How Airlines and Airports Are Working Together to Deliver a Seamlessly Connected Passenger Experience

Transcription

1 How Airlines and Airports Are Working Together to Deliver a Seamlessly Connected Putting you at the heart of online travel since

2 More than half the world s airports see IT investment as their number one priority. As beacon technology, self-service and increased mobile options not only improve the passenger experience but also serve to drive revenues both before and during flight, how can airlines work together to build knowledge partnerships to deliver a first-class seamless passenger travel experience? How can they leverage the new technologies to boost ancillary revenues and premium services? As we move into the second half of the decade it is already clear that one of the key enablers for the air travel industry is the broad acceptance of new technologies based on mobile internet access, big data analytics and fine-grained location sensing. For passengers this brings a greatly improved overall travel experience. For both airlines and airports this brings many new opportunities to improve their level of customer service, but it also brings some new challenges. New investments in IT must be accompanied sometimes by new approaches to business and new ways of transforming rivalry into co-operation. THE BOOM IN MOBILITY-ENABLED PERSONALIZATION According to the SITA 2015 Airline IT Trends Survey, airlines are shifting from the traditional onesize-fits-all use of IT to more tailored approaches, satisfying the demand from passengers to use their own personal mobile devices to be connected and informed at all stages of the journey. The SITA study reports that airlines are addressing personalization in three areas: 1. Mobile adoption. Over 75% of airlines plan major programs to deliver passenger services through smartphones in the next three years, benefitting from the very high rate of adoption of these devices. Owning a smartphone has become the norm rather than early adopter behaviour. 2. App Expansion. Smartphone apps will offer personalized services before and during travel, from flight discovery to the final destination. More detailed and timely information about flights, baggage and other services will be provided through these apps. 3. Airport Kiosks. Kiosks and beacons will allow services such as downloading media content for the flight and services for delivering shopping to gates and lounges. These are key opportunities for developing new ancillary revenues and for boosting retail revenues in original ways. These personalization opportunities are still fairly limited and offered by just 20% of airlines, reports the SITA survey. This is going to change rapidly in the coming years. 2

3 CASE STUDY: LONDON S GATWICK AIRPORT PERSPECTIVE Exactly how this is changing is already visible at London s Gatwick airport, which has already applied new technologies to many different aspects of the passenger experience. Basic use of mobile functionality for applications like machine-readable mobile boarding passes is already commonplace. What is now being added is more context-specific information which guides passengers with details about boarding gate assignments, baggage belts, walking directions within the airport and real-time flight status. As CRM programmes reveal more about the travel habits and preferences of customers the opportunities for wider digital services to customers increases, says Guy Stephenson, CCO at Gatwick Airport. This is likely to involve improving awareness of the opportunities to use airport dwell time in the most productive and enjoyable way for both parties. This productive use of dwell time can both reinforce customer engagement and loyalty, while at the same time offers the airport new ways to generate ancillary revenues and boost retail business. Another interesting area where Gatwick Airport is actively applying new technologies is in real-time queue measurement and activity monitoring. We are looking to technology to support us in making queues the exception rather than the rule, says Stephenson. The check-in technology provides real-time data on check-in queues and a real-time visual simulation of activity in the check-in zones. This enables airlines, handler and the airport to have immediate ability to deal with service issues as they arise. Even more interesting is the Gatwick Connects service, which gives low-cost airline customers the possibility of booking a protected connection between two low-cost or non-interlined airlines through Gatwick in one transaction. The airport also provides a check-in at the baggage carousel to save time in the connection. One of the keys to all of this co-operation is the sharing of data. We believe Gatwick is a market leader in this respect, offering other organizations free access to the operational data through an API interface, adds Stephenson. 3

4 This free exchange of data will benefit both airports and airlines through targeting relevant services to passengers who share common needs. These services can include: Joint products, where the airline s customer interface is used to promote exclusive offers for premium airport services, possibly through white-label services Loyalty Schemes, driving preference of the airline and airport over competitors for the same journey option. Far from being rivals, the airport and airline have a shared stake in the result Retail offers, where an apps push functionality can push offers in real time using customer data from either organization to target relevant offers at the most appropriate time Knowledge based partnerships are not just about data sharing. Gatwick Airport conducts regular commercial and IT forums with airline and retail partners to think collectively how to make the customer experience better using technology. CASE STUDY: THE SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES VISION The idea of discussing plans with airline partners resonates with Scandinavian Airlines which works with airports to find mutual opportunities to grow, and emphasizes the scale of co-operation needed. We would like airports to share their development plans and use airline expertise to further develop self service solutions and automation enhancements, says Pernilla Edelsvärd, Head of Digital at Scandinavian Airlines. Edelsvärd also sees opportunities for improvement on both sides by moving to a focus on passengers rather than aircraft turn round, a new mindset for airline-airport cooperation and joint standardization and development. We are aiming for a seamless travel experience from the customers travel discovery phase through to reaching their final destination, says Edelsvärd. KEY FOCAL POINTS Sharing data with partners is the key to successful cooperation New real-time technology enable airports to improve the passenger experience, increase loyalty and boost revenues Joint loyalty schemes leverage combined strength of airline an airport 4

5 We believe that airlines and airports need to define common Key Performance Indicators as well as a single view of technology development to reduce costs for both sides. CASE STUDY: THE BRUSSELS AIRLINES / BRUSSELS AIRPORT CASE An example of the partnerships possible today is in the cooperation between Brussels Airlines, Brussels Airport and other partners in creating the Brussels Airport new flagship lounge service, The Loft. KEY FOCAL POINTS: Airports and airlines should standardize and develop new technologies together Key performance metrics need to be defined to allow improve cooperation The focus should be on the passenger experience, not aircraft turn round Brussels Airport teamed up with Microsoft and Designit Europe to create a new passenger experience. Thanks to this partnership guests in the lounge can borrow a tablet during their stay in the lounge, explains Brussels Airlines CCO Lars Redeligx. Using the app they have access to the Brussels Airlines digital lounge assistant app where they can book a shower room, see the availability of nap boxes or book a meeting room. The app also keeps passengers up to date about the status of their flight and, through a partnership with Telenet, a video-on-demand service which allows passengers to watch movies and TV shows while in the lounge. The same services are also available on the passengers own mobile device if they download the lounge assistant app. 5

6 We are constantly looking at how we can further improve the customer experience at the airport, says Redeligx, while It cannot replace personal service, technology can assist in making the travel easier. Brussels Airlines is also working with the hub on new options for doing this, like home printed bag tags and permanent electronic bag tags, making life easier for passengers using the self service bag drop. KEY FOCAL POINTS: Passengers want a home from home experience on the move - an app won t fully replace face-to-face service but can enhance the customer experience by incorporating easier access to key services CONCLUSION: WORKING TOGETHER IS THE WAY FORWARD What emerges today is that neither airports nor airlines alone can guarantee the kind of experience passengers are now demanding so the future is clearly in co-operation. Airports and airlines share comparable challenges and opportunities when it comes to the travel experience, says Gatwick s Stephenson. A good or a bad experience by one party impacts on the brand and reputation of the other, which demands that airlines and airports work together. The combination of mobile, location and big data technologies now enable many new opportunities to build this seamless experience, so that passengers, airlines, airports and other partners all benefit. At the same time it will require a new level of cooperation between airlines and airports, sharing openly operational and customer data to make a more positive experience that benefits everyone. The winners will not be the people who own the data but the people who can make best use of it. KEY LESSONS It must be factored into airport and airline strategy that passengers will increasingly demand to be informed through their own personal mobile devices Real-time status updates and location beacons will soon become the norm Airports and airlines will both benefit from advances in technology and data but closer cooperation will be needed 6

7 On the Ground: How Are Train Operators, Car Rental and Taxi Providers Working to Deliver a Seamless Travel Experience? THE CONNECTED TRAVELLER 2015 SAVE 100! Register by 4th Sept October, The Grange Hotel Tower Bridge, London IDENTIFY THE PARTNERS, TECHNOLOGY AND STRATEGY YOU NEED TO GROW REVENUES IN THE MOBILE-FIRST WORLD This unique event brings together digital pioneers from across hospitality, retail, transport and tourism providers to discuss how to leverage the latest tech innovations to increase customer engagement, ancillary sales and grow loyalty. Integration & Fragmentation: Who owns the customer in a mobile-first world? In the air and on the ground: Airlines, Airports, Train Operators, Car Rental and Taxi Providers debate how to deliver a seamless travel experience Learn how smart hotels & resorts are integrating technology to engage customers and drive loyalty Steps to connected commerce: How and what do you retail to the connected traveller pre-trip, on trip and in destination Adapt to the digital shift: Learn how to create a culture of innovation and drive growth in the new travel ecosystem Understand how to overcome barriers presented by legacy systems and ensure you have the right technology in place to deliver a seamless travel experience HEAR FROM TOP INDUSTRY SPEAKERS INCLUDING: JOHN HURLEY CTO RYANAIR ISIDORO MARTÍNEZ DE LA ESCALERA CMO NH HOTEL GROUP GUY STEPHENSON CCO GATWICK AIRPORT PERNILLA EDELS- VARD HEAD OF DIGITAL SAS (SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES) MARCO RYAN CMO THOMAS COOK TOMMI HOLMGREN CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER CABFORCE LTD LARS REDELIGX CCO BRUSSELS AIRLINES MARK HOLT CTO THETRAINLINE.COM SCHEHERAZADE ZEKRI-CHEVALLET CMO & CCO THALYS INTERNATIONAL CATHAL O'CONNELL, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER CITYJET GOLD SPONSOR SPONSOR FIND OPEN OUT NOW MORE: visit PROGRAMME AND SPEAKER LINE-UP INSIDE 9