Digital transformation key focus of Aviation Festival in London

From our unique position in the travel industry, we have observed that airlines have very diverse approaches to digital transformation – for some it is an evolution, whereas for others it is a revolution. During the conference, a number of travel executives from around the world shared their opinions on what this digital transformation means to them.
 

Carolyn McCall, CEO, EasyJet said, “When it comes to digital, our main focus is to make it easier for the passenger. More than an airline, we see ourselves as an e-commerce platform. EasyJetdoes not have a Chief Digital Officer, as ‘digital is embedded in all we do.

Emirates President, Sir Tim Clark, stressed that digital transformation is absolutely critical to any successful business model today and touched upon their digital transformation and harnessing the power of data analytics. Just last year the carrier opened the Oxford-Emirates Data Science Lab, which uses experts from the University to analyse data in order to make its services more efficient and customer focused.

Winning This Sector

Noted futurist and CEO of trend think-tank FastFuture, Rohit Talwar, commented, “To win in this sector you need access to the data and then you need to apply smart digital products.” He added, “The focus should be on what the end customer wants, not what the industry wants.”

When it comes to digital, travel players should back up their strategies with data. Amadeus Travel Intelligenceis well placed to provide travel players with unique and actionable insights into overall market dynamics, a company’s own performance, and growth opportunities on the horizon. By combining the latest technologies with rich data sources and a dedicated team of talented data scientists, digital transformations can lead directly to business outcomes.