SITA says mobile phones could save aviation industry $600m a year
21.06.08
Research by SITA, the IT provider to the air transport industry, suggests that the world’s 3.2 billion mobile phones will be used as air travel tools within 5 years and could save cash-strapped airlines up to $600m on reducing flight delays. As they are carried by 90% of passengers, they also offer other opportunities, such as for income generation.
Mobile phones have the potential to hold boarding passes, baggage tracking information and payment data, making travel truly paperless and location independent. There is also the possibility that they could be used to store visa and biometric information, SITA suggests.
The report, released this week SITA’s Air Transport IT Summit in Brussels, includes research from Cambridge University that suggests technology such as location sensing via mobile devices could save airlines up to $600m by tracking passengers, sending messages and moving them to gates more efficiently; improving turnaround times and reducing delays.
Jim Peters, Chief Technology Officer at SITA said: ‘Soon digital travellers will have on-demand access to a range of mobile-enabled services such as real time flight updates; self-service booking, check-in and boarding; and mobile payments.'
‘Some of these services are already available. For example in Norway, Japan and Germany paperless travel is a reality on some routes. But what our research shows is that these mobile services will be available to all travellers worldwide over the next 5 years. In fact, by the end of 2010, 67% of airlines plan to offer mobile check-in. By then 82% of airlines also plan to offer notification services on mobiles.‘
The report also suggests other areas where the air transport industry can gain from adopting mobil phone technologies. Using mobiles as tracking devices, airports can not only move passengers more efficiently but also market revenue-earning services. During a trial at Manchester Airport, redemption of vouchers sent to passengers’ mobile phones resulted in 45% higher spending than among other shoppers.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book manchester airport hotel or manchester airport car parking at the lowest price, click on these links to two great manchester airport car parking and manchester airport hotel price comparison pages.
