to transparent during critical phases of flight to enable cabin crew to see the entire cabin. At other times the screens could be used to display flight information, advertisements or other content to passengers.
Although the AERENA product has so far met all expectations in terms of features, quality and customer satisfaction in ongoing flight operations, according to a statement from the company, AERQ was “facing significant obstacles to enter a very sensitive market for IFE systems.”
The mutual decision from shareholders to conclude AERQ’s journey and cease operations with immediate effect is expected to impact around 180 employees at the company’s Hamburg headquarters.
As the company now prepares for an orderly wind down, a statement from AERQ read: “AERQ would like to thank its employees, suppliers, customers and partners for the trustful cooperation within the past five years.”
