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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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Thursday 4 October 2018: Issue 03
The distributed airport
Remote services could be an answer to increasing airport congestion and a valueadding element in the travel experience. Facilities large and small stand to benefit. Cape Verdi has seven airports serving some 2.2 million passengers annually. The infrastructure is capable of handling these numbers, but highly seasonal traffic creates an overload during the popular winter months. Moreover, that traffic is focused on the European market. Flight times therefore tend to be similar, creating a few peak hours every day. Rather than invest in new infrastructure that wouldn’t be needed much of the time, the solution was to implement off-airport check-in. “We separated the passenger and baggage journeys,” said Victor Fernandes, Head of IT, Cape Verdi Airports, during the opening session of the Transforming Airport pathway. Tourists can now check-in luggage at their hotels. This assists the hotel as their guests tend to check out earlier giving them time to prepare the rooms.
“This is about more than a bag drop. It is about integrating the entire ecosystem. The virtual component of the airport will become as relevant as the buildings.” Martin Boyer, VP and CIO, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
The passengers benefit from some baggage-free time before their flight, while airports and airlines gain operational efficiency and an improved customer offering. Remote services can work for big city airports too. Martin Boyer, Vice President and CIO, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) said they will enable the airport to preserve its catchment area. Increasing vehicular congestion means the 3-hour drive radius from the airport is shrinking. Off-airport facilities will also ease pressure to increase the airport footprint—always a difficult undertaking for a big city airport—and improve the seamless travel concept for passengers from key downtown locations. “This is about more than a bag drop,” explained Boyer. “This is about integrating the entire ecosystem. The virtual component of the airport is going to become as relevant as the buildings.” There are challenges. The business model needs to be in place as extra costs are involved and there are various security issues to consider. But the panel agreed that these were all surmountable. Pop-up check-ins at cruise ship terminals charge passengers a fee for the service, for example, and existing passenger charges may be redirected into off-airport infrastructure. In terms of security, remote services may mitigate the need to undertake 100% screening at one location. Manpower-heavy systems will be automated, and paper-based ID checks will move to biometrics. Most importantly, though, remote services will require greater collaboration among the entire aviation value chain, including co-operation from governments and regulators.
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Issue 03: Thursday 4 October 2018
Gala Dinner
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Filling in the baggage GAPS It has been a thrilling year for baggage. On 1 June, Resolution 753¬—regarding tracking —came into effect. And at the last IATA AGM, the IATA Board of Governors put forward the path toward adopting RFID for baggage tracking. Not everybody is ready for the challenges that come with these big changes. Implementing tracking is complex. RFID isn’t just a case of installing readers. Every installation point has to be examined as they are often airside or in remote locations. An airline station manager, if there is one at the location, is not qualified to determine what needs to be installed. Of course, airports can undertake these installations, but they need to know the airlines’ requirements. Then there are such other stakeholders as ground handlers that also have needs. Bring in technical challenges such as Wi-Fi connectivity and it is easy to understand why tracking will take a few years to implement globally.
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But though RFID has long suffered from fears about cost, ease of deployment, global standards, and effectiveness, the facts are different. RFID is cheap, it can be used globally, and it provides a hugely effective tracking solution. Fortunately, the advantages of RFID are understood, and the industry is answering the pertinent questions. Is aviation ready for this? Will airports adopt the technology? What should be considered in a global rollout? Baggage is a business, bringing in vital revenue for airlines. But the costs of baggage handling in the existing environment are high, from advanced technical systems to human labor. Take a look at any aircraft and the challenges of the baggage business can immediately be seen. Capacity is either under or over-utilized, regulations prevent the efficient movement of bags, and processes impose on the passenger. All these challenges are being addressed and yesterday’s informative sessions on RFID and the digital bag highlighted several ways forward.
Baggage is a business, bringing in vital revenue for airlines. But the costs of baggage handling in the exisiting environment are high.
Thursday 4 October 2018: Issue 03
Seamless travel The number of travelers will exceed 7 billion within the next 20 years. During that time, most of the world’s major airports will need upgrades to keep pace but development timelines and funding scarcity makes that outcome unlikely. The solution to this capacity problem therefore lies in more efficient processing. International travel needs to be made easier. “We are seeing that many governments are very interested in moving their visa systems to be more online and integrated with other systems,” says Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). “Simultaneously, we have seen countries set deadlines or mandates to implement biometric systems in international arrivals and departures. The implementation of biometrics systems will significantly improve the passenger experience and reduce visa requirements.” Travel facilitation and increased
security through the use of technology is one of WTTC’s top priorities and it has recently partnered with IATA to further this initiative. The two organizations will adopt a common approach, exchange information, and work together to promote biometrics standards and global interoperability. “Last year, one of every five jobs created in the world were in our sector,” says Guevera. “If we don’t use biometrics technology to improve the processes, we are not going to be able to achieve the potential of travel and tourism. Millions of jobs are at stake, so this is a priority for WTTC and our members.” Ideally, travelers will no longer have to repeatedly present travel documents, boarding passes, and booking confirmations to multiple stakeholders at different stages of the journey. Instead, they will be able to book transportation, request a visa, check-in, proceed through security, cross borders, board aircraft, collect baggage, rent a car, check in and out
of hotels, and access myriad destination services simply by confirming their identity and booking data. Notes Guevera: “WTTC and IATA have partnered to work on improving the passenger experience and strengthen the voice of our industry by including the entire sector. While IATA’s One ID project focuses on the passenger, WTTC will expand work to include the traveler, bringing in hotels, cruise, car rental and other industry segments to achieve an end-to-end seamless journey. “The more the benefits of digitization and integration can be demonstrated and quantified, the stronger the case governments can make to find the resources to implement such changes.” WTTC has already engaged with G20 governments on this issue. Its research concludes that between 7 and 19 million jobs can be created in these countries if biometrics are used to increase capacity and improve the traveler experience.
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Issue 03: Thursday 4 October 2018
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