BUSINESS
SMS and e-tickets flying high
06-07-2004
by Craig Liddell
With services like e-ticket already commonplace, airlines are now looking at other new technologies to implement, such as in-flight Web access and SMS.
That's according to the Airline IT Trends Survey 2004, which said that by the end of 2004, 24 percent of airlines expect to be selling over half of their tickets as e-tickets. At the same time, a third of airlines will have the majority of their passengers using self-service kiosks by the end of this year in their home markets.
What's more, sending and receiving SMS, surfing the Web and accessing e-mail will soon be more widely available in-flight as almost a third of airlines intend to offer these services by 2007. By the end of this year, nearly 15 percent of airlines will offer SMS on-board their aircraft, with another 17 percent planning to install the service by the end of 2006.
"Over the coming years many more airlines will start offering passengers the opportunity to use a range of connectivity services while in-flight," SITA President, Peter Buecking said. "While primarily aimed at enhancing passenger services, these technologies can also offer considerable operational and safety benefits to the airlines."
The annual Airline IT Trends Survey was undertaken by global IT airline provider, SITA, and Airline Business magazine. Over 100 responses were received from senior IT personnel representing the top 220 airlines, together with key players in cargo, charter and regional markets. Oxford-based NSM Research undertook the study during the first quarter of 2004.
Included in the finding from the report are figures which say that e-ticketing accounts for over a third of all ticket sales, up from 10 percent in 2001. Sixteen percent of airlines are already fulfilling over half of their total ticket sales as e-tickets, making it their primary distribution mechanism. These are mainly in North America, with the rest of the world aiming to achieve this in the next five years.
On a weighted basis, an airlines' own brand Web sites now account for around 16 percent of total seat sales, up from seven percent in 2000. Together all Web channels account for 21 percent of airline ticket sales worldwide. Call centres, meanwhile, account for 24 percent of airline ticket sales worldwide.
Rapid growth is also predicted in self-service kiosks. By the end of 2006, most carriers will have the majority of passengers using kiosks in their home markets, achieving this in 2008 in all overseas markets.
"As airlines aim to simplify their business and cut costs they are increasing the speed at which IT is transforming passenger processing and customer service systems," Buecking concluded. "IT is the critical component to achieving the recent targets The International Air Transport Association (IATA) members have agreed for e-ticketing, common use self service kiosks, radio frequency identification (RFID) baggage tags and barcodes on boarding passes."
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