The precarious financial position of domestic airlines is acting as a hindrance in their adopting IT technologies, according to a new study conducted by SITA and the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
SITA is a leading global provider for IT and telecommunication solutions for the aviation industry.
The airlines industry is estimated to have posted a loss of over Rs 10,000 crore last fiscal.
The CAPA-SITA white paper on information technology shows that while progress has been slow in the deployment of new technologies there does appear to be a sign of “renewed importance” attached to IT.
According to the study, this is partly due to increasing recognition of the potential to drive revenues by better understanding and leveraging customer profiles.
The study says that adopting new technologies is also hindered due to limited coordination between the various stakeholders which has resulted in airlines and airports hesitating in promoting new technologies such as mobile platforms and self service. “As a result, passengers have not been encouraged to use them,” it says.
The study was released at the Aviation ICT Forum which opened here on Thursday morning and has Air India, IndiGo, Jet Airways, the Airports Authority of India and privately held Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad airports as participants.
Mobile platforms
The study shows that mobile platforms are an emerging priority for airlines and are expected to be the next major development in the Indian airline industry as a result of the growing penetration of smartphones carried by passengers.
‘Social media’
The study says that “social media is a must” particularly for interacting with younger passengers. It also indicates that while Indian aviation operators have till now maintained a relatively low profile on social media, data shows that many are trailing or intending to do so.
“Airlines and airports cannot ignore this phenomenon and must start to develop a social media engagement strategy or risk being left behind,” the study adds.
The study feels that transformational changes are not expected in the very short term. However, adopting a 2015 horizon provides some ground for optimism that passengers will by then enjoy an enhanced travel experience and airlines and airports will be generating increased revenues from them.
(The correspondent’s travel to Goa was sponsored by SITA)