CAPA’s World Aviation Summit – changing passenger preferences: new world or evolution of the old?
COVID-19 accelerated a raft of trends in the air travel industry, but the move towards embracing technology to enable a contactless experience at all points along the passenger journey has become one of the most important and persistent.
With health and safety concerns a priority, demand for self-service and mobile technologies spiked on the ground and in the air. Both passengers and transport providers have sought to reduce the risks presented to them by the pandemic, as well as to negotiate the maze of new circumstances in the most efficient manner possible.
While many of the precautions and requirements of the pandemic have been eliminated, passenger expectations around selfservice, digitalisation and immediate access to live information remain fully in place. As a result, the air travel industry has committed itself to a future where passengers have the option for a truly 'touchless' experience.
Travel intentions remain undampened in the post-pandemic world, but traveller preferences continue to evolve.
- Travel intentions remain undampened in the post-pandemic world, but traveller preferences continue to evolve.
- Passenger experience and technology, accelerating transition to digital future.
- Watch EXCLUSIVE VIDEO coverage from panel discussions at CAPA's World Aviation Summit.
- The 2023 edition of the CAPA World Aviation Summit & Awards for Excellence took place in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
- The 2024 edition, under a new name, CAPA Airline Leader Summit World & Awards for Excellence, is to be held on 21-22 November 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Passenger experience and technology, accelerating transition to digital future
Through integrating digital and automated processes, airlines and airports are seeking to reduce physical contact between staff and passengers and to smooth the overall process. Eliminating the 'pain points' that travellers experience through their journey is seen as a key to enhancing the customer experience and a major brand differentiator.
Whether it is in the booking process, at the airport or onboard the aircraft, the industry is investing in technology to meet new expectations. Failing to meet these means potentially damaging customer loyalty or falling behind the competition. When things go as expected, no one notices; when things go wrong - everyone does.
At the same time, the travel sector is collecting operational benefits from investment in automation and digitalisation. New smart management systems help to improve agility, address resource shortages (particularly the shortage of skilled staff) and manage fluctuating travel volumes, operational upsets, and other one-off events.
On the passenger side, there is a move to biometrics/facial recognition technologies in areas such as check-in, security screening and passenger boarding. For airside operation, automation is increasingly being embraced in areas like baggage and cargo handling to make them safer and more efficient.
In other areas, technology such as autonomous/selfdriving airport surface vehicles and AI-based management systems are moving beyond the proving stages and are ready to be scaled up. COVID-19 showed that the industry cannot sit still when it comes to investing in the technology and supporting infrastructure, but that it needs to be proactive in embracing a technology-enabled passenger experience revolution.
Insights from CAPA's World Aviation Summit
This was the topic of a panel discussion at the CAPA World Aviation Summit in Abu Dhabi at the end of Nov-2023.
The session was moderated by Bluebox Aviation Systems, CEO, Kevin Clark and included insightful observations from IBS Software, Senior Vice President and Head of Aviation Passenger Solutions, David Friderici; Skyscanner, VP Strategic Relations & Development, Hugh Aitken; Riyadh Air, COO, Peter Bellew; and FLYR, General Manager EMEA, Dominic Mathews.
Some of the topic areas covered included:
- How has the search & intentions space changed?
- Are travellers seeking new sources of inspiration for where they travel and stay?
- How has the booking space changed?
- What options are travellers demanding from their preferred booking platforms?
- How are travellers' interactions with technology evolving through the travel process?
- How has the spending space changed?
- Where are travellers putting the emphasis on spending, and where are they seeking to save money?
- What do travellers want through the journey?
- Will the emphasis on contactless technologies and self-service continue, or will preferences snapback towards other service propositions?
- GDSs and other intermediaries are playing a larger role in the NDC adoption process than previously expected. Is it airlines, technology providers, GDSs or other industry players that are driving the adoption of NDC?
You can view the full session via the following CAPA TV recording.
About the CAPA World Aviation Summit
The 2023 edition of the CAPA World Aviation Summit & Awards for Excellence took place in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. The event, held on 28-29 November, and hosted by the Etihad Aviation Group, brought together thought leaders from aviation and the wider travel industry, including airline and airport executives, key suppliers, technology partners and regulators.
The focus for the summit was the biggest trends which aviation faced in 2023, with global airline leaders sharing their insights and perspectives on the changes brought about in the aviation sector over the past year.
The topics ranged from rising costs, environmental sustainability, operational issues, international recovery, digital transformation, supply chains and more, and also provided some guidance on the future trajectory of air travel in 2024.
This year's event to be hosted in Belgrade, Serbia
With the air travel industry having undergone an immense shift over the past few years, it is more important than ever to understand the strategic and competitive landscape across the industry.
The 2024 edition, under a new name, CAPA Airline Leader Summit World & Awards for Excellence, is to be held on 21-22 November 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia. Hosted by the City of Belgrade and Air Serbia, the event will tap global aviation leaders for an exciting examination of the direction the aviation industry is taking.
It will provide unique global perspective, unpacking the changes that are shaping the way airlines, airports and sector suppliers are doing business.