SITAONAIR has tuned its applications to identify – at an individual level – what information they need and at what time during the flight. This has been done through the use of historical data combined with specific event from passenger to the crew.
AIRCRAFT INTERIORS EXPO (AIX), HAMBURG – SITAONAIR is set to showcase how digital interactions can transform the passenger experience at AIX 2016.
The company will demonstrate how through connected apps, an airline delivers improved and more personal interactions between its passengers, its cabin crew and its pilots by pushing relevant contextualized information to their mobile device during their journey.
SITAONAIR has tuned its applications to identify – at an individual level – what information they need and at what time during the flight. This has been done through the use of historical data combined with specific event from passenger to the crew.
Francois Rodriguez, SITAONAIR’s Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, said: “This will help the travel sector more quickly adopt the best practices that have been used successfully by the hospitality industry. This industry learned that by leveraging new technologies and digital transformation to understand more about their returning guests they could create an even better ,tailored customer experience that is more enjoyable. This is exactly what is about to happen for the airline industry too.”
To demonstrate the full potential of this next phase in the connected aircraft’s digital transformation, SITAONAIR has created a series of 360-degree animations, running on a smartphone-based virtual reality (VR) system.
These animations model four interactions via the SITAONAIR e-Aircraft LIVE app (download for Android):
- cabin crew with passengers that can identify when something is needed and drive sales
- support centre with passengers via social media and alerts to the crew that can turn an occasional customer to a loyal brand advocate
- pilot to cabin crew to improve flight safety and passenger comfort
- passengers with on-ground support staff to get relevant flight information or change a booking.
Francois Rodriguez continues: “Putting this in context, this week sees the Champions League Quarter Finals and five of the eight teams are sponsored by airlines. This means fans watching and tweeting about the matches from a flight can then be engaged with and kept up to date with special loyalty-programme deals and the cabin crew alerted too.”
This demo will be available to view at the SITAONAIR stand, 4B30, with the videos demonstrating how airlines can improve the passenger experience, streamline processes and increase ancillary revenues by embracing digital transformation of their onboard passengers’ interactions and implementing connectivity on their fleets.
Francois Rodriguez, continues: “Improving the customer experience through connectivity isn’t just about offering ever faster Wi-Fi.
“It’s this contextualization, this understanding of what will be relevant to a specific passenger at a specific time, that will ultimately deliver a more relaxing, enjoyable experience during the flight and build brand loyalty.
“For AIX, we’ll also highlight several case studies with our technology implemented from the aircraft’s nose to tail. These highlight why we are uniquely positioned to support airlines drive their digital transformation, whatever the fleet is and whatever the systems on board are.”
As the digital revolution gains extra pace, airlines are also increasingly digitizing their crew. SITA’s 2015 IT Trends survey explained that 69% of airlines will provide tablets to cabin crew in the next three years. Once connected, the next phase for airlines is to develop innovative apps and communication channels that allow cabin crew with tablets to differentiate the passenger experience.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
