At Aviation Festival Asia, Peter Smith, SVP – Travel, Ticketing & Mobility at Cover Genius sat down to discuss loyalty, the customer experience evolution, and industry challenges.

Smith explored how airlines can modernise their loyalty approach through personalisation and AI to more effectively meet the evolving customer expectations of younger generations. He also selected three travel trends that are having the greatest impact this year, touching on: personalisation, digitalisation & AI adoption, as well as ongoing disruption caused by staff shortages.

Personalisation – Airlines will prioritize offering tailored experiences and rewards to meet individual needs and enhance loyalty, particularly for younger customers.

Digitalisation & AI – Leveraging data, AI, and analytics will be crucial for anticipating customer needs and delivering real-time experiences that keep airlines competitive.

Ongoing Disruption – Staffing shortages and post-Covid legacy issues will continue to cause operational challenges and flight disruptions in the near future.

On getting ahead in the emerging loyalty landscape, Smith explained:

“It’s about lifetime value […] and enabling customers to customise their rewards programs themselves so you’re not dictating to them exactly what it is that they’re able to achieve as a reward, perhaps giving them a little bit more flexibility. For example, with Gen Z we know that 75 per cent of Gen Z are much more likely to make a purchase if they’re able to customise that purchase or that journey and so if you take that sort of level of think and you apply that to your loyalty programs, they’re much more likely to engage.”

Watch the full interview below now for more.

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Questions asked include:

  1. The loyalty landscape is changing, and we are increasingly seeing disillusioned customers. Where do you think loyalty programmes are headed and how would you characterise the space as it currently stands?​
  2. Many industries have adapted to the digital-first consumer, and with great success. Why is aviation struggling to evolve in the same way and which areas are we seeing the most desperate need for change?​
  3. What would you pick out as the top three 2025 travel trends to watch out for this year?

 

 

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