Air travel is evolving so fast that in a decade it will be a completely different experience — one where technology plays a key role in every part of the journey.
Seamless travel
Right from the moment a passenger books a ticket to the time he arrives at his next destination, technology will ensure a seamless travel experience. While search engines like Google will send out alerts a few hours before the passenger leaves for the airport, mobile apps will ensure that if he is unable to leave on time, they will suggest an alternative route to the airport. If the passenger cannot make it even then, a virtual travel assistant will ensure he gets a ticket for the next flight.
When he arrives at the airport, his mobile app will transmit his boarding pass and digital passport to the security staff, giving him free access through the airport doors.
What’s more, he won’t even have to get himself screened at various stages as laser-powered security cameras will perform facial or biometric recognition. Scanners across various points will go about their task of screening his baggage, and once it is done, a robot will load the baggage and drops it at the check -in counter.
Some parts of what has been narrated are already happening at major airports across the world. And in India, too. Certain European airports have installed facial recognition systems while the Mumbai International Airport has recently introduced SITA’s Scan and Fly bag drop units that allow passengers who have checked in online to quickly tag and drop their baggage before heading directly to the gate. Bangalore International Airport has developed several services which allow passengers who have already checked in online to scan and print tickets through machines placed inside the airports so that they don’t have to stand in line to get them. There is also a system where passengers can print their baggage tag at home, and once the security regulator gives the permission, this will be introduced.
According to SITA, a specialist in air transport communications and IT solutions, 54 per cent of passengers in India use some self-service tech on their journey, and that number is steadily growing.
Aviation research company CAP Strategic Research’s white paper on future of the airports points out that by 2025, there will be no check-in desks at airports; passengers will no longer have to go through an immigration procedure or security checks, and there will be no immigration on arrival.
Many more of such innovations are expected to be introduced as airports are adapting to technology much faster than what they did even five years ago and most of it is driven by the need to make travel less stressful and more enjoyable for passengers which will result in higher revenues and profits.
Airports are also transforming themselves to mini cities to woo non-passengers as their owners look for different avenues for increasing revenues.
Stress-free experience
Lufthansa Group’s Senior Vice-President Sadiq Gillani some time ago said airports have a lot more data on passengers and they will use them to predict their customers’ needs more accurately and offer tailor-made services. “Airports of the future will be a stress-free place and will give a feeling of being at home. It can even be destinations themselves,” says Gillani.
Maneesh Jaikrishna, SITA’s Vice-President for India and the sub-continent, says passengers across the globe are becoming comfortable with technology. “They choose to use it rather than interact with people,” he adds, quoting the company’s survey on IT trends in the sector. The survey also says that within three years, flight status notifications, location-based notifications and baggage-related updates will be available at around three-fourths of airlines in India in line with global levels.
Apart from these services, airport apps will add other revenue generating streams such as purchasing airport services like parking and lounge access. These services will be offered within a couple of years by almost all the airports across India.
SITA also says that most airlines and airports in India are targeting IT investments in this area to capitalise on the trend. Over the next three years, 80 per cent of airlines and 67 per cent of airports are planning major projects developing mobile services for passengers. Even though mobile self-service usage levels are still modest overall, they are higher than seen globally. For example, 27 per cent of Indian passengers booked their last flight through a mobile app, significantly higher than the 16 per cent global average.
Another SITA's survey says that Internet of Things (IoT) will start playing a larger role in the sector. Global airlines have already started inducting ‘connected aircraft’ and by 2019, half of the airlines in India will have these in their fleet. With connected aircraft, technology will be a key differentiator in ensuring that the passengers will have a far more hassle-free experience. But Gillani of Lufthansa warns that while technology will play an increasingly larger role, it can be intrusive too. According to him, Big Data will play a very big part in predicting a passenger’s behaviour or choices. “So as you travel, the airline or even the airports build up information and offer passengers services, and beyond that, predictive analysis will ensure that they will offer services even before passengers realise or have thought about it.”
Quoting an example, Gillani referred to a particular loyalty programme which was able to detect when women customers were pregnant based on what they were buying at the supermarkets.