Passengers want to stay more connected, and the role of cognitive computing and intelligence search systems are playing an important part in personalising services for passengers. This is according to a webinar hosted on May 28 by Iata, Airlines International, and IBM.
The speakers on the webinar were Turkish Airlines svp and cio, Kerem Kiziltunc; WayBlazer co-founder and chairman, Terry Jones; and Iata passenger director, Paul Behan.
Studies found that 68% of passengers would like to receive proactive travel information and notifications from an airline and 75% would prefer to receive these notifications via email or SMS.
98% of people said they would like to use WiFi at an airport and 67% would like to interact with their airline via social media during their journey.
Paul said passengers wanted to be connected at every point of their journey, including during flight. “We believe WiFi is the fourth utility after electricity, water and gas. WiFi offering at airports is expanding and Iata and Airlines International are working together to encourage the wide spread of complimentary WiFi.”
The webinar also highlighted the move towards using apps on mobile phones to stay updated with all flight information.
Kerem said the key to sustainability was loyalty. When it came to the customer, three things were important: services, interactions and preferences.
“Customers are changing. Social dynamics are changing and airlines need to adapt accordingly,” said Kerem.
Within the travel industry, planning needs to be included in a technology system, where a user’s personal details, preferences and likes are taken into account and are compared with what is trending and popular globally. This helps users choose an option that is most personally relevant to them. “The IBM Watson technology talks to users as a friend. People should be able to be specific about their needs,” said Terry. IBM Watson is a cognitive system enabling a new partnership between people and computers.
An example is a user typing in “I want to go away this summer with my wife and kids. Must have spa, good restaurants and kids’ facilities.” From this, the IBM Watson technology provides refined results that are tailored specifically to that user’s requests, with other options also available. The technology is personalised, location aware, on demand, socially connected and bite sized. It also records previous searches and purchase history to create a rich personalised database.
Terry concluded: “The customer is saying ‘be there when I need you, remember me, recognise me, anticipate my preferences, communicate through all channels, listen and learn from me.”
