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Monday, September 27, 2010
The increasing number of airline optional services and new technology for determining what passengers want on their flights could end up blurring the distinction between cabin classes, creating what amounts to personalized “virtual classes” instead, according to a new Oxford Economics report.The Amadeus-commissioned report, titled “The Travel Gold Rush 2020,” used macroeconomic forecasts and interviews with major airlines, travel industry experts, online travel agents, tour companies and Amadeus to forecast growth and profitability trends in the travel sector.
In one of its forecasts, the consultancy predicts that business class will survive and thrive, but also that “classes in general are likely to become increasingly fragmented.”
“The future of the aircraft cabin is set to go through significant changes as customers are able to share their preferences with airlines, and airlines will be expected to meet their individual needs,” the report says.
“For example, some passengers in today’s economy [class] would have access to a wide variety of [paid] electronic services, such as Wi-Fi, gaming and entertainment. Others might prefer quiet or distraction-free zones. The integration of these different subclasses with other specialized paying services (such as improved meal services or preferred seating arrangements) could result in further effective fragmentation,” the report continues.
Flight-related perks, such as early boarding and airport lounge day passes, also are differentiators, the report notes.
“This trend, combined with increased physical separation which caters for specific passenger preferences, such as family travel and lone travel, would result in still further fragmentation. One interviewee suggested that there may be as many as 20 effective cabin classes on some flights in the future,” the report says.
As one example of how technology could contribute to this fragmentation, Oxford Economics says some interviewees suggested that smartphones with stored passenger preferences could transmit that information to the airline via slots in armrests.
Traveler Preferences
“This would allow airlines to instantly identify traveler preferences by accessing the information travelers want to provide to improve their experience,” it says, adding that “at least one major western airline also saw this as a clear future possibility.”
Other interviewees, it reported, suggested more could be done now to sell to customers through existing entertainment systems, given many airlines already have access to customer credit card details.
The cabin-class prediction was just one aspect of a broad-ranging report that also took up other ancillary service, business travel, demographic and travel pattern issues that will be critical for airlines and travel agents.
For example, Oxford Economics put some more data behind the airline emphasis on access to Asia-Pacific markets. It says its macroeconomic models show the region’s residents will account for 32% of outbound travel spending by 2020, up from 21% today.
The report also notes “a fledgling consensus” among interviewees on “the need for airlines to be more actively involved in end-to-end transport.”
That could include making airlines “travel facilitators for these customers willing to pay for seamless travel” by helping arrange baggage handling and travel to the airport and hotels. It also could include more involvement and cooperation with high-speed rail.
Source:-http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/avd/2010/09/27/08.xml&headline=Airlines%20Virtual%20Classes%20Could%20Be%20The%20Future&channel=comm
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