Middle East to pioneer mobile ancillary services: report
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Mobile technology is set to transform both airline operations and the overall traveller experience, according to a new industry report published by Amadeus.’The always-connected traveller: How mobile will transform the future of air travel’ report identifies changing traveller attitudes to airline mobile services whilst also highlighting the specific, emerging mobile technologies that will revolutionise each stage of the travel experience in the future. Developed by Norm Rose of Travel Tech Consulting, the report includes an assessment of airline mobile capabilities today, the emerging mobile innovations that are likely to be launched over the next one to two years, and also the advanced functionality that is set to entirely change the traveller journey as we know it, over the next three to five years.One of the key trends set to impact Middle East travelers is regional airlines’ plans to sell ancillary services through mobiles.The report found that at present, only in North America did a carrier have the ability to sell ancillary services through mobiles today, and even then only extra baggage was available for purchase. Bucking the general trend, Scandinavian and Middle East based airlines outlined plans to aggressively increase their mobile ancillary offering within the next six months. Premium seating, the option to pre-purchase meals and club access are among those services due to be made available via mobiles in the coming months. Whilst mobile services are still emerging in the travel industry, it is apparent that travellers are clearly beginning to expect, demand and adopt them: 16 percent of travellers surveyed currently use smartphones to book trips. That figure rises to 18 percent amongst the 18-35 age group and to 33 per cent amongst frequent travellers. In addition, 3.4 percent of all travellers use their mobiles today to check-in for their flight, with this figure rising to 7.4 percent in Asia. Following qualitative discussion with nine airlines from around the world, most carriers indicated that basic mobile functionality such as schedules, check-in and disruption management are currently part of their existing offer. However, Asian and North American carriers provide virtually all of the 12 mobile services classed as ‘basic functionality’, whilst European and Latin American airlines prefer to focus on only a select core of services. Whilst still in its infancy, the mobile device is also increasingly becoming a channel with which to book ancillary services: 1.4 percent of travellers had to date used their mobile to purchase ancillary services. However, despite ancillary services providing both increased incremental revenue opportunities and the ability for airlines to differentiate themselves from the competition, the majority of the airlines interviewed felt that the ability to sell ancillary services through the mobile channel was still over a year away. It is evident that airlines are becoming increasingly aligned with consumer demands, as many plan to implement ‘push notifications’ in order to deliver real-time information updates relating to baggage or flight status. Six airlines are currently planning to actively implement this technology, which clearly shows an appreciation and understanding of changing traveller needs. Indeed, Amadeus’ recent survey with JD Powers found that close to 40% of today’s travellers would use real-time baggage and flight updates via their mobile, if they were available.David Brett, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific commented: “Mobile continues to shake-up how companies interact with and meet the needs of customers. It provides travellers with a personal, always-connected device that offers unlimited potential to transform how people travel.”
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