West Entertainment Launches WestDigital to Transform Passenger Engagement into Intelligence, Personalization, and Revenue
IRVINE, CA — [23 September 2026] — West Entertainment today announced the launch of WestDigital, an independent software and artificial intelligence business division created to serve airlines, rail, cruise operators, and the broader travel ecosystem.
Built by the team behind West Entertainment, WestDigital combines decades of industry experience with next-generation technology and talent. The division is designed to help operators understand passenger behavior, personalize the journey, and turn real-time engagement into actionable intelligence and commercial value.
At the core of the portfolio is WestIQ, the company’s passenger intelligence and orchestration layer. WestIQ analyzes a 50-signal vocabulary – including searches, browsing, skips, pauses, and viewing habits – alongside journey context to capture passenger intent in real time. This intelligence enables operators to serve the optimal next-best content, service, advertisement, or commercial offer to individual passengers. Additionally, passengers can search entertainment catalogs using natural language and receive context-aware recommendations for a more intuitive digital experience.
“WestIQ is about understanding passenger intent in real time,” said Paul Barton, VP of AI and Digital Strategy at WestDigital. “That same intelligence helps determine which experience, service, or commercial offer is most relevant to a passenger at any given moment. Most importantly, this is technology we can demonstrate today: WestIQ Live allows airlines and partners to see this intelligence in action and evaluate its application for their own fleets.”
WestIQ is offered through three modular commercial packages tailored for airlines, OEMs, and industry partners:
- Insights: Provides core passenger intelligence and analytics.
- Personalize: Delivers context-driven recommendations and tailored experiences.
- Monetize: Leverages passenger intent to power advertising, retail, destination services, and ancillary commerce.
Designed to enhance rather than replace existing infrastructure, WestIQ integrates across current IFEC and digital platforms. It connects with specialized partners across retail, advertising, loyalty, mapping, destination services, and service recovery – establishing what WestDigital terms a Content-to-Commerce (C2C) chain.
Alongside the launch of WestIQ, the company is relaunching its infrastructure-agnostic, connectivity-enabled streaming platform as Stream by WestDigital (formerly WeFly OTT), as well as StreamIQ, which embeds WestIQ intelligence directly into the streaming platform. Together, the portfolio enables operators to deliver an intelligent digital environment across seatback systems, personal electronic devices, and high-speed connectivity.
Under the ethos “Proofs, Not Promises,” WestDigital focuses on delivering fully operational technology and measurable business outcomes.
“WestDigital builds on our deep experience in the passenger journey and allows us to partner across the broader travel technology ecosystem,” said Rick Warren, Managing Partner and CEO of West Entertainment. “We have established an independent technology division that collaborates with airlines, OEMs, connectivity providers, and tech partners industry-wide. Our goal is straightforward: help operators turn passenger engagement into intelligence, and turn that intelligence into superior experiences and greater value on every journey.”
See WestDigital in Action on Our New Website Here!
WestDigital Q&A
- What is WestDigital?
- WestDigital is an independent software and artificial intelligence business division of West Entertainment, created to serve OEMs, airlines, rail, cruise operators, and the broader travel ecosystem. Built by the experienced team behind West Entertainment, it uses passenger intelligence to help operators understand passenger behavior, personalize digital experiences, and create new commercial opportunities.
- Is WestDigital part of West Entertainment?
- WestDigital is an independent software and artificial intelligence business division of West Entertainment. This means it can work with airlines, OEMs, and technology partners regardless of their existing content service provider or technology relationships.
- What is WestIQ?
- WestIQ is WestDigital’s passenger intelligence layer. It uses a 50-signal vocabulary, including searches, browsing, skips, pauses, and viewing behavior, combined with journey context, to understand passenger interests and intent as they develop in real time.
- What does that mean for a passenger?
- The experience becomes more relevant to the passenger as they interact with the entertainment system or retail platform during their journey. WestIQ can personalize recommendations based on passenger interactions, allow passengers to search a catalog using natural language and explain why a particular piece of content has been recommended. Its intelligence can also be applied beyond entertainment to destination offers, advertising, retail, services, and other commerce opportunities.
- Does WestIQ use personal passenger data?
- WestIQ uses no personally identifiable information. Every airline is isolated in the architecture: its own credentials, its own encryption keys, and a training wall enforced in the infrastructure. The isolation can be shown live.
- What are Insights, Personalize, and Monetize?
- They are three modular commercial packages tailored for airlines, OEMs, and other industry partners. Insights provide passenger intelligence and analytics. Personalize uses passenger intelligence to deliver more relevant recommendations and experiences. Monetize leverages passenger intent to power advertising, retail, destination services, and ancillary commerce.
- What is Content-to-Commerce (C2C)?
- Content-to-Commerce (C2C) connects what a passenger is engaging with to a better understanding of intent, then uses that intelligence to deliver a more relevant experience or commercial opportunity.
- What are Stream and StreamIQ?
- Stream by WestDigital is the company’s infrastructure-agnostic, connectivity-enabled streaming platform, formerly WeFly OTT. StreamIQ combines Stream with WestIQ intelligence built in, bringing streaming and passenger intelligence together.
- Does WestDigital replace an airline’s existing CSP or technology partners?
- No. WestDigital is designed to work within the wider passenger experience ecosystem and alongside existing systems and partners. WestIQ can sit across existing entertainment, connectivity, and digital platforms and connect with specialist partners across retail, advertising, loyalty, destination experiences, mapping, and service recovery.
- Who can work with WestDigital?
- WestDigital is designed for airlines, rail, and cruise operators, as well as OEMs and other technology and commercial partners within the passenger experience ecosystem, including connectivity, retail, advertising, loyalty, destination, and mapping partners.
- What does “Proofs, Not Promises” mean?
- It reflects WestDigital’s approach: demonstrating working technology and measurable use cases. WestIQ Live allows airlines and partners to interact with the technology and see how the experience responds as passenger behavior changes.
- What makes WestDigital relevant now?
- Passengers generate valuable interaction throughout a journey. WestDigital helps operators turn those interactions into useful intelligence that can improve the passenger experience and support new commercial opportunities.
- In one sentence…
- WestDigital uses AI and passenger intelligence to help travel operators understand what passengers want, personalize their experience, and create more relevant commercial opportunities.
