The Digital Future of Air Travel

The future of air travel is a topic on the minds of many, especially if we are talking about the situation of air travel post-covid. Thankfully, the pandemic effect is more or less over for the aviation industry, and we are at a new beginning after a massive decline. Yes, air travel is making a bold comeback thanks to innovations and technologies, which affect everything from flight routes to airport services and how people travel.

Once again, the airline industry is on the verge of rebirth with new technologies and initiatives like IATA’s New Distribution Capability and ONE Order. Both in the air travel and the passenger fronts, the future of the airline industry will be more exciting than ever. As a PaaS company that focuses on the digitalization of the airline industry, we will share what awaits the airline industry in the years to come and how you can quickly adapt to the new age on the digitalization and customer service fronts. First, let’s talk about what’s to come in aviation on the technology front.

Super-Fast Air Travel Is Right Around the Corner, But There Are Conditions

Although there are attempts to beat the record-breaking speeds of air travel from ventures like Hyperloop, there is no doubt that the sky will always be the most suitable ground for quick transportation. Boeing and Airbus may hold the duopoly in the aircraft manufacturing industry, but if Boom’s plan goes accordingly, we’ll have a new and ultra-fast alternative by 2029.* In a world where almost everybody’s obsessed about the possibility of space travel, the advancements on the speed front will surely become crazier, but that’s the topic of another blog. 

With the new, supersonic air travel technology, the industry may see another rise, but there are conditions, the biggest one being sustainability. Going green is one of the most talked-about topics of today, and the cruciality of the subject is only rising. With more people being concerned about climate change, green alternatives are gaining more and more importance, and the airline industry’s answer to the case will likely be the indicator of the future of the airline industry. Read our blog to see how can airlines adapt sustainability. 

Air travel technology will see many ups in the years to come, but let’s talk about fixing the problem of today with our vision of unified, digital aviation services.

Customer Expectations Are Becoming Harder to Keep Up

The digital revolution brought convenience to many areas of daily life, but on the air travel front, the customer experience is stuck in the last decade. In 2021’s highly-connected climate, travelers still need to book their flights in one place and do their check-ins in another in many cases. Although major players in the industry are trying to give more unified solutions, the customer experience in the air travel arena still cannot seem to catch today’s standards. 

Source: Salesforce

The latest customer experience report from Salesforce reveals that newer generations of customers need more connected and seamless experiences in their buying processes, and we can surely include the travel experience into the equation. Here at Tmob, we develop all of our products with a seamless customer experience in mind, and our Unified Airline Platform is no exception. 

NDC and ONE Order Are Here to Stay

Yes, customers need more seamless experiences in every part of their lives, and the airline industry’s best solution, for now, is NDC (New Distribution Capability). IATA’s new initiative to streamline and improve the selling process of airlines, NDC, is simply a new XML-based messaging protocol between airlines and third-party companies. Since the new way of distribution has broader data capability, it has carried airline companies to many industries for ten years in terms of personalization, convenient customer experiences, and more. The best part is, the New Distribution Capability System increases the control and power that airlines hold.

ONE Order, on the other side, is another initiative by IATA, designed to modernize the customer journey while handling air travels. With One Order, airline companies can offer a modernized booking and accounting system. Learn more about NDC and One order on our Insights page.

The NDC and ONE Order transformations are happening quicker than expected. A good example is British Airlines and Iberia’s new policy of only offering the cheapest fares through NDC, and they are not the only ones. NDC will undoubtedly change the way airlines distribute their services, and here at Tmob, we are constantly staying up to date with the latest trends that serve our remaining and future airline clients the best way possible. Here’s how NDC is transforming the industry and how we have future-proofed our AirlineModule:

An Advanced Customer Journey

Ubimecs Airline Module has always taken advantage of every bit of customer data. With our latest update, its data collection and analysis capabilities have reached a whole new level. Today, Ubimecs combines customer data from many points, including the internet, CRMs, and OMs, and combines them on the same cloud to bring out the best outcome for a better, more personalized customer experience. Our new, advanced customer journey enhances the experience from searching for a flight to booking and checking in.

A Data-Rich Omnichannel Offer Management Infrastructure

Taking advantage of the NDC protocol, we placed Ubimecs Airline Module as the first stop between airlines and travel agents, travellers, and everything in between. This way, we managed to collect all of the passenger information that flows in between, which gave our module data-rich analytics capabilities. With the brand new Ubimecs, you can order, consolidate, process, and redistribute all of the information from every party, whether your airline has shifted to NDC or not.

One-Stop-Shop Marketplace

Here at Tmob, we have always been aware of the rise in the essentiality of airlines’ extra services. Today, ancillary services are becoming one of the top revenue streams of the airlines, and leaving the revenue to the third parties would be a long-tail mistake. With Ubimecs Airline Module, you can offer your passengers a single shopping cart for both their tickets, ancillary services, and everything extra. The better thing is that the module’s analytic mind can be integrated into all internal or external units like CRM, PSS, OMS, and CMS.

Dynamic Pricing

With all of the enhanced data collection and analytics capabilities, Ubimecs can finally offer competitive pricing thanks to double-sided NDC data flow. Adding the customer-centricity of the module, the platform can create the best offers for each passenger for increased loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Ubimecs Airline Platform Is Always Future-Proof

Here at Ubimecs, we have been in the airline e-commerce market as a digitalization service since 2010. With the double-sided communication with our clientele, we are continually improving the quality of our Airline Module. As for NDC and ONE Order, we can safely say that we are one step ahead of the industry, and we are happy to shape the future of travel commerce. See what our Airline Module can accelerate your digital transformation, or set a meeting with a Ubimecs expert here. 

Who Are We?

Tmob | Thinks Mobility is a global technology powerhouse, specialized in digitalization and integration solutions, bringing growth and success to businesses and partners with its innovative SaaS, PaaS, and premium solutions since 2009 with Tmob Turkiye (TR) and Tmob United Kingdom (UK) headquarters.

Sources: 

1 https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/boom-rolls-out-xb-1-supersonic-demonstrator-lays-out-overture-timeline/140513.article 

2 https://www.salesforce.com/form/marketingcloud/conf/retail-consumer-goods-marketing-trends/?leadcreated=true&redirect=true&d=70130000000sUVq&nc=7010M000002JMBoQAO 

3 https://duffel.com/blog/from-2020-british-airways-and-iberia-will-only-offer-their-cheapest-fares-through-ndc-will-you-miss-out