It should be obvious by now that data underpins everything we do, for our airline customers and by extension for their passengers.
Data is both an input to, and outcome of our shift to a digital-first, cloud-native, platform-based approach, using machine learning and artificial intelligence to help airlines enable the needs of today’s traveler. Data will also give airlines the insights needed to set their business apart and to face the future with confidence.
As Amadeus and our airline partners transition to a new era of opportunity, data-driven organizations will be best placed to acquire, convert, assist and retain the traveler.
The digital bridge between desire and delivery
As head of the airline traveler experience, my team and I are focused on making sure that the digital tools we make available to airlines allow them to deliver the data-driven personalized experience modern travelers are looking for – securely, end-to-end and at speed.
Data is the digital bridge between desire and delivery.
It helps airlines to acquire a customer by surfacing exactly what it is that the traveler wants, based on various signals, to deliver a simpler, more connected experience.
Data can help convert the traveler through targeted promotions and/or dynamic offers. Data, when shared among partners and liberated from legacy silos and discussions about who owns the customer, can assist the traveler throughout the physical journey if disruptions occur.
It can help airlines to retain the traveler by finding ways to engage beyond the flying experience, avoiding the need for airlines to spend time and cash re-acquiring a customer they already had paid to acquire.
Self-service, from optional to mandatory
The drive toward data-driven traveler-centricity accelerated in response to a significant uptick in the number of passengers using digital touchpoints during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the industry reached peak disruption.
Many passengers wanted their airline to enable self-service, seeking a real-time response to manage their trip efficiently and make informed travel decisions, and those airlines that were able to do so saw the benefits in terms of brand reputation and net promoter scores.
Self-service is now seen by many travelers as an obligatory and not optional part of their experience. This change is a direct response to the fact that many passengers tried self-service for the first time, responded positively to it and became a convert. Airlines have raised the bar – includingEtihad which worked with Amadeus to empower guests and ensure a smooth experience at every step of the journey through self-service tools.
However, the inevitable transition towards automation should not sound the death knell for the airline call centre or check-in desks at the airport. Airlines such as Southwest are enabling more self-service capabilities while remaining committed to offline channels. In this approach, all human interactions must be value-adding and represent a more efficient use of time and resources.
At the same time, the overall airport experience for passengers can be improved, as Copenhagen Airport, British Airways and Amadeus discussed recently at Altitude 22, with multi-stakeholder collaboration being key to this aim. Imagine for instance being able to ‘virtually queue’ on any device or check in for your transfer flight using in-flight Wi-Fi. The airport suddenly has no barriers and airlines can service their passengers anywhere, anytime and on any device, putting customers firmly at the heart of every journey. Tighter collaboration also means being able to share data which can ultimately improve the efficiency of passenger flows and baggage handling.
The rise of data marketing to increase acquisition
Data will contribute to enhance the scale of self-service and automation, but the ability to self-serve only comes into play if you have acquired and converted them in the first place. Acquisition and conversion are both closely connected with data – collecting, correlating, analyzing and actioning.
Airlines are aware that how they acquire and convert is part of the customer’s digital experience with the carrier. This influences how they feel about an airline and feeds into concepts such as brand reputation, loyalty and word of mouth.
Acquiring customers has traditionally been a “marketing” discipline, but today’s marketers are increasingly involved in building customer profiles based on quantifiable data from digital footprints rather than the historical approach of qualitative ranking of an emotional response to a TV advert or billboard.
We have recently taken our partnership with Adobe to the next level by integrating Adobe’s global digital experience platform across the Amadeus platform. Together, we are creating an aggregated digital picture of the traveler based on their engagement across all touchpoints, including agent-supported, giving travel sellers a full 360 view of the traveler whatever channel the traveler is using
This means that airlines will be able to automate and deliver, at scale, personalized customer experiences and interactions faster than ever before. Personalization can be applied at every touchpoint, from the top of the funnel inspiration right through to targeted upsells in the days before departure. Each interaction adds data into the customer profile, supporting not only segment-of-one personalization but also consistency across devices and channels.
Elsewhere, airlines are looking at how enhanced data can help them reposition their frequent flyer schemes. Simpler, more personalized and with wider and easier redemption opportunities will characterize the scheme of the future.
The partnership experience
Data, like the airline industry, is entering a new era of opportunity. The cloud and AI offer more than a better way to store, manage and make sense of data. The most intelligent and sophisticated data analysis on the market is cloud-native, using algorithms which exploit the open nature of the cloud to bring in next-generation thinking based on AI and machine learning. And only through an ecosystem of partnerships and collaboration, can more personalized products and services emerge into the marketplace at scale.
The airline industry is at a pivotal moment as restrictions are lifted and domestic, regional and international travel returns. The time is now for airlines to consider how our technology and our integration with partners can help them deliver tomorrow’s traveler experience, today.
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