Cabin Crew to be Empowered with Mobility

Business white paper
Cabin crew to
be empowered
with mobility
Discover how technology can help increase revenues and cut costs

Table of contents
2 Improving the passenger experience
3 Cabin crew are the catalyst
3 Why HP?
4 A new partnership
5 The bottom line
6 Functional walk-through
7 Friendly empowerment for the crew
Mobility is key
The airline business is a competitive and challenging arena
and the carriers who succeed will be those who change and
adapt. Airlines are all too aware that improving the customer
experience is important to ensure repeat business and bigger
profits. They also know that mobile technology is key, both
on the ground and in the air.
Improving the passenger experience
International Air Transport Association (IATA) figures show that 3.3 billion passengers
flew in 2014 and, with 1,400 new planes taking off, the market was worth $746 billion.
Demand for air travel was up by 5.9 per cent compared with the 5.2 per cent increase of
2013 and an average growth rate of 5.6 per cent over the last ten years.
It’s a significant step in the right direction and, if latest industry forecasts are correct, the
positive trend is set to continue with IATA’s 20-year growth plan predicting that 7.3 billion
passengers will fly in 2034.
The fact that air travel is now so commonplace, coupled with more sophisticated and
tech-savvy passengers, means expectations are now raised. With various choices on offer,
it’s a buyers’ market and, if they’re not satisfied, passengers will vote with their feet.
The general availability of the Internet, increasing the use of mobile computing and social
networks, provides passengers with the ability to seek out the best and most cost-effective
travel solutions and they are easily able to publish opinions on their travel experiences to
large audiences. If those views are negative, it can impact an airline’s brand and profitability.
No surprise then that enhancing customer service is the key business driver for airlines as
they fight to avoid losing seats and to get their share of an improving market.
On the ground, airport check-in, security controls and baggage collection are areas where
passengers express dissatisfaction, but there can also be frustration in the air. Surveys have
indicated that many passengers would like to see improvements in cabin services.
Passengers appreciate the positive impact that technology is already having on their travel
experience. Online services have been widely adopted by travellers, who increasingly use
websites for some part of their travel arrangements, and the impact of mobile devices is on
the increase with a large percentage of smartphone owners using airline apps.
Mobile devices are also changing the in-flight experience, with airplane and flight modes
allowing passengers to use their phones for functions that don’t involve signal transmission.
Mobility is a trend that allows airlines to streamline their engagement with the passenger,
improve customer satisfaction, build loyalty and convert customised services into
increased revenue.
Business white paper | Travel and Transportation
2

Cabin crew are the catalyst
Airlines increasingly recognise the business benefits of developing new in-flight offerings
based on personal service and the delivery of real-time information. Cabin crew are the
key ingredient because they have more contact with passengers than any other airline or
airport staff.
Given access to the right information, cabin crew can improve the on-board experience
by tailoring services to individual passengers and this can lead to repeat business and
increased profits. On the other side of the coin, they can also be a conduit for customers’
concerns and problems which can result in future service improvements.
Historically, cabin crew have been hampered by outdated paper-based systems and manual
processes. Passenger lists, flight records and a whole host of other reports mean that
airlines must process hundreds and thousands of paper documents, sometimes resulting
in weeks of delay before business data can be extracted and any remedial action taken.
Being cut off from the airline’s corporate networks also means that cabin crew are
unable to respond to many customer inquiries on such things as travel information
and flight disruptions.
The answer to these problems is the introduction of the digital customer experience, based
on a level of IT connectivity that gives ground handlers, airports and airlines the ability to
partner and offer connected services that improve the whole flight experience.
As part of this, many commercial airlines are now considering equipping crew with mobile
devices and specialised applications for use before, during and after each flight. The aim
is to provide them with the information they need to deliver a more personal experience,
improved service and quicker responses to passenger questions.
Giving crew the advantage of information makes them a knowledgeable touch-point for
passengers. Having the right tools also makes their work more efficient and more effective
by eliminating obsolete processes.
Mobile technology in the sky will also benefit retail income as airlines gain more insight of
their passengers’ requirements. Thus, the cabin crew are able to provide enhanced on-
board sales opportunities and revenues.
Why HP?
When airlines decide that mobility will become part of their business, most have more
questions than answers. What devices should they use? Which applications do they need?
How do they maintain security? What benefits will mobility provide? While they see potential
from a mobility solution, they also face a daunting challenge in making sense of which
solutions align to their goals.
“Airlines need a partner who understands their business and who also understands mobility.
When you narrow it down there are not a lot of companies who can do both but HP has
the mobility expertise and airline acumen to guide its customers to a real solution,” says
Nick Martin, HP mobility product manager for travel and transportation. “Mobility has lots
of challenges and lots of room for mistakes. HP is able to help airlines consider the entire
mobility stack and craft out a mobility solution aligned with what their growth strategy
really is.”
“Airlines need a partner who understands their business and who also
understands mobility. When you narrow it down there are not a lot of
companies who can do both but HP has the mobility expertise and airline
acumen to guide its customers to a real solution.”
– Nick Martin, HP mobility product manager for travel and transportation
3

HP has supported the airline industry for over 30 years. Employing 3,500 travel and
transportation professionals, it runs six transportation industry Global Centres of Expertise
and nine similar centres for information management and analytics. HP has carried out over
50 airline system migrations in the last 15 years and its solutions are now found in more
than 500 airports where they support over 500 million passenger bookings annually.
The company’s technology powers a number of industry suppliers and it also supports over
100 airlines with outsourcing, applications development, Passenger Service Systems (PSS)
and flight operations. It has several strategic reservations clients and more than seventy
departure control clients. HP PSS and DCS is one of the world’s largest communities with
one billion passengers boarded every year.
HP is also a proven leader in the mobility space. Its Mobile Enterprise Services figured
strongly in IDC’s MarketScape Report 2014; HP Helion private cloud solutions for mobile
Platform-as-a-Service was a leader in Forrester Wave 2014, and Gartner’s Magic Quadrant
has given high rating to both HP UFT Mobile integrated software suites and HP Fortify
security testing.
A new partnership
More than 50 per cent of airlines are now said to be considering empowering their cabin
crew with mobile devices and, in response, Dutch company MI Airline developed Connected
Crew, a cross platform application that delivers integrated point of sale, payment and
passenger insight functionality.
Now HP and MI Airline have entered into a partnership that makes Connected Crew available
on the HP Travel Cloud platform and this is wrapped around by consultancy services
that guide airlines through the maze of pitfalls that await them when implementing a
mobility solution, which HP is more than capable of providing in devices, peripherals,
and management services for devices and applications.
Because of its small form factor and robustness, the preferred device for the service is
the HP Slate 8 Pro Business Tablet running the Android operating system. At the front
end, Connected Crew point of sale functionality includes catering, duty free shopping and
other merchandising. It offers passenger management features such as interactive seat
maps and loyalty tracking and also gives cabin crew the flight information they need to
help passengers cope with delay. Behind the scenes the application also facilitates the
production of pre and post flight reports and other administrative reports that cabin crew
have to compile.
“This partnership involves MI Airline providing the application and HP providing the rest of
the mobility stack,” explains Martin. “It includes devices, device management services,
application management service and the integration work that needs to happen with all
the peripherals that go with the device such as credit card readers or portable printers.
HP is also providing the necessary security.
“Security is where you start to see a real difference between enterprise mobility solutions
versus what happens in the consumer space. You need to manage the device; you want
a way to remotely update the application as new releases come out with new security
enhancements or minor functionality enhancements or even just simple bug fixes.
“You also want to be able to create security policies and the governance actions that come
into play. You may want your crew to be able to go in and enter all the input they need to
but maybe only the purser sees the sales summary. You need to know how to control that
and you want to enable the business to set out policies that are easy to manage and not
dependent on every user who picks up a device.
“Also, as part of the agreement, we recognised the need for a hosting solution. Hosting in
the cloud is obviously a much more efficient way of doing business so we use HP Travel
Cloud. This is a global service that supports not just the MI Airline application but also
other applications and services, making sure that they are hosted in the regions that are
responsive to the needs of the clients.”
HP has supported
the airline industry
for over 30 years.
30
years
4

“Our service also includes the whole mobility strategy, making sure that everything works
well together. We help airlines transform their current business processes to processes that
include mobility, along with any customised app developments that need to occur.”
Connected Crew on the HP Platform is a flexible service that can be tailored to the individual
needs of different airlines. Some may want the whole service while others may already have
their own solution for a certain piece of the stack. This flexibility is particularly relevant to
connectivity, with some airlines preferring to use Wi-Fi and others 3G or 4G. They also need
to stay in line with different regulations in each country.
An operator’s individual preferences also come into play in relation to in-flight transmissions.
One option is for timed communication bursts, enabling crew to send and receive relevant
information during the flight. If that is against airline regulations then cabin crew can load
messages onto the tablet and these are sent immediately when flight mode is turned off on
landing. This is particularly useful when bookings have to be made on a connecting flight
due to delays.
There is also potential for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Passengers could use their mobiles
to stream on-board films or order food and beverages or crew could use their own device
rather than a tablet. By consulting a trusted partner like HP, with its know-how in this space,
airlines can be well placed to mitigate potential security risks.
HP sees that the key to success resides in the planning stage. It’s much easier to change
things on the drawing board than waiting until you have the solution out there because
there have been instances where mobility projects have not delivered what was intended.
It’s necessary to have a cross section of expertise and it’s much easier to catch a mistake in
planning rather than building a solution and then discovering that there is a giant gap in the
mobility strategy – and this does happen. For example, an airline project team provisioning
for Windows® devices while having application development for Android is a classic example
of misaligned plans.
“The key with the entire mobility stack is that we’re looking to provide a genuine service to
our clients so it’s about meeting with them, understanding their needs and making sure that
their mobility strategy aligns to what they are trying to achieve,” concludes Martin. “It’s more
than just choosing an application and a device; that’s where HP’s service and experience is of
real value.”
The bottom line
There are significant operational benefits from the introduction of new technology but
how does it stack up financially? Two factors are currently having a positive effect on
the airline industry. The price of crude oil has more than halved since June 2014 and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting that 2015 will see growth in the global
economy of 3.8 per cent.
“The key with the entire mobility stack is that we’re looking to provide a
genuine service to our clients so it’s about meeting with them, understanding
their needs and making sure that their mobility strategy aligns to what they
are trying to achieve. It’s more than just choosing an application and a device;
that’s where HP service and experience is of real value.”
– Nick Martin, HP’s mobility product manager for travel and transportation
5

In addition to other positive comments on the market, IATA also reports that capacity rose
5.6 per cent in 2014, with the overall load factor - how full planes are - climbing 0.2 per cent
points to 79.7 per cent. The industry was expected to make record post-tax profits of
$18 billion in 2014, up from $10.6 billion in 2013 but airlines are still concerned about their
profit margins. The average profit they make on each passenger is said to be just $5.42.
Tony Tyler, CEO of IATA, is reported to have told the group’s 70th AGM in Doha: “With a net
profit margin of just 2.4 per cent, airlines only retain $5.42 per passenger carried. There is
a mismatch between the value that the industry contributes to economies and the rewards
that it generates.”
And Brian Pearce, chief economist for IATA, is also reported as saying that improved profits
are due to the volume of total revenue and not to profit margin.
There has been a small improvement because, according to recent figures from IATA,
just two years ago the average post-tax profit per passenger was only $2.05, leading to
the popular analogy that Starbucks made the same profit on a cup of coffee that airlines
did on a seat.
“It’s very time and resource intensive in terms of provisioning
the devices and distributing them. We package all of that up
so you have a much smaller cost curve which can be done off
a balance sheet leasing type arrangement for the devices.
This is a very new service and we are very excited about it.
It’s a way that the enterprise can have some level of future
proofing devices.”
– Nick Martin, HP mobility product manager for travel and transportation
However, margins are still low so it’s vital that airlines keep a tight rein on cost. That’s where
Connected Crew is an attractive offering because, by offering it as Mobility-as-a-Service,
HP is supporting airlines to introduce technology that has the potential to reduce cost and
increase sales.
“There is no capital outlay that operators have to make initially,” says Martin. “As well as
providing the device, it also includes break fix and a refresh after a certain time period.
Devices typically have a 36-month lifecycle, so one of the major concerns around enterprise
mobility is futureproofing the solution. That becomes a major challenge for the CIO. It’s very
time and resource intensive in terms of provisioning the devices and distributing them.
“We package all of that up so you have a much smaller cost curve which can be done off a
balance sheet leasing type arrangement for the devices. This is a very new service and
we are very excited about it. It’s a way that the enterprise can have some level of future
proofing devices.”
Functional walk-through
Connected Crew runs from a customisable home screen with short cuts to duty free,
food and beverages, orders, passengers, forms and manuals.
The shop function represents a catalogue and a virtual shopping cart with categories
accessible by symbols. The shopping cart can be linked to a passenger or left blank and
there is the option to offer complimentary products in line with rules issued by the airline.
An unlimited number can be included in each category and different currencies are available.
6

The tablets also communicate with each other, creating a constantly updated sales overview
for every attendant. Card readers use Bluetooth or wireless technology and the payment
functionality covers credit or debit cards as well as cash, depending on the service provider.
It can also accommodate vouchers, bonus point from air miles, authorisation and split
payments. Receipts can be emailed or hard copies printed off.
The Passenger Insight module can be displayed either as an electronic passenger list
or as an interactive seat map and can be sorted by seat number, first name or surname.
Passenger attributes are colour coded and details such as frequent flyer status or flight
connections are displayed. There is also information on the passenger’s loyalty status,
past purchases and any special meals required or ordered. Other optional information can
include passenger profiles, cost of the current ticket, most frequent route travelled or social
media remarks made.
A Crew Productivity Module replaces paper with digital forms which are pre-populated
with available data about passenger, crew and flight. An unlimited number of forms can be
accommodated and for each form a recipient mailbox or web service destination is identified.
The contents of the form can then be transmitted in human-readable, machine-readable
format or both.
The Manuals function allows the airline to distribute several types of electronic documents
to the cabin crew, such as standard operating procedures, safety manuals or crew
announcements. Electronic documents can include PDF, HTML, images, and pictures
to name a few. The administration on the ground is performed with a document
management system.
Friendly empowerment for the crew
“We have developed a crew friend,” says Job Heimerikx, CEO, MI Airline. “With Connected Crew
we have a solution that does not make the lives of flight attendants more complicated but
actually makes them easier.
“It makes their approach to customers more positive and really helps them to efficiently
conduct on-board business when it comes to selling duty free goods and on-board
refreshment. We aim to make those processes as easy and fast as can be.”
Connect Crew is designed to take away cumbersome processes that have previously
hampered aircrew.
It looks at on-board transactions in a different way, not from a catering perspective or
from a financial perspective but from an interactive perspective between the crew and the
passenger, making that interaction as simple and as fast as possible.
This is one reason why a separate payment device is used. The crew always keep hold of the
tablet and passengers are handed a simple payment device. Most of them will already be
familiar with it from their daily lives at home.
“We tried to make it as familiar as possible for passengers and also as acceptable as possible
for the crew,” adds Heimerikx.
“Research shows that crew do not like to hand over their own equipment to passengers.
When they do, they have to stop working because they no longer have the tablet and this
delays the process. The tablets also contain quite a lot of passenger information.
“We have gone to an enormous amount of trouble to keep the system as ultra-simple
as possible. And this means that our average training is about four or five minutes per
crew member.
“They use it just as if they were using Facebook. The system is not hostile to them because
they can easily understand it.”
The industry was
expected to make
record post-tax
profits of $18 billion
in 2014, up from
$10.6 billion in 2013
$18
billion
7

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Connected Crew is based on three major pillars:
• On-board business – is all about simplicity, speed, minimising of fraud and making sure
that crew can move through the whole aircraft and see to the needs of all passengers as
quickly as possible.
• Paperless cabin – deals with a reduction in the number of forms that crew have to fill in.
As Connected Crew already contains so much information, a lot of things can be pre-filled
and, with common web tools, this can make filling in a form very easy. One customer had
30 different forms and using Connected Crew has reduced that to six. Another big win for
the cabin crew is that they can fill in the forms on the flight rather than taking time to
do it afterwards.
• Passenger recognition – is about managing the passengers. One of the huge technical
benefits of Connected Crew is that the tablets communicate with each other. This helps
the crew to do a better job because everyone is using the same information flow and
everyone can see notes on individual passengers and the interaction that the crew had
had with them. It includes CRM information on who is sitting where and provides this
information in a simple and secure way.
Connected Crew reduces administrative time. There’s no manual involvement in
synchronising tablets because it all comes from the servers and everything is fully
automated. Also, security is arranged in such a way that the crew can be allowed to use the
tablets for their own purposes such as Facebook and email, enabling them to be connected
with their home systems when they are on a layover.
Because the tablets communicate with each other during the flight only one of the crew
really needs to have activated the tablet so it is a multi-redundant system. Since everything
is shared, only one tablet needs to connect back to the middleware to obtain all the
necessary information. This level of communications means that one person can take an
order and another can process the payment. This opens a whole new service model for
passengers and allows crew to see where they are in the sales process.
The MI Airline app will constantly transmit and receive information. When they enter the
crew room staff are already up to date with the latest information. The app will constantly
check if there is new information to be retrieved and this means that the crew no longer
have to think of their app. They just need to get on-board and do their normal daily business.
As soon as they need the app, the information is simply there. MI Airline works with eight-
inch devices so they fit neatly into aprons.
It can take up to 15 minutes to synchronise all the legacy systems in an aircraft but with
Connected Crew this is completely automatic. The responsiveness of the airlines also goes
up because messages can be sent very quickly. Manuals are in multimedia format, including
video, which is another example of being a crew friend.
“We have a complete change of culture here. It’s about ease. It’s about no worries and it’s
about delivering a system that is truly crew friendly,” concludes Heimerikx.
Learn more at
hp.com/go/consumertravel
© Copyright 2015 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only
warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein
should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Windows is a U.S. registered trademark of the Microsoft group of companies.
4AA5-7267EEW, April 2015

Cabin Crew to be Empowered with Mobility

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