At Aviation Festival Asia, Nadia Omer, CEO, AirAsia MOVE shared insights on how the company is innovating to meet the evolving expectations of travellers.
Omer explained how technology can be leveraged to meet passengers’ demands looking at data analytics to tailor offerings, tech integration for seamless booking, and pioneering an overall deeper understanding of the customer.
“And the good news is that in our industry, customers want us to know them better. They want us to customise these propositions – ‘give me what I’m looking for.’ So they’re not shutting us out, it’s a huge partnership, and we are investing in getting better at data analytics to create those bundles that people are looking for.”
Highlighting the significance of ancillary services within the evolving travel landscape, Omer illustrated the shift in demand as we move further away from the pandemic. Previously dominated by medical coverage insurance, traveller priorities are now reverting back to traditional concerns like flight delays and baggage costs. Additionally, Omer emphasised the growing popularity of FinTech products that offer flexibility, which are emerging as a key ancillary trend especially amongst millennials.
Watch the full interview below for industry challenges, staying ahead of the curve with ancillaries, passenger demands, and more.
Questions included:
How is AirAsia MOVE evolving to meet the changing expectations of travellers?
As we enter a new era of travel innovation, what are the key challenges you anticipate facing and how are you leveraging technology to prepare for these?
When it comes to ancillaries, how are you taking a creative approach to stay ahead of the curve?
This panel at Aviation Festival Asia gathered leaders from the APAC airport industry, breaking down plans to prioritise technology, integrate sustainability, and navigate shifts in the competitive landscape. Moderated by Monica Pitrelli, Editor of CNBC Travel, panellists included Ching Kiat Lim, Executive Vice President, Air Hub & Cargo Development, Changi Airport Group, Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, Sanjeev Kumar, Vice President, SITA at Airports, Borders, Communications & Data Exchange, SITA Innovative, Vivian Cheung, Chief Operating Officer, Hong Kong International Airport, and Athanasios Titonis, CEO, Mactan-Cebu International Airport
This discussion highlighted the critical junction the industry has reached, with airports worldwide undergoing significant expansion and reimagining their relationships with passengers. The conversation touched on growth and infrastructure, looking at how technology can be leveraged to “exchange time for space.”
During the candid panel, these industry leaders spoke freely about previous failed attempts and their ambitious plans for the future. Touching on behind the scenes innovation, passenger experience, and a range of technologies this session underscores the need for fresh, critical thinking in this ever-evolving landscape.
In an industry hamstrung by outdated methods and legacy systems, start ups are leading the charge for progress. They are shaking up the sector with their comparative agility and rapid experimentation, injecting fresh perspectives and driving innovation.
Here are 15 start ups that were making waves at Aviation Festival Asia.
Aviation Festival Asia gathers together industry giants, start-ups, and everyone in between to catalyse progress in the aviation industry. The event is an opportunity for start-ups to get noticed and for influential industry players to forge business partnerships in the Asia Region, sparking meaningful change together.
Despite the mounting evidence that digital technologies have become essential to success, no organization has endless funds to invest. Instead, airlines, like other companies, must make difficult choices and carefully consider how they use budgets and resources to achieve their strategic goals.
That’s why Amadeus undertook Travel Technology Investment Trends 2024, a major research study with more than 1,200 technology leaders from across the travel industry, including 100 airline leaders. The research benchmarks how airlines are placing their bets when it comes to digital transformation.
Let’s look at the findings.
Airlines told us they’re planning to increase investment in technology by an average of 13% year-over-year. While that’s a little less than airports, it’s a bit more than several other areas of the travel sector. Certainly, enough to make a real impact and push forward digital transformation.
It’s all about the experience
One of the most encouraging findings from the study was data on what airlines consider to be the biggest priorities in airline technology right now. Or, in short, ‘why’ are they making these investments?
With all the talk of modern retailing, you’d be forgiven for thinking revenue generation is priority number one. However, the top reason was to ‘improve the passenger experience at the airport’, the second to ‘deliver an outstanding experience across the entire journey’, and the third to ‘modernize network management’, from a list of 15 options. None of these options are directly about making more money.
I think that says a lot about the ambition of the industry – there’s a genuine desire to improve the experience of flying.
Elsewhere, environmental concerns were a major driver for investment over the coming year. When asked about the top objectives driving investment, two thirds of FSCs cited ‘sustainability’ for the next 12 months. With passenger expectations continuing to evolve in this area, airlines are working to respond.
Airlines are investing in better operations
With 67% of airline leaders confirming they are seeing similar or higher levels of disruption than 2019, it’s clear any new capabilities that can improve operations are welcome. Perhaps that’s why airlines in our study said they are investing in tools to improve network and schedule planning – it’s a top priority for full-service carriers.
Full-service carriers also told us a challenge they face is rebuilding schedules due to limited historical data, meaning they aren’t able to easily adjust schedules to balance profitability and on-time performance.
This is a hugely topical area across the industry and one where advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) mean we can do things differently. Whereas planning teams once had to rely on expert judgement, they now benefit from sophisticated models that simulate the operational and business impact when they tweak plans. I’m excited to see this area in focus and look forward to working with our customers.
Modern retailing momentum
A big focus of our study was gauging airline attitudes to the transformation to modern retailing.
In short, airline leaders are excited. Full-service carriers anticipate modern retailing will deliver an 18% boost to revenues and estimate the transformation will be complete in just four years. Personally, I don’t think we should put too much focus on these averages. Some airlines may indeed make the switch in four years, but I suspect it will take others much longer. For us at Amadeus, what’s important is working with each of our airline customers at their own pace.
Looking below the headline numbers, we can see that many airlines plan a ‘gradual shift’ to new Offer & Order management technology over the coming years. We can also see that a significant minority of pioneering carriers are acting now, with a third planning to implement Offer creation and Order management this year and 20% expecting to have Dynamic Pricing in place this year too.
This retailing transformation is creating a paradigm shift in the way the airline industry functions and will require a brand-new set of skills. So, it’s reassuring to see the investment in talent is happening already. For example, around 40% of airlines surveyed have already hired additional IT talent and put detailed business plans in place for the transformation. Most other airlines said they’re starting to work on such preparatory steps.
But it’s not just retailing, it’s delivery too
In addition to packaging compelling offers, the move to modern retailing should also see airlines improve how they ‘deliver’ to passengers at the airport. According to senior airline leaders, 65% of airlines are planning to roll out biometrics at key service points like check-in, bag-drop and boarding over the next three years, to improve the airport experience. A similar level of enthusiasm was expressed for self-service capabilities and 63% of airlines told us they’re moving to the cloud so they can serve passengers from any location, inside or outside the airport terminal. So, there’s significant investment happening across the entire end-to-end airline customer experience.
It’s an exciting moment to be working in the airline industry, with transformative technologies like Generative AI and biometrics set to enter widespread service, enabling the modern retailing transformation. The findings of this study support the increased investment Amadeus is making in these areas to support the industry’s move to modern retailing. As we move forward with these major changes, I’m encouraged that airlines appear to be placing the passenger experience at the center of the transformation.
If you want to know more about how airlines are placing their digital transformation bets, I’d encourage you to read our latest report.
In this five minute interview, Athanasios Titonis, CEO, Mactan-Cebu International Airport shared his insight into navigating unique challenges and emerging priorities at the airport.
Discussing the role of technology, Titonis explained that the problem is not the technology itself, rather its seamless integration across a variety of stakeholders.
“Our employees are running the show and I think with the right technology, we are giving them the opportunity to do that better for you. […] Right now we have the technologies. But the problem is every stakeholder has its own technology, and we are not integrated. So the next step is the fully integrated airport operation system. We are working with a research company right now to develop that.”
With the airport already nearly plastic free and using solar energy, Titonis stated building on these foundations as a core driver, identifying sustainability as a key strategic priority. Reinforcing a genuine commitment to meaningful progress in this field, Titonis stated:
“We are not talking about marketing sustainability projects. We really need to be sustainable.”
Watch the full interview below for more on challenges, ambitions, and strategic priorities at Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
Questions included:
What are some of the unique challenges you have experienced and how are you overcoming these?
How are your strategic priorities changing as we settle into 2024?
At Aviation Festival Asia, Suranjana Tewari, Asia Business Reporter, BBC unpacked the future of Dubai Airports with CEO, Paul Griffiths. The conversation touched on the key to DXB’s successful pandemic recovery and Griffiths’ strategic vision for the immediate future.
Breaking down DXB’s spectacular recovery, Griffiths discussed the deliberate, strategic decisions that transformed the airport into “a coiled spring.” Here, Griffiths touched on the approach to furlough and the front line business model, whilst acknowledging a series of proactive moves made by the Dubai government.
Looking at DXB’s immediate future, the restrictions of the airports’ land-constrained infrastructure were explored. Mindful of these parametres, Griffiths explained how technology is continuously being leveraged to streamline the passenger journey thereby increasing capacity without physically growing one inch. Here, Griffiths highlighted the “no red lights” policy, which is described as a win-win for customers and the airport, maximising retail opportunities and optimising the passenger experience.
This fifteen minute interview also looked at the big challenges, sustainability, and DXB’s competitors. Watch the full conversation below.
Airports and airlines are increasingly turning to biometrics technologies to facilitate more touchless and seamless passenger journeys. Not only are these technologies key to increasing safety in the skies and improving national security for global governments, they offer benefits to every stakeholder in the commercial aviation ecosystem, and positively impact the passenger experience.
Considering the power of biometrics to revolutionize airport workflows and passenger journeys, it’s no surprise that the technology was the topic of discussion for multiple panels and side sessions at the recent Aviation Festival Asia event.
One of those panels, “How can airports work to make travel touchless, seamless, and safer for all passengers by 2030?” featured multiple airport decision-makers and technology providers talking about how biometrics will reshape the way passengers move through airports and utilize airport services.
We recently had an opportunity to sit down with Steve Robinson, the Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Collins Aerospace, to talk about what goes into a successful airport biometrics program and why touchless travel is so important for airlines, airports, and passengers.
Connected Aviation Today (CAT): Why are airports embracing biometrics today? Who benefits from these technologies?
Steve Robinson: There are numerous benefits to embracing biometrics in airports – and those benefits extend to the passengers, the airlines, and the airports themselves.
For the passengers, there is no longer a need to carry around a paper ticket and identification. They don’t have to worry about the hassle of producing documentation every time they interact with a different airline agent or government official – whether that’s airport security or customs personnel.
The airports can see revenue increase from biometrics. Passengers spend less time in security lines and checkpoints. Boarding processes are accelerated. Passengers simply have more time and freedom to explore the airport and its many businesses. They can pay to enter a lounge. They can sit and have a nice meal. They can shop or have a drink. This all leads to revenue for the airport businesses.
Finally, the airlines see better, faster, and more efficient boarding processes. Plane turnaround times get better, and they see increased revenue and fewer delays as a result.
CAT: Has Collins Aerospace been working to implement biometric programs at any airports?
Steve Robinson: Yes. In fact, we’re currently in the process of implementing a biometric program for Haneda Airport. That is one of the two international airports that service the city of Tokyo, Japan.
“PASSENGERS SPEND LESS TIME IN SECURITY LINES AND CHECKPOINTS. BOARDING PROCESSES ARE ACCELERATED. PASSENGERS SIMPLY HAVE MORE TIME AND FREEDOM TO EXPLORE THE AIRPORT AND ITS MANY BUSINESSES.”
CAT: Is there anything about Haneda Airport that has made this implementation more challenging?
Steve Robinson: More than a quarter – at least 28 percent – of Japan’s population is over the age of 65. Biometrics programs must be accessible and inclusive for all passengers to ensure wide adoption and usage. And this is especially important with an aging population that may be less experienced with the technology, or less comfortable with technology, in general.
To accomplish this, it is important to advocate for user-centered design principles and continuous feedback loops. This ensures that the technology solutions being designed, developed, and deployed in airports meet the diverse needs of travelers. There is no magic bullet or one solution that will automatically work for all users – you have to iterate and constantly evolve your solution with the feedback that you receive.
CAT: How far along is that implementation? How has that process progressed?
Steve Robinson: We’ve been taking a stepped approach to the biometric implementation at Haneda Airport. This ensures that the biometrics technologies – including cameras and other devices – have a high capture rate and that the entire system is adopted and utilized successfully.
We began the rollout with international flights for All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL). As part of that implementation, we helped to educate their staff, which is an essential step. Getting the airline’s agents and personnel invested in and educated on the technology will ensure that they utilize biometrics systems and ensure high capture and success rates with the technology.
Next, we helped get passengers educated and informed about the use of biometrics. This is also important, since adopting biometrics does change many security and boarding processes that people have grown accustomed to. We worked with ANA and JAL to get passengers onboard with biometrics by assisting them with the processes and educating them on how these processes are faster and more efficient with biometrics.
We then tested these processes with passengers of all ages and demographics. Lessons learned from those tests were then used to tweak the system and workflows. We are revisiting these deployments regularly to understand adoption progress and have metrics we use to assess success.
We’re now rolling out biometrics to multiple other airlines in earnest.
CAT: The biometric systems in an airport have to interact with many other systems and technologies – from the kiosks and other technologies at check-in and bag drop to the systems at the gate. How is Collins Aerospace integrating and interoperating with these disparate systems at Haneda Airport?
Steve Robinson: Airports have often embraced several disparate technologies and solutions from a wide ecosystem of providers to enhance the passenger journey. Each system needs to provide and receive data from the biometrics system. This is why it’s essential that the biometrics technology provider can manage these disparate parts and make the most out of the data.
“WE’VE BEEN TAKING A STEPPED APPROACH TO THE BIOMETRIC IMPLEMENTATION AT HANEDA AIRPORT. THIS ENSURES THAT THE BIOMETRICS TECHNOLOGIES – INCLUDING CAMERAS AND OTHER DEVICES – HAVE A HIGH CAPTURE RATE AND THAT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS ADOPTED AND UTILIZED SUCCESSFULLY.”
When choosing a biometrics technology provider, airports need to look for a collaborative partner that is technology agnostic and provides a single pane of glass through which all of the data and systems across the entire passenger journey can be accessed and managed.
For the biometrics program we’re implementing in Haneda Airport, we are working alongside ecosystem technology providers to ensure a seamless process.
Having an agnostic approach to hardware is key to our strategy. It’s also enabling the reuse of the airport’s existing technologies where possible. This has helped to reduce costs and waste for the airport.
Collating the data from all these touchpoints is critical to designing and building a seamless passenger journey. By analyzing the data we receive across these systems, we can identify where improvements are needed in the process, or additional technology requirements exist. We can then make those changes and embrace those new systems to further improve the passenger experience.
With digital at the heart of the airline, HK Express is primed to meet the evolving expectations of travellers.
Jeanette Mao, the airline’s CEO joined for a brief discussion on how HK Express has addressed the digital demands of customers and the trends driving these changes. Looking at digital innovation more broadly, Mao talked through the ways the airline has leveraged technology to increase operational efficiency, elevate customer experience, and curate a seamless experience for passengers.
Throughout the interview, HK Express’s CEO demonstrated the impact of innovation across the airline, using tech to reduce the length of some maintenance processes by 40 per cent and bring the average waiting time for customer inquiries to under three minutes.
Looking at the developing landscape in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Mao also presented low-cost carriers (LCCs) as well positioned to tap into the growing opportunities arising from demographic shifts. Additionally, the strategic advantage of the airline’s geographic position for advancing connections with diverse markets was explored. Turning to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Mao noted:
“I want to mention the potential of the GBA market and mainland China in the context of HK Express. One out of four of our passengers actually come from the GBA because of the enhanced connectivity. These travellers are coming from GBA by sea, ferry, train, and car and they come to Hong Kong and fly on us to those destinations that they don’t have direct from the GBA area.”
For more insights into evolving customer expectations, sustainability, and digital innovation, watch the full interview below.
Questions include:
Could you briefly outline how you are leveraging digital innovations to meet evolving customer expectations?
How would you characterise the current LCC landscape in the APAC region, and what are the main factors shaping it at we move forward?
When it comes to operational efficiency, what are you doing to stay ahead of the curve ?
Recently, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH adopted an AI-based system to analyse aircraft handling in real time. Cementing its place as a pioneer, BER was one of the first airports in the world and the first in Germany to introduce an intelligent, AI-based system to optimise aircraft handling processes on its apron.
The Digital Turnaround system pairs a network of live cameras and self-learning software to analyse aircraft handling in real time. This is designed to enhance efficiency in ground ops at the airport, assisting employees with a real-time overview of the time-critical processes at the airport.
This is expected to maximise efficiency at the airport, minimising delays and reducing the associated costs. It also aims to increase employee productivity, bridging the gap with staff shortages.
Dr Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, said:
“We need artificial intelligence in aviation to remain competitive at international level. This is the only way we can react to staff shortages in a targeted manner, optimise the use of limited infrastructure and, in doing so, reduce costs in the long term. I am delighted that the capital airport is one of the pioneers in this area and one of the first in the world to use AI for aircraft handling. Digital technologies are key to dealing with the growth in air traffic and enabling smooth handling in the future, even at peak times.”
Initially, 16 handling positions have been connected with an additional 33 set to be incorporated over the summer.
This five minute interview with Tom Vandendael, CEO Asia Pacific, SVP, Area Management Asia Pacific, Lufthansa Systems Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., explores the nuances of digital transformation in Asian aviation markets and the pivotal role of data and artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the industry’s future.
Looking at the prevailing digital transformation challenges specifically within Asian aviation markets, Vandendael explained:
“There’s much more data coming around, but the data is very much siloed, scattered, and that hinders decision-making. That also hinders the scalability of your airline. And as such, that’s another core focus that we had in the past. And it’s very specific. You see this worldwide, but it’s more pronounced here in Asia.”
Taking a step back to discuss how data and AI are shaping the future of the industry, Vandendael highlighted the importance of adopting a proactive approach and the wider significance of these technologies extending far beyond the aviation industry.
Watch the full interview to hear from Vandendael on emerging trends, the rapidly changing AI landscape, and more.
Questions asked included:
What specific digital transformation challenges have you encountered in the Asian aviation markets, and how have you proactively addressed these?
How are we seeing data and AI integration shape the industry & how long will it be before we are seeing this leveraged to its full potential?
As we progress into 2024, what emerging trends do think will gain influence in the industry & how are you preparing to capitalise on these?
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Miami International Airport (MIA) have deployed cutting-edge technology to give passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) increased agency at the airports. This is the result of a collaboration between Envoy Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group and WHILL, specialists in developing electric mobility devices.
WHILL and Envoy Air have been working together since late 2022, seeking to give more independence to passengers with accessibility challenges. It was recently announced, MIA and LAX will be pioneers in the introduction of the mobility focused service in airports.
The autonomous chairs enable passengers to select a desired destination on a touch screen (this could be a boarding gate) and the chair will safely transports the customer to their chosen location without the need to wait for staff to assist. The self-driving mobility device elevates customer experience, giving passengers increased agency, freedom, and independence.
Shane Bogni, Vice President of Business Development at WHILL Mobility Services, North America, said:
“We are thrilled to bring cutting-edge technology and innovation to two of American’s busiest hubs […] Our autonomous mobility services offer customers increased independence, reduced wait times, and an enhanced customer experience.”
The self-drive service also helps to bridge any manpower gaps, freeing up staff for other responsibilities while the location and status of mobility vehicles are monitored in real time ensuring passenger safety.
Singapore Changi Airport is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia and well known as an industry pioneer for technology, sustainability, and passenger experience. In February, the airport exceeded pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels for the first time, and Changi Airport Group’s (CAG) strategic priorities now centre around expansion and connectivity.
At Aviation Festival Asia, Ching Kiat Lim, Executive Vice President, Air Hub & Cargo Development, CAG joined for a discussion on applying the latest technology, effectively utilising data, sustainability initiatives, and the airport group’s strategic priorities for the next five years.
Stressing the importance of balancing automation with the personal touch, Lim explained:
“Now as you come through Changi Airport, there’s more automation. We can see this at mobile check-in, automated immigration gates, and later this year, we are very excited for passportless travel for Singapore residents and departing visitors. So these are areas where we can leverage technology.
But at the same time, we’re very mindful not to lose the human touch. For example, at automated immigration, when you put in your passport, if you have an Indonesian passport, the language of instruction becomes Bahasa Indonesia. This is one of the small touches where while leveraging technology, we can try to still have that level of intimacy with the customer.”
During the interview, Lim also discussed using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to harness the power of data. These technologies play a pivotal role in enhancing operational efficiency, accurate forecasting, and facilitating pre-emptive maintenance at Changi.
Exploring sustainability initiatives at the airport, the conversation also touched on Changi’s latest solar technology, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plans, electric vehicles, and crafting a nuanced approach to Scope 3 emissions.
For all this and more watch the full interview below.
Questions include:
How are you embracing technology to remain at the forefront of the industry?
You are planning to install rooftop solar panels by 2025, how else are you integrating sustainability into the framework of the airport?
What are your strategic priorities for the next five years?
JFK Airport is leveraging augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) powered analytics to improve the efficiency of airside operations at the new Terminal 6.
As part of the $4.2b redevelopment at JFK International Airport, LOGIPIX’s Virtual Ramp Control System will be implemented, leveraging multi-sensor panoramic video technology and Airside Augmented Reality Solution (LAARS) software to enhance the safety and efficiency of aircraft management.
This will harness the capabilities of AI-powered Computer Vision for real time decision-making support and improved situational awareness. The technology will “make the airside more visible for operators,” enabling all objects and their movements to be analysed with Real-Time Decision Making Support help.
Mike Broggie, President, LOGIPIX US Corporation said:
“We are thrilled to work with JFK Millennium Partners to deploy our Virtual Ramp Control System. This collaboration underscores our commitment to provide cutting-edge solutions that address the evolving needs of modern airports, and we are confident that our technology will contribute to JFK’s innovative transformation into a world-class facility.”
This is a key example of how XR can be applied within the industry to optimise group operations, streamlining processes to enhance efficiency.
One of the best known applications of AR in this context was at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Understood as the world’s first use of AR in ramp handling, Changi introduced smart glasses for ground crew which supplied staff with instructions. Kevin Chin, VP of Projects at SATS, Changi Airport’s main ground handling firm outlined the following challenges that the glasses aimed to address, “limited real time information, we use manual loading instructions [in the form of paper reports] and are limited to walkie-talkies, [which] may be loud and hard to hear [with loud background noises].”
As the technology evolves, it will open doors to more applications across the industry giving way to transformative advancements in the industry.
Metaverse is a new and emerging technology platform that is creating waves with its unparalleled offerings in many industries. But is it worth a dive for the airline industry? Let’s discover!
Metaverse is a shared digital space that can be accessed by users from different locations worldwide, where they can interact with each other and digital objects.
The metaverse goes beyond traditional two-dimensional online experiences, offering a three-dimensional and interactive space where people can conduct various activities. However, it also manifests itself in 2D spaces where it allows engagement through mobile and web-based experiences.
Key characteristics that define the metaverse are:
Immersive: Lets people really experience it by being in it. With its 3D experience, users can be inside digital space, accessing and experiencing objects rather than just observing from outside.
Interactive: Enables users to actively connect and interact with other users or objects to enhance and influence their experience of engaging. For example, people can pick up objects or exchange items, shake hands, and do much more.
Shared Experience: What it essentially means is that it breaks distance barriers by bringing people together. Users can be at the farthest location yet connect with their families, peers, coworkers, and business stakeholders from their own location through an immersive experience.
Digital Elements: Digital assets, digital humans or avatars, digital currency, NFTs (Non-Fungible tokens), and a digital marketplace – metaverse is all driven and defined by the digital components.
With these characteristics, the metaverse clearly has massive potential to make an impact on the airline industry. Implementing a metaverse in airlines can bring marvelous and exceptional results, harping the advent of next-generation technological transformation that transcends the limitations of traditional online spaces.
Metaverse use cases in the airline industry
New revenue streams and differentiation through gamification: Metaverse opens new possibilities and exploration of avenues never experienced before.
For instance, it provides a unique platform for the airlines to position their offerings – products, and services that appeal to their customers like any other marketplace. However, the difference it brings to a traditional marketplace is worth considering.
By enabling passengers or public users to create their avatars and virtually experience the airline journey through gamification (by becoming crew, pilots, etc.) and share those experiences on social media, airlines can harness the much in-vogue influencer market.
Metaverse can further be used to enable users to earn rewards and points for participating in virtual activities, goals & challenges, and purchases through gamification. This could include virtual flight experiences, virtual shopping, and other virtual activities. Hence, this futuristic tech can be used to extend the reach of airline offerings even for those who are not flying by adding loyalty points through these gamified activities and letting people avail those benefits later when they fly.
Enhanced Maintenance and Supervision: Regular aircraft maintenance is a crucial activity that ensures the airworthiness of the aircraft by means of continuous inspection, defect identification, rectification, and replacement. However, there are several challenges that hinder the maintenance process, such as:
Shortage of skilled resources
Need for faster turnaround time
Glitches from a lack of monitoring
The metaverse holds the potential to not just cater to the above challenges but also provide convenience, enhanced scope, and precision findings. Let’s look at some of the ways by which metaverse can radically change the traditional maintenance procedures:
Maintenance engineers can access the aircraft virtually, inspect its parts, identify glitches, learn to repair things, and proactively prepare for unplanned instances using metaverse.
Metaverse facilitates real-time and remote collaboration and helps maintenance engineers fix issues quickly by seeking support from their peers who are physically at some other location.
Stimulating training programs: Training and onboarding a new workforce is a massive and demanding task, given the complexities of various aviation systems. Metaverse can revolutionize training which is predominantly simulation-based, online and offline.
Let’s look at how metaverse helps the airline industry in training:
Interactive training for future pilots by fabrication of real-world scenarios through immersive and engaging 3D metaverse flight simulators. This enables them to gain practical experience in a controlled and safe environment. Pilots can enhance their situational awareness by gathering information from sensors, weather information, and navigation systems.
Airlines can mimic real-world interactions and challenges to better prepare themselves in case of disrupted operations by recreating the complete airline experience in the virtual aviation world, consisting of various personas such as flight attendants, pilots, maintenance engineers, customer service representatives, and passengers.
Upscaling the level of training by enabling real-time collaborations of trainees with instructors and amongst themselves to gain knowledge with virtual scenarios, workshops, and classrooms.
Reimagining passenger experience: Despite their utmost enthusiasm to educate passengers about handling emergency situations, the airline crew often struggles even to seek the people’s attention. By harnessing the metaverse in this case, passengers can get into the immersive experience to learn how to prepare for extreme situations such as opening an emergency exit door, using oxygen masks, or using a safety jacket.
Further, passengers could be given a virtual tour of the aircraft, giving them the opportunity to experience upgraded classes or giving anxious passengers a glimpse of the entire check-in and boarding process from the ease of their homes.
Why should airlines traverse the metaverse journey?
The metaverse landscape is rapidly evolving, and many industries, such as media, gaming, healthcare, retail, beauty, and telecom, are already reaping their benefits. Metaverse has the potential to revolutionize how people interact, collaborate, work, learn, and entertain themselves. It can enable new forms of communication, commerce, gaming, and learning techniques and is certainly amongst the next digital playground through which airlines will be able to:
Evolve their capabilities
Expand their brand presence
Reach customers in a more immersive way
Bring in a futuristic approach to resolve operational challenges and have a faster turnaround.
The digital transformation curve is now taking a mega leap where ‘the experience of things’ is at the forefront of almost every industry, including aviation. And by leveraging the potential of virtual reality, augmented reality, and other immersive technologies that form the core of the metaverse, airlines can play the ‘experience game’ like never before.
By leveraging the potential of virtual reality, augmented reality, and other immersive technologies that form the core of metaverse; airlines can play the ‘experience game’ like never before.
We have often heard the term ‘customer experience.’ However, as we look to the future, new buzzwords will emerge from the metaverse spring, encompassing various facets of airline activities, such as ‘Operational Experience,’ ‘Planning Experience,’ ‘In-flight Experience,’ ‘Booking Experience,’ ‘Baggage Experience,’ and ‘Check-in Experience.’
In this new world of experiences, metaverse as a futuristic technology will play a key role in empowering consumers to experience the look and feel of products and services and helping them in their buying decisions while also helping airlines enhance their brand and customer loyalty towards it.
Conclusion
The metaverse is boundless when it comes to imagination and creativity. With its ability to seamlessly bridge the realms of the digital world and reality, the scope of the metaverse remains infinite. By carefully evaluating the opportunities, the airline industry can use the metaverse to simulate various scenarios and craft use cases to help businesses prepare better, plan and adapt to the future, and keep ahead of the competition.
We, at Nagarro recently joined hands with RipeConcepts to redefine futuristic tech, including metaverse, for our clients. Our airline experts can help you identify use cases of the virtual space, determine the type of experience required, and support you in developing the experience. For any suggestions and to know more, contact us at explore.tnl@nagarro.com.
With technology rapidly developing, the airline industry is transitioning into an era of unparalleled opportunities. At Aviation Festival Asia, Surain Adyanthaya, President, Travel at PROS joined for a five-minute interview exploring the factors which have primed the industry to deliver on personalisation levels that airlines and customers have wanted for years.
Explaining how emerging technology plays a key role in enabling airlines to meet evolving customer expectations, PROS President Surain Adyanthaya said:
“The consumer expects the seller to know who they are, what their interests are, and to allow them to efficiently find what they want. We have seen studies where you have three seconds or less to present a consumable offer [to the customer], and the legacy technologies were not able to do that. However, with this new offer and order technology, it is possible. So this hyper-personalised offer world is here today, and it’s all driven by AI, which is the secret sauce.”
Further discussing the value of customer insights, Adyanthaya demonstrated how airlines can strategically apply this data to tailor their services while enhancing overall operational efficiency. To learn how PROS are working with key customers to innovate moving forward, watch the full interview below.
Questions asked include:
Firstly, could you map out the landscape when it comes to Offer & Order Management? What changes are coming and how must airlines prepare?
What emerging customer expectations are we seeing shape the future of airline retailing?
How are you working with key customers to innovate in this journey?
At Aviation Festival Asia, Plusgrade, a global leader powering ancillary revenue solutions for the travel industry, announced its partnership with Citilink, a leading Indonesian low-cost carrier (LCC). The collaboration aims to enhance the passenger experience by seamlessly integrating technology, passenger personalisation, and ancillary revenue optimisation.
Mr. Ichwan Agus, Chief Commercial Officer, Citilink and Hoong Mau Ho, Vice President, Sales, Plusgrade, joined to discuss the new partnership and share their insights into ancillary revenue trends in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
“Collectively, APAC is growing very, very strongly and the drivers that are triggering all this began with the unbundling movement that was started by the LCCs like Citilink. They set the trend and realised that there’s an opportunity to tap incremental revenue. And soon the full-service airlines also jumped on the bandwagon. They sort of learned from the LCCs, and they started unbundling […] So collectively, the growth became pretty substantial.
Right now, the next evolution that I’m seeing is a lot of airlines realising that in addition to ancillary revenue being an incremental revenue for them, if marketed correctly, it also can be a tool to drive higher customer engagement […] And it can definitely increase loyalty.”
For more details on the new partnership as well as insight into Citilink’s strategic investment plans and the importance of leveraging ancillaries, watch the full interview below.
Questions asked include:
How does the recently announced partnership with Plusgrade enable you to better meet the evolving demands of your passengers as well as meet the business objectives of Citilink?
How have we seen the ancillary landscape change in the APAC region in recent years and what are the main drivers of these developments?
What are Citilink’s strategic investment and growth plans for the next three years to better tap the strong traffic demand in SE Asia and Indonesia?
What advice would you give an airline if they want to tap ancillary revenue streams more effectively and yet create positive engagements with their customers?
Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that might see TikTok banned in the United States (US). The BBC reported that “if the bill manages to secure approval in the Senate, President Joe Biden has promised to sign it as soon as it lands on his desk.” This development has sparked questions around the app’s broader impact on various industries, especially within the US.
First released in 2016, within two years it was the most downloaded app in the US and is now projected to surpass 1.8 billion worldwide users by the end of 2024. In its relatively short span, TikTok has already exerted considerable influence over many industries and travel is no exception.
For some, the short-form video app has become their go-to search engine when it comes to thinking about travel. TikTok’s popularity with younger generations has earnt it the title of “Gen Z’s top holiday influencer,” with users reportedly valuing “the authenticity of real people’s travel experiences and opinions (40 per cent) above travel experts (16 per cent). In addition to its popularity with Gen Z, the app has been shown to influence mulitple generations, with a study conducted by MMGY, Portrait of American Travellers, reporting that around 40 per cent of travellers over 30 now prefer to research travel in TikTok over Google search.
Importantly, the impact of the app extends beyond inspiration, with TIkTok translating scrolling into tangible action. In a survey by MGH, 60 per cent of US users surveyed said they have become interested in visiting a new destination (city, beach, park, etc) after seeing a TikTok video about it and 35 per cent were prompted to actually visit a destination after seeing a TikTok video about it. These findings underscore the platform’s influence on travel behaviours beyond the initial research stages. With TikTok exhibiting a considerable sway over travel behaviours in the US, the world is keeping a close eye on the potential ban.
Has TikTok ever influenced you when it comes to holiday booking?
As travel becomes increasingly influenced by the likes of ChatGPT and TikTok, many industry players are embracing digital innovation to capitalise on the opportunities that open up. For more on this see:
Last month, Dubai International (DXB) announced annual traffic numbers of 87 million in 2023. This surpassed pre-pandemic levels of traffic as well as Dubai Airports’ yearly forecast. In this brief interview, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports unpacked these impressive statistics and discussed the significance of India, tech innovation, and the challenges and opportunities of the ever-evolving industry landscape.
Displaying a radical approach to technology, Griffiths warned that the industry must fully leverage its potential or risk getting left behind:
“I think the airports and aviation space has been plagued with incremental movement. But we now live in an age where the highest value companies are all tech companies [and] technology is driving change on a global scale. Gone are the days where we can think incrementally about tweaking. We’ve got to throw things up in the air and completely reimagine what the aviation industry of tomorrow is going to look like.”
To hear more on staying at the forefront of innovation, capitalising on India’s growing market, and ensuring future adaptability, watch the full interview below.
Questions asked include:
You reported that India was DXB’s top destination country in terms of traffic, can you explain the wider significance of this market and how you are planning to continue capitalising on this?
What changes and investments are you making now to ensure adaptability in the face of future challenges?
Looking ahead, what are your key strategic goals and how significant a role does technology play in reaching these?
Last week, UK-flag carrier British Airways shared its £7b transformation plan and it covers everything from its mobile app to free onboard messaging. With over 600 modernisation initiatives, the airline is focusing on a commitment to “delivering a world class customer experience, modernising IT, growing pride among colleagues and focusing on sustainability, as well as driving on-time performance.”
The modernisation plan includes multi-million-pound cutting-edge technology systems, creative applications of AI and ML, and the first ever bespoke Microsoft Connected Teams ground-to-air customer care solution. Here are some of the changes the airline is making:
Operational excellence – With a £100m investment in ML, automation, and AI to elevate operations, all aspects from bookings to disruption are poised to be streamlined for a more efficient process. Operations related to delay predictions, real-time weather analysis, customer connections data and more are also being improved using innovative new tools. A further £750m is also being investing into the airline’s IT infrastructure to move 700 systems and thousands of servers to the cloud by early next year.
Ba.com and app – The digital user experience is being renovated, prioritising “deeper” personalisation and giving customers more agency to self-serve.
WiFi – Starting in April, British Airways Executive Club Members can start sending messages on a single device through the airline’s WiFi for free. Additionally, Wi-Fi enabled inflight customer care will be actioned, facilitating complex problem resolution in flight.
Further investments include a new design concept, new cabins and seats, new routes, and sustainability initiatives.
Discussing the transformation plan, Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO, British Airways’ said:
“We’re on a journey to a better BA for our people and for our customers, underpinned by a transformation programme that will see us invest £7bn over the next two years to revolutionise our business. […] We’re going to take delivery of new aircraft, introduce new cabins, elevate our customer care, focus on operational performance and address our environmental impact by reducing our emissions and creating a culture of sustainability. We’re also heavily investing in the development of a new ba.com website and app and are laser-focused on transforming our business and fixing any pain points for our customers.”
This month, Glasgow Airport are running a set of live trials for accessibility technology. The airport’s accessibility team are joining forces with Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and place leadership, for the two day trials.
Glasgow’ Airport’s involvement in the trials provides small companies with the opportunity to test within a live environment, catalysing the progression of accessibility tech and tailoring it to the nuances of an airport environment. With one of the highest percentages of people with disabilities and reduced mobility (PRM) passengers of any UK airport, Glasgow Airport is well suited partner to help the innovative businesses to refine their solutions.
Gathering data on participants’ responses to and engagement with a range of tech, the trials will inform the development of accessibility tech solutions moving forward. The companies invited to trial their technologies at the airport include:
Gazooky Studios – ChapARone is an instant messaging service using AI and Augmented Reality to aid disabled passengers. The system allows transport hubs to upload information and direct it to a network of accessible-QR coded info-points.
Hello Lamp Post – Powering AI digital assistants for any public place, accessible via location-specific QR codes, enabling 24/7 communication and assistance. This technology streamlines passenger support, airport navigation, and wayfinding information to enhance passenger experiences.
Signapse – Providing automatic sign language announcements using the latest AI techniques. Available in both British and American Sign Language, the technology provides accessibility to Deaf passengers in public spaces.
Signly – Providing sign language translations in British, American, Irish, and German Sign Language that are already recorded, making websites or airport information more accessible on smartphones through QR codes, and helping passengers who use sign language access information better.
Ronald Leitch, Interim Chief Operating Officer at AGS Airports, which owns Glasgow Airport, said:
“We are incredibly proud of the service we provide to the tens of thousands of special assistance passengers who travel through our terminals each year. The technological advancements we’re seeing today in areas such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality could play a key role in how we improve these vital services and further enhance the customer experience. Air travel should rightly be for everyone and thankfully more and more people who need additional support are choosing to fly. The technologies being demonstrated during these trials will hopefully enable and embolden even more special assistance passengers to travel.”
