“How can we create a cohesive, well-thought-through guest experience from the moment the passenger purchases their ticket through to arrival at their final destination?”
This was a question asked by Alison Wells, Managing Director of Plane Talking Products, at the Taste of Travel Theatre at the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) in Hamburg in June.
To enhance the guest experience, airlines should focus on offering products and services to add value and personalisation, she said.
So, how can we make the passenger experience as cohesive and connected as possible?
Passenger preferences
“From a tech perspective, there is a willingness and expectation for travellers to engage with technology,” said Svenja Steffen, IT consultant and Sustainability Lead at Lufthansa Industry Solutions.
It is important to leverage the correct tools to make the passenger journey more personalised, transparent and customised to individual needs, she added.
Vimal Kumar Rai, Managing Partner & Founder of Commercial Excellence Partners, also cited personalisation as a key trend. He focuses on everything from relevance and recognition to joy, love and happiness.
This sentiment was echoed by Anthony McNeal, Food & Beverage Director for Singapore Airlines. He credits the airline’s updated premium economy offering for the ‘huge uptick’ in passenger satisfaction.
“We’re seeing a large demand in the premium cabin. A lot of that comes down to personalisation. Efficiency is also in demand, too. Passengers want to realise their travel experience from point to point.”
Post Covid, Alaska Airlines noticed an upsurge in popularity for First class, Premium class and lounge access.
“Even now, the demand’s not tapering off,” added Todd Traynor-Corey, Managing Director – Guest Products at Alaska Airlines.
“We’re seeing major interest in products and services that come with those premium experiences. High quality food and beverage, for example, make the guest experience more memorable.”
The power of AI
“The sky is the limit. With AI, we can customise and analyse comprehensive traveller behaviours,” added Svenja.
Lufthansa Industry Solutions use food waste AI to analyse trays returned based on image recognition and receive feedback on menus.
“We can find out what is left over or partly eaten. This information is then combined with a customer feedback AI, which works with natural language processing to aggregate feedback from passengers.”
Alaska Airlines has leveraged its AI to tailor menu options, offering meals that are not available broadly on a pre-order basis and products to certain demographics such as Millennials.
A recently launched menu, Greatest Hits, included the airline’s top twenty dishes over the past two years.
“A lot of airlines don’t actually know what their passengers are eating onboard. It’s vital to leverage data and do something with it. Continue to learn and build it into all systems,” noted Todd.
A concierge on an airline app could give passengers the advice they are seeking, added Vimal.
Svenja suggested helpful notifications such as advice on which security line is the shortest, reminders to bring your Visa, weather updates, past purchases or transportation options.
“It’s important to bring convenience and efficiency to the passenger. That leads to increased customer satisfaction. Our goal is to make the experience more enjoyable,” she continued.
“The entire process of navigating through the airport before you get onboard is a big opportunity.”
Human touch
Despite this, there is something to be said for human interaction in the end-to-end journey.
“Human touch will win the day. AI is just a predictive indicator of the information that we put into it. It can only be as good as the results that we want through human interaction,” said Anthony. “Our customer experience still has to be human-centric — driven by people, for people.”
Vimal hopes that airlines and service providers of the future use the savings, efficiencies and opportunities generated from AI to invest back into people.
“That’s what is missing. We need to overcompensate for all the investment we’ve done in aircrafts and products. People make the difference between one brand and another.”
According to Todd, what differentiates Alaska Airlines from other carriers is its employees and service.
“The question is how we provide our employees with the tools to offer remarkable service to our guests. They want proactive employees to engage with them in a way that is helpful.”
AI is not going to replace any services, adds Svenja. As a self-confessed nervous flyer, she would rather be reassured by cabin crew than an app.
“If you have a problem, sometimes you want to talk to a human. But staff can use AI to prep before helping you,” she continued.
“They could have your history to hand so they know what’s happening or a series of services that could be helpful. They would then be a better version of themselves to help the passenger. AI is not a threat —it’s a great opportunity.”
