In November last year, as the travel industry was battling a wave of airline route closures, we argued scalable and efficient search capabilities were one solution. This has not been an isolated event – more airline route closures continue to be a challenge. Only through effective search were travelers able to reach their destination, quickly and efficiently, in an ever-changing environment. However, the situation is now, perhaps, even more urgen
In November last year, as the travel industry was battling a wave of airline route closures, weargued scalable and efficient search capabilities were one solution. This has not been an isolated event – more airline route closures continue to be a challenge. Only through effective search were travelers able to reach their destination, quickly and efficiently, in an ever-changing environment. However, the situation is now, perhaps, even more urgent. Travelers have returned at previously unexpected rates, leaving the industry racing to meet booming demand. Is the industry ready for such an influx?
As we revealed withAmadeus Travel Pulse , one of the most complete suites of air travel search data in the industry, search volumes around the globe have been increasing during the first half of 2022, even surpassing the 2019 levels in May & June.
It is encouraging to see such a strong appetite for travel around the world in the early months of 2022. Air travel search queries are one of the most important data sets we study to learn about traveler sentiment and how markets are responding to quickly changing circumstances. This view of the travel ecosystem can reveal a lot about traveler confidence and willingness to travel in the coming months, which Amadeus can provide thanks to our advanced data analytics tools and wide global footprint in the travel industry. Of course, if the different waves of the pandemic have taught us anything, it is that the recovery will not be linear, but looking at the data, the signs are promising.
While the return of travel demand is great news for our industry, it has created challenges. In places, providers – including airlines – have been left unprepared for an influx of passengers, while rising fuel prices and staff shortages have created additional complexity. Travelers' expectations are also higher, and they feel travel retailers should be able to quickly present them with comprehensive insight into what is on offer – and this is where Amadeus can help.
Travelers are today seeking richer information. In addition to more usual concerns about price and route, they are asking retailers how to book extra baggage, early boarding, lounge access and special meals, as well as increasingly important change and cancellation options. With Amadeus’ tools travel retailers can provide the answers, offering more attractive options that improve the search experience. Even in-destination services can be added to a flight as passengers seek to customize a journey.
Amadeus Virtual Interlining, for example, allows travel retailers to combine options from several airlines - including full-service, hybrid and low-cost carrier - irrespective of the underlying technology they use or their partnership status. This provides the traveler with the cheapest prices, while facilitating travel to secondary cities and giving access to destinations affected by route closures due to the pandemic, thereby accelerating the recovery. With this innovative approach, the connectivity potential of the global air travel network is maximized, expanding a flight search to every possible combination and delivering the best option for the traveler.
Amadeus Instant Search also enables travel retailers to solve unaddressed traveler needs and offer advanced search experiences. These might include a presentation format focused on speed, designed for mobile, or feature new interfaces for inspiration, like searching destinations using a map view. Users can be engaged with features like price prediction forecasts or price alerts.
Both these tools help retailers offer the rich content options travelers now demand and best-in-class shopping experience they expect. Our 20 years of continuous learning on Search topics combined with the fast technological evolution led us to re-think the flight search paradigm – by doing so, we have successfully improved the response time, accuracy & findability our Amadeus Masterpricer users can benefit from, enabling them to build offers at the right time, for the right users and on the right device to maximize conversion and revenues across all channels.
We have invested significantly in this search technology to make it more open, flexible and intelligent. Amadeus believes talk of ‘look to book’ ratios should be replaced by a focus on massively scalable search, meaning offers can be available everywhere, anytime, maximizing revenue potential for the industry as the recovery continues.
For the traveler, this means access to travel options wherever they are online. Rising channels like social media, mobile apps and even automated polling are contributing to massive search demand.
We believe not all search transactions should be treated equally – and digital travel players need to be able to differentiate between travelers who are looking for inspiration and first beginning to search for a trip, versus those who are ready to book. The travel industry must meet the travelers where they are online, presenting them with a comprehensive offering. With competition for bookings set to intensify, only those retailers with the most intuitive and personalized search experience are well placed to succeed. Returning the right search result efficiently offers a major opportunity for differentiation.
We offer the tools to help travel retailers seek out the best journey for a passenger. Retailers can offer a responsive search that supports travel planning and conversion, to stand out from the crowd and remain competitive. As the renewal of travel is already underway, we expect the winners to be those organizations which understand the traveler and deliver the modern search experiences that meet their needs.
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