How Should Airlines React to the Second Wave of the Pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone and every industry on the planet in 2020. According to S&P Global’s chart, the whole tourism industry has faced a massive crisis. Unfortunately, the airline industry was at the top of the list of those affected.

Source: S&P Global

In the summer, the entire world began to take a positive approach to the pandemic, and the tourism industry started pulling itself together. Apparently, that was the wrong way for everyone to go. Now, we are living through the second wave of the pandemic, which has turned out to be worse than the first. Unfortunately, many businesses are on the verge of collapsing, including airline companies. Luckily, we are talking about one of the most fundamental industries for society, and the predictions had shown that the second wave was going to be more challenging than the first. According to IATA, total industry revenues are expected to be down 46% in 2021, compared to the 2019 figure of $838 billion. But the report came before the unexpectedly quick development of the COVID-19 vaccines, and we may expect a slightly better 2021. The new safety regulation created by IATA, the IATA Travel Pass, will include passengers’ health conditions and will likely require them to get vaccinated before traveling.

Still, there is some time until the world gets back on track, and sitting still and waiting for things to be normal again is not a very wise move. It may sound too optimistic, but the period of decline might be the best time for airlines to adapt to the new age.

Information Design states that it is easy to find a correlation between technology spending and revenue increase in the airline industry. When we look at the airline revenue charts from pre-COVID-19, we can clearly see that.

Source: Statista

So yes, we may not be going through smooth times, but it’s best to be ready for the future. The majority of airlines may have paused their technology and digitalization investments due to the uncertainty of the future, but there are still many things that can be done with a small workforce and tight budgets. Luckily, we have the best digital tools to help you lead the competition in the post-COVID world.

Digitalization Equals More Profit, and You Don’t Have to Spend a Fortune

There are many concepts under the umbrella of digitalization in the airline industry. Some strategies require setting up million-dollar operations, while some can be relatively budget-friendly and, somehow, more profitable. The online experience airlines offer their passengers is the first thing that comes to mind when we say ‘digitalization’, and that’s our field of expertise. Our airline module includes everything that a modern airline company needs, and it is highly customizable to adapt to almost every need. If you are an airline company thinking that your digital game is falling a little behind, the Ubimecs Airline Module can offer your customers a fresh and unified experience. Here are the top features that are included in our customizable airline platform:

Data is the Most Valuable Meta, and Our Module is Powered By It

During the last decade, customer data has stopped being ‘just another cool phrase’ and has become one of the biggest industries on the planet. The titans are all pursuing the “big data” business model, and every company is relying on that pool of data one way or another. Of course, that is only one approach; in order to take full advantage, some companies are building their own pools of information. Thanks to recent developments, gathering data has become extremely easy. The challenging part is processing it. With the wrong approach, things may get out of control easier than you think and, as soon as that happens, those massive pools of data turn into supermassive black holes.

Here at Tmob, we have been designing unified digital solutions for many industries including grocery, airline, online banking, last-mile retail, and more. With our experience from a range of industries, we have the know-how of processing the data in the most effective ways, and for airlines, there are many aspects of customer data that can be useful.

Merge Personalization and Loyalty Programs

In the digital world, everything is becoming extremely personalized. Users and consumers expect every service, online and offline, to offer them a personalized experience. According to Atmosphere Research’s survey, personalized offers will be more essential than ever for airline passengers.

Source: Diggin Travel

We also know that loyalty programs have become one of the top revenue sources in the last decade, and it seems like it is going to grow more and more important for the industry. Thanks to its big data analysis capabilities, the Ubimecs Airline Module includes loyalty programs and personalization. The platform generates special offers and sends push notifications, emails, and text messages to the registered passengers.

Maximize Your Reach

Since we are talking about a unified experience, you can maximise your reach with our module. The Ubimecs Airline Module offers a website, iOS and Android applications that are always up-to-date, and even smartwatch apps for use with Apple Watches and Android Wear. Maximum reach allows airlines to sell the whole experience from the same source, and that means more revenue. In times like these, the in-flight experience can be more profitable than the flight itself.

You can see how one of our biggest clients, SunExpress, has taken advantage of our airline module by clicking here. If you want to know more, you can visit our Airline Omnichannel E-Commerce Cloud page.