Muritala Muhammud International Airport, Lagos/ AYODELE ADENIRAN
New
finding has shown that local air travel sector risks missing out on the
global growth projection without adequate investment in technology
across the board.
The 2018 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) revealed that passengers crave
for more control, information and improve efficiency when they travel,
and are to this end counting on new technology that are largely missing
in the local environment.
President, Sabre West Africa, Gabriel Olowo, agreed that stakeholders
in the Nigerian aviation sector might soon face crisis of relevance
without embracing technology in their operations.
said this at a forum in Kano, to reward Sabre’s loyal partners in the Northern zone.
The new report, organised by the International Air Transport
Association (IATA), is based on 10,408 responses from 145 countries,
with the survey providing insight into what passengers would like from
their air travel experience..
What do passengers want?
Specifically, passengers demanded real time journey information
delivered to their personal devices, biometric identification to
facilitate their travel processes, automation of more airport processes,
waiting times of less than 10 minutes at security/immigration, their
bags tracked throughout their journey and a human touch when things go
wrong.
Indeed, passengers want to be kept informed throughout their journey
preferably via their personal device. Receiving information on flight
status (82 per cent), baggage (49 per cent) and waiting time at
security/immigration (46 per cent) were identified as passengers’ top
three priorities after booking a flight..
Real-time baggage tracking throughout the journey was seen as a must
for 56 per cent of passengers. Passengers’ preferred option for
receiving information on their baggage and other travel elements was via
their mobile device. Receiving information via SMS or Smartphone app
was preferred by 73 per cent of passengers.
Since 2016, there has been a 10 per cent increase in passengers preferring to receive travel information via a smartphone app.
Again, passengers identified airport security/border control and
boarding processes as two of their biggest pain points when travelling.
The top frustrations with security were the intrusiveness of having
to remove personal items (57 per cent) the removal of laptops/large
electronic devices from cabin bags (48 per cent) and the lack of
consistency in screening procedures at different airports (41 per cent).
To improve the boarding experience, the top three desires of
passengers are more efficient queuing at boarding gates (64 per cent),
the availability of overhead space on the aircraft (42 per cent), and
not having to queue on the air bridge (33 per cent).
Passengers want more self-service options. Automated check-in was
preferred by 84 per cent of passengers. Most (47 per cent prefer to
check in online using a smartphone. Only 16 per cent preferred
traditional check-in.
Some 70 per cent of passengers want self-service baggage check-in.
Only one in three travelers prefers an agent to tag their bag.
The electronic bag tag is growing in popularity – favored by 39 per cent of passengers (up 8 percentage points from 2017).
The overall experience with automated immigration procedures was rated favorably by 74 per cent of passengers.
A similar percentage (72 per cent) believes that automated
immigration processes are faster and 65 per cent believe they enhance
security.
The human touch is still preferred by some market segments and for
certain situations. For example, senior travelers (65 years and older)
have a strong preference for traditional check-in (25 per cent vs global
17 per cent) and bag-drop processes (42 per cent vs global 32 per
cent).
And when there are travel disruptions 40 per cent of all age groups
of passengers want to resolve the situation over the phone and 37 per
cent via face-to-face interaction.
The majority of passengers (65 per cent) are willing to share
personal data for expedited security and 45 per cent are willing to
replace their passports with biometric identification.
IATA’s One ID project aims to move passengers from curb to gate using
a single biometric travel token (fingerprint, face or iris). But
concerns over data protection must be addressed.
“As we move more and more towards digital processes, passengers need
to be confident that their personal data is safe. IATA is working to
establish a trust framework that ensures secure data sharing, legal
compliance and privacy,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President
for Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security.
Projections
It will be recalled that IATA, the clearing house for over 280
airlines worldwide, had earlier projected 7.2 billion passengers in
2035; a near double of the 3.8 billion air travellers in 2016.
The prediction is based on a 3.7 per cent annual Compound Average
Growth Rate (CAGR) noted in the release of the latest update to the
association’s 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast.
The top 10 fastest-growing markets in percentage terms will be in
Africa. They are: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Central African Republic, Benin,
Mali, Rwanda, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Madagascar.
Olowo, however, wooed local airlines, travel agents among others to
Sabre platform, saying Nigeria could not afford to be left behind in the
technology-driven air travel industry and patronage growth.
While presenting to Sabre partners rewards, ranging from cash,
refrigerators, screen touch laptops, air conditionals, and the grand
prize of new KIA Rio car to Hamsyl Travels and Tours, Olowo said the
company had grown to become the leading technology organisation in the
world for airlines and travel trade.
Olowo explained that unlike other platforms where travel agents
incurred Agency Debit Memo (ADM), after little errors in bookings, the
reverse is the case with Sabre, the United States’ technology solution
provider.
The Sabre boss noted that with improved technologies in the global
aviation industry, it was pertinent for stakeholders in the sector in
Nigeria to device a mean of relevance, warning that without this, most
of them would be left behind in industry development.
He explained that Sabre would help to improve the services of travel
agents, hoteliers, tour companies and airlines, stressing that Nigerian
carriers had a lot to learn from their foreign counterparts in
technology, especially those who have migrated to the network.
He said: “Our strongest partners and testimony seated at this forum
include Ethiopian, Etihad, Emirate and Turkish Airlines to mention, but
few.
“Azman Airlines and Max Air will come on board soon. Sabre is the
best as it partners with the leading airlines in the world including
start up airlines. The only assurance we are giving airlines and travel
agents in this country is that once we partner with them, they will
begin to do it right.
