Industry
Travel and Logistics
Data and AI in Travel Industry for a Memorable Passenger Experience
Highlights
- With the global aviation industry facing challenges, it is crucial for airports to evolve operating models and strategies, for instance, making use of AI-powered solutions, to differentiate themselves and emerge as the preferred mode of travel.
- Passengers travelling by air often struggle with the lack of real-time flight information and long wait times at security and immigration queues.
- TCS Adaptive Airports - Connected Traveler enables airports to offer a frictionless passenger experience.
Overview
Airports around the world are looking to increase non-aeronautical revenues – technology has a big role to play here.
Airport investors are exploring avenues to enhance returns on their investments while mitigating risks. It is therefore crucial for airports to evolve their operations and use advanced technology solutions to improve their understanding of passenger needs and focus on opportunities around non-aeronautical revenues.
Air travel continues to be a stressful affair, especially for first-time and infrequent travelers. There is a lack of real-time information on flight status, immigration and airport security queue times, and emerging security guidelines due to evolving geopolitical and internal security situations.
Many times, travelers are not aware of airport amenities, including food and retail options, leading to missed opportunities for convenience and enjoyment. First-time travelers may face challenges in navigating to rideshare pick-up points or shuttle buses. Travelers with connecting flights prioritize efficient gate access, especially during tight layovers, highlighting the need for improved accessibility. There is a need for entertainment options, particularly for parents traveling with children or regular commuters seeking dining choices. Airports, with awareness of local providers and the needs of individual passengers, are well placed to meet travelers’ requirements and also mitigate anxiety, in general.
Two broad areas that airports should focus on are:
Contextual travel facilitation: Provide pre-departure guidance, including optimal airport arrival times and transportation options. On the day of travel, offer real-time updates on immigration and security, wait times, and baggage status. For first-time travelers, offer an intuitive indoor navigation tool for terminal navigation.
Visibility of airport and partner offerings: Awareness of airport and partner offerings among customers can boost non-aeronautical revenues. This can be achieved through a platform that showcases offerings tailored to travelers’ needs and timing on mobile, websites, and kiosks. Contextual awareness enables easy shopping, ordering, and payment. Examples include fast tracking security checks for busy business travelers or highlighting last-minute sales for leisure travelers, improving revenue and traveler satisfaction. The goal is to transform the airport experience to cater precisely to each traveler’s preferences.
Solution
TCS can help airports expand their role from large infrastructure providers to experience orchestrators.
The TCS Adaptive Airports - Connected Traveler solution aims to enhance the airport experience by providing travelers with relevant information and offerings, at the right time, throughout their journey. It helps optimize journey and wait times, improve airport operations, and maximize resource utilization. The solution enables continuous engagement with travelers and offers them information and services from various ecosystem partners such as ground transport providers, retailers, food and beverage outlets, and hotels, ensuring a seamless travel experience.
Founded on the principle of active consent management by design, the solution offers these key features:
- Provides contextual awareness to facilitate travel across the passenger journey
- Eases interactions at the airports by offering contactless, queue-less, and self-service options
- Curates experiences to enhance customer engagement and branding
- Delivers timely notifications about wait times at different touchpoints at the airport
Benefits
With TCS’ solution, airports can provide a frictionless passenger experience.
The solution allows airports to:
- Empower passengers: Airports can offer travelers contextual information at their fingertips, which can help them make informed decisions about the best time to arrive at the airport and the dwell time available to them. This will facilitate frictionless and contactless interactions for travelers at the airport and beyond.
- Gain better understanding of passengers: Increase the ability of airports to engage with travelers and understanding their needs better to serve them curated and personalized experiences.
- Enhance airport brand awareness: Provide airports with the means to communicate with travelers as they undertake their journey. Through continued engagement, airports can generate enhanced brand awareness and foster continued loyalty to the brand.
- Increase non-aeronautical revenues: Provide a platform for airports and their partners to showcase relevant offerings and provide opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling, thereby enhancing revenue prospects.
The TCS advantage
TCS leverages its rich domain expertise and collaborations with partners and customers to develop best-in-class solutions.
By partnering with TCS, airports can benefit from:
- Deep aviation domain knowledge: TCS boasts of longstanding engagements with industry leaders in the airlines and airports sectors, as well as collaborations with ground handlers and other aviation ecosystem partners in the customer, commercial and operations, and enterprise system domains.
- Custom-made industry solutions: TCS’ solutions are underpinned by deep domain expertise, ethnographic research, human-centric design, and field validations.
- Research and innovation: Leveraging capabilities at the intersection of computing and physical, behavioral, and mathematical sciences, TCS helps organizations accelerate innovation-led growth.
