Back to Air Transport IT Review - Issue 3, December 2009

360º view of mobile technologies

Mobility in action

Mobile technologies are on the cusp of transforming the air transport industry. Here we take a 360º view of mobility within the industry, focusing mostly on the passenger and calling on results from across a range of SITA surveys.

The case for mobility in action is particularly obvious from the passenger's point of view. As smart phones and other handheld devices go from luxuries to necessities, passengers will expect to use them to enhance and ease their travel experience.

We all know the scenario:

In the near future, passengers will be able to book tickets, receive confirmations, update itineraries, even check in and receive bar-coded boarding passes (BCBPs) - all on their mobile phones, and long before they arrive at the airport.
Upon arrival, mobile passengers will go to an automated bag-drop location, scan their BCBPs, drop off their luggage and receive updates with their bag-tag receipts. International travellers will pass through automated border control and security checkpoints.
Once airside, they will enter the airline lounge by scanning their BCBPs at a glass door. They will receive an SMS notification when their flight is ready to board. At the gate, mobile travellers will again scan their BCBPs into a gate reader that will verify each passenger's identity with his or her biometric data.
When flying, your on-board experience will no more be an isolated world as you'll be able to stay connected.

Overcoming obstacles

This "mobility in action" scenario is on its way and will be commonplace within the next five years. And not surprisingly, airlines show a strong desire to meet this growing demand by speeding the adoption and availability of mobile-based services.

In the meantime, however, several obstacles must be overcome. This year's Passenger Self-Service (PSS) Survey and Airline IT Trends Survey confirm that mobile-based services are still in their infancy. The 2009 PSS Survey reported 1.8% of check-in transactions were performed through mobile devices. The 2009 Airlines IT Trends Survey reported 2.0%.

These mobile passengers are predominantly business travellers on a domestic flight, who own a smart phone, and are frequent flyers (over 10 times a year).

Airlines predict that passengers using mobile phones to check in will increase over the next few years to include 12% of all check-in transactions by 2012. This will complement existing self-service options (primarily Web and kiosk). So, 78% of airlines indicate they are planning to optimize their Web sites for mobile-phone interface by 2012.

Specific applications

While making their Web sites mobile friendly is a good first step, airlines and airports will have to deploy more mobile-specific applications to achieve the optimal "mobility in action" scenario.

Because mobile interactions are inherently different from fixed PC-based Internet services (screen sizes, keyboard functions, contexts in which they are used, etc), mobile-based applications will be necessary for airlines to capitalize on this channel.

Hampered by paper

Paper remains another obstacle. In most cases, passengers who use their mobile phones to check-in must still go to agent desks or kiosks to collect paper boarding passes. This impacts the value proposition of mobile check-in and is significantly hampering its adoption - which is why airlines are ambitious about increasing the use of electronic BCBPs on mobile devices.

To date, only 7% of airlines report sending boarding passes to passengers' mobile phones. And only 32 airports around the world allow passengers to go airside with mobile BCBPs, according to latest IATA figures.

This will surely change, as the 2009 PSS Survey shows that 49% of passengers prefer having an electronic version of their boarding passes, compared to 44% who prefer paper. With over 90% of all passengers now carrying mobile devices, mobile BCBPs are expected to become the norm, as discussed in our BCBP article 100% BCBP by 2010.

Points-of-sale

In addition to points-of-service, mobile devices are increasingly becoming points-of-sale as well. This trend will certainly continue when you consider some of the key findings in the IT Trends and PSS Surveys:

38% of airlines and 4% of airports plan to send targeted retail and commercial messages and promotions to passenger mobile phones by 2012.
43% of passengers would register to receive such notifications for best travel prices.
46% of airlines are considering payment mechanisms for mobile use by 2012, as well as a mobile channel for ancillary service sales (for example, entertainment on demand).

The mobile phone is increasingly becoming a complementary channel for a growing number of interactions between airlines and customers. Mobile-based services are already being adopted by some early innovators.

But these services are still in their early stages. To date, the most adopted mobile-based service, by far, is "notification about flight status and delays" - this is likely to continue over the coming years as passenger adoption is expected to triple.

Going onboard

Another key trend is that airlines are showing a clear ambition to increase onboard connectivity and services for passengers and staff.

4% of airlines are already equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity for short-haul and 4% for long-haul.
3% of airlines report being equipped with GSM / GPRS connectivity for short-haul and 3% for long-haul.

These numbers are expected to increase. Up to 33% of airlines plan to adopt onboard connectivity by 2012, with adoption on long-haul flights likely to show the fastest growth. The surveys show that Low Cost Carriers and Top 50 airlines have much stronger ambition to adopt onboard connectivity than other airlines.

In OnAir's experience, both interest and adoption are increasing, as "airlines see mobile devices becoming an essential passenger tool, whether for making reservations, checking-in, boarding, or for getting direct flight information such as connecting gates or delays," according to OnAir CEO Benoît Debains (see Air Transport IT Review issue 1 2009). Latest OnAir adopters include Saudi Arabian Airlines and BA. [Link to our OnAir news article]

In our surveys, data exchange with the ground for inventory and passenger requirements received the highest interest. Of airlines with plans for onboard connectivity, 73% plan to implement by 2012.

Many other uses are also being considered, including real-time credit-card transaction authorization (55% plan to implement by 2012), entertainment services through passengers' mobile phones (41%) and direct-marketing activities to passengers onboard (56%).

Early adoption of these services is likely to come primarily from niche segments of customers - tech-savvy frequent travellers.

Airlines and airports are advised to start engaging with this new technology trend while remaining realistic about usage, adoption and return on investment. Limitations, regulations and other obstacles should also be considered.

> Learn more about mobility

Empowering the airport workforce with mobility
SITA's new Mobile Workforce Innovation Focus Group, and our partnership with Appear Networks, are pioneering work in the field of a mobile airport workforces, including the first-ever context-aware mobile platform for the air transport industry.