The weekly news roundup: SITA 2016 Passenger IT Trends Survey with focus on Saudi travellers, Air Seoul’s partnership with Sabre, Wego’s Christmas holiday guide
SURVEY: Demand for self-service at Saudi Arabia’s airports to escalate in 2017
Demand for self-service technology at Saudi airports on the rise. (Image credit: fizkes/iStock)
Saudi travellers’ love of smartphones will drive the demand for self-service technology in Saudi Arabia, and is expected to surge in the next 12 months.
An increasing number of airline passengers opt for technology rather than face-to-face interactions at the airport, are the findings of the 2016 Passenger IT Trends Survey by air transport technology provider SITA.
The survey was carried out in four airports across Saudi Arabia, representing 84% of all passengers in the country.
According to the report, an increasing number of airline passengers have indicated that they plan to use mobile self-service options in the next 12 months – 20% for check-in and 24% for self-boarding – up from 4% for check-in and 14% for boarding in 2016.
This increase is attributed to the fact that more than 96% of all Saudi travellers carry one or more smartphones.
Airline passengers are also demanding more mobile services in the coming year. More than 70% of passengers would like to receive notifications regarding their baggage, while 71% would like to receive flight updates.
“Passengers prefer self-service technology, as it gives them more control during their journey while helping airports improve the flow of passengers through their facilities. Once passengers start using self-service options they would rather switch to another technology than go back to a face-to-face interaction,” said Hani El-Assaad, SITA president, Middle East, India and Africa.
Other takeaways from the survey:
- 79% of Saudi travellers were happy with their overall journey.
- Fewer passengers experienced positive emotions at key steps such as security (69%), passport control (68%) and baggage collection (64%). These areas also corresponded with steps in the journey where no self-service options were available.
- 88% of airline passengers experienced positive emotions when booking their flights – a step where 87% of travellers used self-service technology.
“There is real opportunity for Saudi airports to provide more self-service options, particularly at traditional pain points such as baggage, security and passport control,” said El-Assaad.
“The benefits of self-service technology at these keys steps in the airport journey can significantly improve passenger satisfaction while helping airports and airlines manage more passengers, particularly during busy periods such as Hajj.”
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) is expanding and upgrading all 26 airports it operates, and the airports are expected to have a combined capacity to handle over 100 million travellers by 2020.
Technology will play a key role in the expansion and modernisation of the country’s airport infrastructure.
A key focus of GACA’s development programme is accommodating the millions of pilgrims that visit Saudi Arabia every year, particularly during Hajj. In 2016 a total of 1.86-million pilgrims travelled to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, more than two-thirds arriving by air.
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: Air Seoul chooses Sabre technology to expand global footprint
Seoul Incheon International Airport, based of new LCC Air Seoul (Image credit: ronaldmorales/iStock)
Air Seoul, Korea’s newest low-cost carrier and a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, has for the first time made its content available to travel agents via GDS through an agreement with Sabre Corporation.
According to Sabre, this agreement will give 425,000 Sabre-connected travel agents access to more low-cost flights and fares in the Sabre Travel Marketplace, which now includes content from over 100 LCCs globally.
“Gaining access to Sabre’s extensive network of travel buyers is a key component in our growth strategy and particularly important as we expand our operations internationally,” said Ryu Gwang-hee, president of Air Seoul.
Roshan Mendis, senior vice president of Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific, said the number of low cost carriers distributing their fares through Sabre was expanding rapidly.
“But really importantly we’re pairing this rich content with a continued investment in technology innovation, which has allowed us to develop more advanced low fare shopping tools that help travel agents find the most relevant travel options for their customer, quickly and reliably – driving revenues for both the agent and the airline.”
Air Seoul, based at Seoul Incheon International Airport, launched operations on July 11 with domestic flights between Gimpo and Jeju. Last month it began its international operations, and now flies to 11 destinations across five countries. It plans to increase the number of routes throughout 2017.
DESTINATIONS: Where to go for Christmas? Wego has a few recommendations
Byblos is famous for its incredible Christmas trees (Image credit: Wego)
Haven’t made any holiday plans yet for Christmas? Undecided where to go? Fear not as travel search site Wego reveals some festive cities for you to visit, as well as reveal why there are still many bargain airfares at this time of year.
“Some cities go to extraordinary lengths to sparkle the brightest at Christmas. Many travellers actually select their destinations at this time of year based on the special celebrations taking place,” said Dean Wicks, chief flights officer at Wego.
The historic city of Byblos, also one of the world’s oldest, is perhaps, the most interesting recommendation. Located in Mount Lebanon – one of the six governorates of Lebanon – it is famed for its incredible Christmas trees. One is designed as a house with windows, and visitors can ‘enter’ the tree to see mind-blowing decorations and three-dimensional art. Another towers 35 metres high and is composed of 35 tons of gold-coloured steel mirrors.
Dubai, surprisingly, is also on the chosen list of destinations. As Wego put it: “It may be in the middle of a desert but Dubai adds their five star sparkle to everything.”
The rest are the usual popular tourist cities including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney in Asia Pacific; London, Dresden, Madeira and Brussels in Europe.
If you are worried airfares may shoot through the roof due to last minute booking, Wicks said there are still good deals to some of these destinations too.
“Airline competition is hotter than ever. This was once a period when fares dramatically hiked upwards, but with the introduction of long haul aircraft used by budget airlines it’s no longer the case. Airlines are competing to sell seats during what is one of the busiest travel seasons of the year and there’s loads of bargains to be found.”
Some ongoing good fares for the festive season, among which are AirAsia’s Singapore –Kuala Lumpur for S$40, Scoot’s Singapore-Bangkok S$61, Jetstar’s one-way Singapore-Darwin S$102, Etihad Abu Dhabi- Bangkok AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) 1,660, and more.
So what are you waiting for – start searching and planning for a winter or Asian getaway for Christmas. As Wicks said: “Don’t let the festive season put you off fearing expensive airfares, there are loads of bargains still to be had!”
• Featured image credit: Weedezign/iStock
