Survey: Passengers Want Simpler Tech Solutions From Airports and Airlines

SITA has released its 2015 Passenger IT Trends Survey, conducted in the first months of 2015 across 17 countries, representing 76% of the world’s passenger traffic, which reveals that aviation could implement simple changes to dramatically improve the passenger experience. Despite much-hyped announcements of innovations which are either complex in their deployment, or requiring large investments infrastructure, such beacons at airports, and the introduction of mobile payments systems, passengers prefer solutions which take far less effort to deliver. Engrained passenger preferences will also contribute to airline ancillary revenue, specifically from baggage fees, with additional opportunities for revenue to be found in the implementation of simplified in-flight entertainment and onboard Wi-Fi. Here are the major trends from SITA’s survey, which reveal where airlines and airports could find the low-hanging fruit. Airlines should expect fewer PC-based bookings, and start perfecting mobile apps. According to the SITA Survey, though 62% of passengers book flights on a PC, this percentage is expected to drop to 53% over the next 12 months. Tablet and smartphone bookings are expected to rise from 27% now to 37% by 2016. Twenty-six percent of passengers booked their last flight via a mobile device, but thi