Paf extends cooperation with Eckerö Linjen

Paf and Eckerö Linjen signed a new multi-year agreement. The agreement will give Eckerö Linjen a completely new and updated onboard gaming experience.

Paf and Eckerö Linjen have worked closely together for many years. Paf produces and delivers the gaming entertainment for the passengership MS Eckerö, which operates between Sweden and Åland. Both parties have chosen to extend the cooperation with a multi-year agreement that extends from 2024 onwards.

“We have a solid history together with Eckerö Linjen and we look forward to the coming years together. The shipping company is an important partner for Paf and together we have managed to deliver good gaming entertainment on board,” says Paf’s CEO Christer Fahlstedt.

Both Eckerö Linjen and Paf have long experience of operating in an onboard environment.

“We have had good cooperation with Paf throughout the years. We both have high ambitions and we both know what it takes to adapt our operations to the conditions that exist in an onboard world,” says Tomas Karlsson, CEO of Eckerö Linjen Ab.

Timing is important for development

The current agreement between Paf and Eckerö Linjen ran until the end of 2023, but to provide better opportunities to develop the business in the long term, it was decided to extend the agreement well in advance.

“It is good for both of us that we can already extend our cooperation agreement. It usually takes a relatively long time to acquire new gaming machines and implement the software required for them to be used onboard a specific route,” says Paf’s Chief Operating Officer Lasse Danielsson.

MS Eckerö operates daily between Eckerö in Åland and Grisslehamn in Sweden. The number of guests who travelled on the ship in 2022 was 787,930, compared to 490,695 guests in 2021. The travel restrictions for travel from Sweden to Åland were removed on 1 July 2022, which increased the number of passengers on board.

“We are in a new phase for passenger traffic onboard and the guests travelling after the pandemic have new requirements for their travel. Therefore, we must also adapt our operations with, among other things, modern cashless payment solutions,” says Lasse Danielsson.