A presentation of airline information technology trends, dated August 2011.
Based on data from the IT industry as well as big travel technology companies like Amadeus, this presentation outlines trends in two main areas, mobile technology and social media.
3. Smartphone Market
•
According to a 2011 survey by Gartner, mobile smartphone and
tablet application development are companies’ second priority
in technology strategy
•
In the US, the number of smartphones will exceed the number
of full-featured phones by the end of 2012.
•
According to a survey by Amadeus, 16% of all passengers and
34% of frequent fliers buy tickets via smartphone
5. Tablet Market
•
Sale figures
2010 (real): 17.6 M total. 14.7 M iPads
2011 (estimated): 70 M total. 48 M iPads
2015 (estimated): 294 M total. 138 M iPads
•
Market shares
2010 (real): %83 iOS, %14 Android
2011 (estimated): %69 iOS, %20 Android
2015 (estimated): %47 iOS, %39 Android
•
Airline sector
Cathay Pacific
American Airlines
6. Mobile Web vs.
Mobile Application
•
Mobile web development
Cheaper
Can be difficult to use
Difficulties with satisfying expectations of web users
•
Mobile (Native) application
Expensive to develop
User-friendliness
Integration with location based services
7. Aviation Technology Trends
(SITA 2011 Airline IT Trends Survey)
•
91% of Airlines foresee an increase in mobile passenger
services
60%: Program-level
31%: R&D project
•
Percentage of passengers who check-in via mobile devices is
expected to rise from 3% in 2011 to 15% in 2014.
•
69% of airlines either sell or plan to sell tickets via social
networks by the end of 2014.
•
80% of airlines either sell or plan to market & sell products via
social networks by the end of 2014.
8. Trends – Mobile Applications
• TravelTech research prepared for Amadeus
http://www.amadeus.com/airlineit/the-always-connectedtraveller/docs/Amadeus-The-Always-Connected-Traveller2011-EN.pdf
•
The concept of “Always-Connected Passenger”
•
3-phase analysis:
Existing or short-time projects (max. 12 months)
Mid-term projects (Those that are expected to be live in 1-2
years)
Long-term projects (Those that are expected to be live in 35 years)
9.
10. Trends - 1
Services that are already provided by the airlines, or planned to be
provided within the next 12 months:
• Basic Mobile Features
Schedule information
Booking
2D-barcode baggage pass printing
Schedule change/cancellation notifications via SMS
Alternative flight suggestion via SMS
• Most of these have already been industry-standard
• None of them are differentiating
11. Trends - 2
Services that are expected to be provided within 1 or 2 years:
• Ancillary services and merchandising
Seat selection
Food selection and purchase
• Personalized ticket price suggestions
• Location-based services
Airport shopping information
Last-minute information for passengers at the airport
Navigation information for check-in desks and gates
• Troubleshooting on social media
12. Trends - 3
Services expected to be widespread in 3 to 5 years:
• Applications for better customer experience
Disruption management (Notifications of delays,
cancellations etc)
Social media responses
Passenger tracking (No need for «last calls» any more)
Notifications based on push technology (possible up-sells)
• Services based on new technologies and device features
Mobile payment
Near Field Communications (NFC)
Faster check-in and boarding
Depends on the availability of smartphones with this feature
Voice command
14. Mobile Application Maturity Levels
•
Level 1: Basic.
Adaptation of existing services to mobile devices
•
Level 2: Deployment of “anytime, anywhere” services and
applications
Continuous up-sell capacity
Cross-sell possibilities
•
Level 3: Contextual intelligence, i.e. understanding the
passenger’s context and offering services accordingly
Operational improvements based on location-based
services
More real-time information
Prevention of fraud
15. Return On Investment
•
Reduction of Opex
Fewer staff, more self-service
Decline in the usage of kiosks
Rise in efficiency
•
Revenue increase
Ancillary services
Impulse sales
Last-minute sales
•
Customer loyalty
•
Brand awareness
16. Innovation (1)
•
Pioneering
•
Service differentiation
Competition offers almost the same services
How to differentiate?
•
Variations in services offered
Loyalty programs
Customer-specific offers
Same customer experience on different channels (Multi-channel
integration)
Example: Start booking process on airline web-page, finish
on the mobile platform
Use of smartphone features (gyroscope etc.)
17. Innovation (2)
Some features that passengers say «I’d love to use it»:
•
Real-time flight information updates
•
Real-time baggage arrival updates
•
Directions for navigating at the airport
18. Strategy - Platform Selection
•
Which way to go: Mobile Web vs Native App?
•
Mobile web page
At least as important as mobile applications
•
Mobile native application platforms
iOS
Android
Blackberry
Windows 7
Java
•
Tablet application development A niche domain
19. Strategy – Data Analysis
•
Mobile reports
•
Detailed analysis
Mobile application usage data
Device
OS
Location
Cumulative statistics of mobile platforms
Sales figures
Check-in usage ratios
Ancillary service usage ratios
20. Strategy – IT Organization (1)
•
Almost all airlines outsource mobile application initiatives
•
Outsourced activities
Software development
Mobile software startups
Airline software companies
Systems integrators
PSS/GDS service providers
Support
21. Strategy – IT Organization (2)
•
In-house IT activities
•
Mobile strategy development
Project management
Style / UI / Customer experience projects
Integration with existing systems
Coordination with business units