 | Issue: | Europe II 2012 |
| Article no.: | 9 | |
| Topic: | Communication in Travel: new technologies create both new challenges and opportunities for air carriers | |
| Author: | Phil Douglas | |
| Title: | CEO | |
| Organisation: | 2e Systems GmbH | |
| PDF size: | 217KB |
About author
Phil Douglas is the current CEO of 2e Systems GmbH. He is also the CCO of Flightsurance GmbH, CCO at Nearmiss GmbH and CEO at 2e Solutions AG. 2e Systems is an aviation software company that provides internet booking engines, check-in solutions, mobile communications and other IT products for air carriers worldwide. Mr Douglas founded 2e Systems GmbH in February 2000, bringing over 30 years senior management background in airline IT, Project Management and Software Development. Throughout his more than 12 year tenure, the company has seen substantial revenue and profit growth, andhas developed cutting-edge internet and mobile solutions for airlines.In his capacity of CEO, he kept the company focused on further developments and innovations in IT management for air carriers. In addition to providing Internet Booking Engines for major carriers such as AUA, dba and airBaltic, the company developed the first irregularity and passenger notification platform for Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Most recently 2e Systems has developed an innovative crew notification system for JetBlue which enables JetBlue to manage more efficiently crew changes.
Mr Douglas gained extensive experience in airline software solutions firstly at Qantas and then with the Unisys Airline Development Center. At Unisys he was responsible for managing the implementation of major IT projects for Lufthansa, Mexicana and JAT. Then in 1992 he joined Deutsche Lufthansa AG as a consultant and in 1995 took on a senior role in the project team for the technical development and implementation of their internet booking engine, www.lufthansa.com. This was one of the very first airline internet booking engines developed worldwide.
Article abstract
Mobile technologies are already utilised in the travel industry, with SMS notifications and boarding passes on smartphones. This is only the beginning. With online check-in systems, staff has been reduced, but the effect is felt when serious Air Travel disruptions, or ‘irregularities’, occur. Using mobiles, passengers can not only be notified of delays and cancellations but also informed of alternative flights automatically booked for them, or alternative travel options. In addition, crew and ground staff must also be informed and co-ordinated in the effort of getting back to normal.
Full Article
Whether flying regularly for business or for an occasional vacation, most of us can recall at least one bad experience stuck in an airport for hours on end, waiting in long lines to speak to the few available staff and having no idea when or how you’re likely to reach your destination. To make it worse, you look around and realise you’re just one of hundreds or maybe even thousands of travellers, all with the same problem.
Welcome to the world of air travel disruption, or ’irregularities’ as it’s known in the business. In serious cases, even the biggest airlines struggle, seemingly unable to handle the situation or deal with the volume of passengers. As the day goes on, passengers who might have been rebooked to other flights end up missing those too because they had to wait in line too long or didn’t know to which counter they should go. The result: frustrated passengers; stressed staff and crowded airports.
Over recent years major disruptions seem to be ever more frequent:severe winter storms affecting the entire eastern seaboard of the USA, volcanic eruptions shutting down most of the airspace in Europe and Australia and terrorist attacks grounding thousands of aircrafts.Such incidents are just the beginning of new challenges being faced. However, is it enough to convince airlines to take irregularities more seriously given that they are so difficult to predict? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but one fact is undeniable and it has a big effect on the scale of any major irregularity: the sheer volume of displaced and unhappy passengers.
At the same time airlines and airports alike have been reducing staffing levels and placing a new emphasis on mobile technologies. These have had a huge impact on the entire passenger experience and have also allowed airlines and airports to expand faster due to the reduced dependency on physical and manual airport services.
Let’s take a closer look at what is actually happening here: as mobile technologies and self-service is catching on and passenger numbers are increasing on the one hand, ground staff numbers are decreasing on the other. At first this seems a triumph, but when we take a closer look, along comes another unexpected disruption and this time it’s a big one. An SMS arrives telling the passenger that his flight is cancelled or delayed. Suddenly our rows of shiny self-service kiosks become nothing more than clutter because the passenger no longer has a flight for which to check in. The big question therefore is: “Have the innovations in self-service and mobile solutions kept in step with the passenger’s needs?” In these situations, it seems that staff intervention is the only option.
Information is mission critical
Let’s look at it from the point of view of the passenger. Customers expect in such situations to be kept informed. That’s the easy part. More importantly, they want to reach their final destination as soon as possible and therefore need to know the options as soon as possible. At all times, the passenger wants the feeling that the airline and airport (passengers often can’t separate them) are doing everything they can to help.
Recent technologies offer mobile-based notifications for flight irregularities such as Delays, Gate Changes and Cancellations. These can be classed as ’informational’services and they are extremely helpful and effective. However, once the point is reached that the passenger is suffering a serious inconvenience, such notifications usually fall short since the passenger must still wait in line to speak to a member of staff.
Can mobile technologies help?
As you can imagine, bringing in large numbers of additional staff is not always the most practical solution. The next step-up on communication and notification from airlines provides customers with a complete self service ’Schedule Change’ solution, where passengers are contacted by SMS and/or e-mail, leading them to a website where they can select from a range of available options. These options can also include alternative modes of transport (such as a train), flights to nearby airports or, if necessary, an overnight stay in a hotel. This is an invaluable tool that empowers those passengers who have access to a smartphone. However, there are still many in the traveling public with mobile phones that are not Internet capable. How is it possible to help these customers?
Back to those shiny kiosks
Looking around the departures area, the rows of self service kiosks need not be redundant during an irregularity. In fact those kiosks are the key, allowing passengers to print new boarding passes, train, meal and hotel vouchers. For example, in the flight cancellation SMS, the passenger can already be offered several options: web, smartphone or kiosk.
Of course, the number of travellers carrying smartphones is increasing every day, so providers are focusing ever more on innovative mobile apps and user-friendly mobile web portals. Services can be in “push” mode, such as automatically dispatching a new mobile boarding pass after the airline has rebooked the passenger, or “interactive” mode where the passenger chooses from a list of possible new flight connections.
Individual and personalised communication
The concepts described sound great, but one must remember that these options also pose many challenges for airlines. Information and data related to each individual customer are often spread amongst various airline systems such as Reservations, Check-in, Ticketing, Loyalty, Flight Operations and many others.
The key is to consolidate all this information and effectively manage the dialogue with the passenger. What is needed is not only pioneering innovative products like Mobile Check-in and SMS based services, but also building a solution that offers the passenger timely, relevant information via the latest channels (SMS, e-mail, IVR, Mobile Apps – or even Social Media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter). The end result is a personalised experience where the passenger has the feeling of individual care.
Staff & crew
Passengers are not the only ‘customers’ that need up-to-date information. Airlines have started mobile notifications and messaging for both ground staff and inflight crew. New products have focused on providing Pilots and Cabin Crew not only flight operations information, but also last minute changes to their flight pairing schedules, hotel layovers and ground transportation. Such solutions utilise various contact channels depending on the time criticality of the message, allowing crew to self acknowledge. This reduces the human intervention required in the Crew Control Centre and leads to a significant improvement in recovery to normal operations.
For ground staff, similar mission critical information is crucial during all aspects of airport operations. With mobile technologies it is often the case that customers can be informed of flight disruptions and irregularities before airport staff! This provides an additional challenge to airlines – to provide staff members on duty who are assigned to particular flights with the relevant up-to-date information concerning their area of responsibility.
Airlines now realise that both internal and external customers are key in any mobile solution provided. Some have started equipping flight and ground crew with wireless tablets to support both information dissemination and also itinerary updates and re-bookings.
Mobile communications and travel, what does the future hold?
Irregularities will always be a challenge for the air travel industry, no matter how communication technologies and innovations simplify one to one information for both customers and staff. Such innovations bring about efficiencies of scale and productivity, and provide dynamic features and services to customers.
Airlines have begun investing resources in developing cutting-edge technologies related to mobile technologies such as push notifications, automatic re-booking, SMS information related to flights, lost baggage, automatic check-in, gate changes and much more. A customer may experience a delay in the air due to air traffic control. When the customer arrives at the terminal and turns on their smartphone, they find a mobile boarding card for their rebooked flight. Alternatively, the in-flight Purser provides customers in the air with new flight information directly and initiates the sending of mobile boarding passes. On arrival, if the customer has no smartphone, they proceed to the next available kiosk and re-print their boarding card.
No lines, no waiting, no additional aggravation. Vouchers, new boarding cards, hotel reservations, baggage irregularity reports and much more can be processed through mobile and smart technologies. Communication has brought about some short-term challenges to airlines but long-term benefits to all concerned. Information is mission critical in all aspects of travel. Mobile communication has afforded the development of next generation travel, which is now growing faster than ever imagined and providing features to both carriers and passengers, way beyond expectations.
