Kuala Lumpur, Oct 17 – Global air transport information technology provider, SITA Global Services, expects Malaysian airlines and airports to provide passengers with easy-to-use mobile services to enable them to enjoy satisfaction and experience an improved travel experience.
Its Chief Executive Officer Francesco Violante said the airlines and airports should provide the applications (apps) so that passengers could be notified from bag drop to boarding and up to security checks via mobile services.
“In the past, passengers have to wait for their baggages but with the app, a notification will be sent to their mobile phone on when the baggages arrive on the carousel,” he told Bernama.
According to the 2013 SITA/Air Transport World Passenger IT Trends Survey, two-thirds of passengers would prefer to use self-service tools on their mobile phones to reduce the stress of going through long queues.
The survey, conducted at six leading airports around the world, showed that over 30 per cent of passenger stress came from security checks, said Violante, adding that one of the tools enabled passengers to measure how long they would have to queue so as not to miss their flights.
“So far it takes too long to go through all the steps, and using a mobile or self-service can simplify that process,” he said.
He said the airlines could speed up the operation as well as enjoy higher adoption rates and passenger satisfaction upon reduction in the stress level.
Meanwhile, SITA Asia-Pacific Geography President Ilya Gutlin said currently 53 per cent of airlines provided mobile boarding passes through their own airline applications and this was set to rise to over 80 per cent in 2016.
“I believe in the next three years all airlines will provide the service whereby passengers can have a seamless experience with mobile services at every step of the journey for passengers on the move,” added Gutlin.
On the 2013 SITA/Air Transport World Passenger IT Trends Survey, Gutlin said 80 per cent of the passengers were receptive to using self-service facilities if it could speed their passage through the airport.
According to him, all airlines surveyed said they would offer baggage tracing, mobile check-in, flight status notification, ticket purchase, itinerary integration and sharing as well as on-board mobile services by 2015.
– Bernama
