Airlines are still recovering from the impact of the global pandemic and to try and regain customers, airline digital transformation emerges as a strategic imperative, now more than ever. To improve customer experience, enhance airline performance, and maintain competitiveness, an overwhelming 90% of airline leaders are actively seeking digital initiatives.
The shift towards airline digital transformation is not just about operational efficiency but also about crafting a more personalised and seamless journey for passengers. From automated check-ins to real-time flight updates and digital boarding passes, each touchpoint is being reimagined to enhance the customer experience.
The airline digital transformation market, is projected to skyrocket to an estimated USD 26.1 billion by 2030. This remarkable growth trajectory signifies a transformative era for the airline industry, using cutting-edge technologies that promise to revolutionise every part of air travel. The anticipated expansion of the airline digital transformation market illustrates a future where technology not only enhances operational efficiencies but also elevates the passenger experience to new heights.
What is Airline Digital Transformation?
Airline digital transformation is all about recreating the passenger experience through advanced digital integration. It’s not just about upgrading technology; it’s about reimagining how airlines interact with their customers, from ticket booking to post-flight services. This aims to improve every aspect of the commerce experience, with a focus on mobile apps, personalised services, and a seamless travel process.
The heart of this transformation is prioritising the customer’s digital experience. Airlines hope to provide a more intuitive, efficient, and tailored experience by leveraging technologies such as mobile platforms, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. This approach ensures that passengers have a frictionless experience at all stages, from planning and booking their flight using user-friendly apps to enjoying a customised travel experience based on their preferences and history.
In essence, this digital investment aims to improve operational efficiency while also improving the passenger experience. Enhancing the booking experience through digital strategies can increase revenues by 5-10% and boost online sales by 50 percent.
Challenges in Airline Digital Transformation
The journey towards airline digital transformation, while promising a future of enhanced operational efficiency and superior customer experiences, is challenging. One of the primary hurdles is the integration of new digital technologies with existing legacy systems, which are often deeply entrenched in airline operations. These older systems can be inflexible and resistant to rapid changes, making it difficult to implement new digital solutions without disrupting ongoing operations.
The airline digital transformation journey necessitates a significant cultural shift within organisations. Employees at all levels must embrace new technologies and adapt to evolving workflows. This requires ongoing training, support, and a shift in mindset from traditional hierarchical decision-making to more agile, data-driven approaches.
Commerce is the foundation of this transformation and it includes reshaping the user journey, improving mobile experiences, and developing connected experiences for ticket booking and beyond. Airlines are updating their digital systems not just to improve operational efficiency, but also with a focus on making things easier and more enjoyable for customers, ensuring that every online interaction is as good as it can be.
Key Components of Airline Digital Transformation
Key components of airline digital transformation include a wide range of strategic, technological, and operational changes aimed at increasing efficiency, customer satisfaction, and market competitiveness. Within this broad spectrum, a focus on ecommerce is critical to redefining the airline customer journey, from discovery and booking to post-flight services. The critical components of airline digital transformation include:
Ecommerce Integration
The integration of ecommerce platforms with existing legacy systems is a critical step toward improving the airline ticket booking process, ensuring it is seamless, efficient, and capable of providing real-time updates and personalised offerings. This relies on a strategic approach to integrating new digital solutions with older, more rigid systems, allowing airlines to provide a better online booking experience while not disrupting existing operations.
Data Security and Privacy
Airlines need to implement advanced encryption and security protocols to safeguard customer payment information during online transactions. This ensures that ecommerce operations adhere to global data protection regulations, protecting customer privacy throughout their online experience.
Customer-Centricity in Digital Innovation
Using AI and machine learning can provide personalised travel options and recommendations. As a result, this improves the online shopping experience and creates an engaging ecommerce platform that allows for easy navigation, booking, and customer support while reflecting the airline’s brand ethos.
Enhancing Mobile Experience
92.3% of internet users access the internet using a mobile phone, so ensuring ecommerce platforms are fully optimised for mobile devices is key. Offering a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions makes the website more user-friendly for more people. Developing dedicated mobile applications that provide a streamlined, feature-rich experience for booking, check-in, and boarding, can also improve a customer’s experience as 90% of mobile time is spent in apps.
Creating Connected Experiences
Integrating operations across multiple channels (website, mobile app, social media) will provide a cohesive and consistent customer journey. Leveraging IoT devices for personalised in-flight experiences, luggage tracking, and efficient airport operations, all helps create a seamless and positive customer journey which also increases the likelihood customers will return.
Simplified Booking Process
Designing a user-friendly booking interface with fewer steps, stored payment and one-click booking for repeat customers speeds up the process and boosts satisfaction. By streamlining the booking process and offering convenient features, airlines can attract and retain customers in a competitive market, ultimately boosting revenue and maintaining a positive brand image.
Enhanced Customer Support
Offering round-the-clock customer service through chatbots and live agents, available directly through the booking platform for inquiries, changes, or cancellations can also improve customer satisfaction. This is key to driving conversions when 75% of customers have made purchase decisions based on customer service quality alone. Providing customers with the ability to modify bookings, select seats, and manage their travel plans directly through the e-commerce platform, makes their lives easier and enhances autonomy and satisfaction.
How To Start Your Digital Transformation
It can be difficult knowing where to start on a big digital transformation, but partnering with a specialised agency makes this easy. Nemetos Tanasuk, known for its expertise in digital transformation across multiple platforms including Bigcommerce, Contentful, and commerce tools, stands as a leading partner for airlines embarking on this journey. Unlike a traditional focus, Nemetos Tanasuk extends its work beyond just travel ecommerce solutions, offering a broad spectrum of services designed to facilitate a full airline digital transformation so companies can get the most out of their digital investment
This includes everything from advanced customer engagement strategies to cutting-edge operational efficiencies. Our comprehensive approach ensures not only the integration of cutting-edge digital tools, but also a perfect fit with the airline’s specific goals. As airlines strive to improve passenger experiences and operational agility, Nemetos Tanasuk’s role evolves from service provider to strategic partner, driving innovation and delivering results that benefit both the airline and its passengers.
