airlines.iata.org
Issue 03: Thursday 4 October 2018
Airlines.
Global Airport and Passenger Symposium
October 2 - October 4, 2018 | Athens, Greece
Connecting on a higher level Passengers will want to be connected in the sky as they are on the ground said Philip Micalef, Former CEO, Air Malta at yesterday’s Quo Vadis Inflight Entertainment and Connectivity session. But expectations need to be managed. If that level of connectivity is promised, then it must be delivered. Otherwise, a passenger’s travel experience is affected. The correct level of connectivity is likely to be ascertained much like revenue management derives the value of a seat: it must provide the right content
Day 2 highlights
“If you have a customer in front of a screen for several hours, there is enormous value in that.” Andrew Mohr, Head of Innovation, Panasonic
to the right passenger at the right time. The ability to stream movies may not be necessary for a shorthaul, business-dominated flight. But whatever the level of connectivity, it comes at a cost. And today’s customers expect ubiquitous Wi-Fi for free, much in the same way as they get it at the local coffee shop. “The question of who pays for inflight connectivity is critical,” said Oliver Ranson, Monetization Expert, Inflight VR. He cited revenue streams not only from charging for the Wi-Fi but also from renting out devices and from commissions earned from promoting or selling products. “But connectivity is not about getting passengers to pay for Wi-Fi, it is about not selling tickets because you don’t have Wi-Fi,” he suggested. A tipping point may soon be reached where every major airline will offer excellent inflight broadband access. After all, a seatback entertainment system costs millions of dollars to install but no long-haul carrier would be without it. Andrew Mohr, Head of Innovation, Panasonic, said that connectivity could be a vital tool for an airline. “They must stop thinking in terms of entertainment and start thinking about providing a digital hub that can be repurposed in so many ways,” he said. “If you have a customer in front of a screen for several hours, there is enormous value in that.” This is not about putting advertisements in front of the passenger. Customers should always have the option to use the system as they prefer. But a digital hub can help deliver great service and, through anonymized data analytics, can also be a great learning tool to deliver even better service to passengers on their next flight.
ISSUE 03
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