The digital traveller

90 percent of people carry a mobile device when they travel by air – these are the digital travellers

What makes a digital traveller?

Digital travellers expect relevant journey information on their mobile devices – e.g., mobile check-in and short message service (SMS) texts for flight information are already possible today
Digital travellers make travel choices using Travel 2.0 tools such as fares search engines
Digital travellers expect to use their mobiles to plan and book travel, make payments, check in, and during security, boarding and in-flight

Digital travellers provide airlines and airports the opportunity to:

Increase revenue
Improve customer service
Improve efficiency

> View the SITA film: Driving innovation in the air transport industry (ATI)

New Frontiers: Digital Traveler

Has the digital-traveller age arrived?

The adoption of mobile phones (cell phones) is a global phenomenon. Penetration of 100 percent is the norm in industrialised countries. Ninety percent of people already carry some type of mobile device when they travel by air.

Thus, developments in mobile technology will have immediate impact on passenger travel in many ways.

Future mobile services – opportunities for the air transport industry (ATI)

At current rates of growth, there will be five billion mobile phone subscribers by 2011. Mobile-device services and applications are very likely, in time, to become mainstream within the ATI.

Expect next generation mobile devices to power a range of new applications and services, improving the passenger experience from home to plane to destination. By 2011 most mobile phones will combine communications functionality with that of computers, TVs, wallets, personal navigation systems, and Internet browsers.

Mobile technologies will allow airports, airlines and passengers to stay connected for longer periods of time – offering the ATI the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our customers.

Future mobile services will include:

Mobile payment
Seat selection upon check-in
Mobile device as personal travel folder – storing boarding pass, visa, immigration form, baggage receipts, frequent flyer data
Automated boarding and baggage tracking
Smart one-to-one marketing with targeted content
Flight information – when the gate is about to close, directions, whether baggage is delayed
Context awareness platforms
Geo-localization
Near-field communication
Primary conduit for in-flight entertainment

Implications for digital travellers will include:

Travelling with only a mobile phone and passport
Changing an itinerary wherever they are
Spending less time queuing and more time relaxing – a calmer airport experience
Optimizing time at the airport – especially for business travellers
Making their own bookings and managing reservations, including registering personal preferences – e.g., meal selection
Downloading entertainment content for the flight

Implications for airlines and airports will include:

One-to-one communication with passengers – e.g., sending messages to passengers in their own language
Improved customer satisfaction
Higher retail revenues
Paperless travel operations
Improved operational efficiencies – Cambridge University’s Auto-ID Lab suggests that location-sensing and auto-identification technology could reduce “passenger to gate” delays by as much as six percent
Cost savings

Challenges to mobility development in the air transport industry

Difficult to plan for future developments as mobile technology is a disruptive technology – yet consumers have increasing expectations for what their mobile devices can do
Each mobile service requires a robust business case – with real-world experience and data essential
Financial benefits are dependent on full integration of mobile technology into airport and airline operations
Some passenger will not carry mobile devices – in the mid-term, mobile technology will remain a supplementary technology
Passengers have privacy / trust concerns – services such as location-sensing and mobile-marketing may require customers to accept a degree of trade-off to make full use of their mobile devices while travelling
Mobile check-in is already available to some travellers with low take-up – this could be due to lack of awareness and/or lack of availability