Flying into the future

RARELY has there been a shortage of suggestions from passengers on how to improve the flying experience, but what would a Silicon Valley entrepreneur do to reinvent the industry?Jude Gomila, the co-founder of HeyZap, a gaming company, stepped up to the challenge recently.

Some of his ideas seem a bit off the wall, such as coating common surfaces with silver to prevent the spread of colds and flu, but as a frequent flyer Mr Gomila has put some serious thought into the issue and come up with nine core areas that could be improved. For instance, he says airlines should learn from the shipping industry and re-engineer planes so that people are pre-loaded into detached air-conditioned cabins that would then be rolled onto the plane, thus allowing passengers to “board” before the plane even arrives.
More realistic ideas involve better seat design, including meshed chairs, more localised temperature controls that are operated from a personal display, and reading lights that don't spread onto a neighbour’s space. He also advocates removing armrest controls in favour of a high-resolution touchscreen and using magnets rather than a turn fob to secure tray tables.
Some of these ideas, or similar ones, appear to already be more than plausible, judging by the finalists of the Crystal Cabin Award 2013, part of the Aircraft Interiors Expo to be held in Hamburg in April. Among the 21 products and concepts under consideration are a “stylish and robust capacitive touchscreen” by Dornier Technologie Systems, a German company; a lightweight, self-cleaning seat table integrated into the armrest by English designers Acro Aircraft Seating; and ceiling panels by Diehl Aircabin of Germany that reduce drafts and cabin noise while improving mood lighting.
Mr Gomila also has several suggestions about speeding up the check-in process, and, again, there are already some similar initiatives in progress according to Amadeus, a travel technology provider, and as Gulliver has previously noted. In Reinventing the Airport Ecosystem, Amadeus says that by 2015 passengers should expect to see some of the industry's more forward-thinking members adopt measures such as passive “in-pocket” scanning of e-tickets and radio-frequency-ID-enabled travel documents, as well as near-field communication being used for “check-in, baggage check, security, boarding, lounge access and as a wallet in and around the airport”. Seat allocation could also be based on the amount of hand luggage a passenger is carrying.
The hope is that by 2025 passengers will be able to bypass the terminal entirely, with premium travellers checking in offsite and passing through security en-route. Biometric and perhaps even genetic information will be used to automatically check in passengers upon airport entry. Ultimately, Mr Gomila writes, flying should be such a pleasant experience that you want to jump back on the plane. Unfortunately, he adds, “until Virgin Airlines opened up, it's as if innovation on the experience of the passenger just stopped in the 1960s and has been going backwards ever since.” Gulliver, then, hasn't been the only one to notice.
Passengers have given some relevant suggestions to how to improve flying for the future. Although I still think some of the ideas are not going to impress the aviation industry, as re- engineering planes which will have detached air controlled cabins so people can board before the plane arrives. I think this idea would not work, as people wouldn’t get that excitement when getting on a plane and going on a holiday. But regarding technology and having better seat design, touch screen displays, meal tray designs and reading light suggestions are more appropriate, as this would improve in-flight experience . Its good that aviation industry is getting feedback from frequent flyer customers, and travelers as this would improve future technology in the air. 

Boeing 787 Dreamliner completes test flight with new battery system

Boeing hopes to show aircraft meets safety standards following worldwide grounding of all 50 Dreamliners in January. 

Boeing has completed the first successful tests of its troubled Dreamliner 787 since the jet was grounded following battery fires.

The company said the tests went "according to plan", and Boeing is now planning a second test to gather data for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has to give its approval before the 787 is allowed to fly commercially again.

Boeing had delivered just 50 of the jets when lithium-ion batteries on two of the planes caught fire. The two incidents, one in the US another in Japan, triggered a global grounding for the Dreamliner.

Investigators in Japan and the US are now looking into what went wrong and have so far concentrated on the planes' battery systems. It is the first time that lightweight lithium-ion batteries have been used so extensively on a large passenger jet.

"During the functional check flight, crews cycled the landing gear and operated all the backup systems, in addition to performing electrical system checks from the flight profile," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said in a statement.

The two-hour flight on Monday carried six crew members: two Boeing pilots, two instrumentation engineers, a systems operator and a flight analyst, Boeing said.

Boeing is believed to be testing a new casing for the battery and a venting system that would dispel potentially flammable gases. On 7 January one of the 787's batteries burst into flames while the plane was parked at Boston's Logan airport. That battery is now the subject of investigation but the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB), which has concluded in an interim report that short circuits across its eight cells may have triggered the fire. The NTSB has, however, not yet identified a root cause for the fire.

On 16 January, in Japan, the battery on a second 787 triggered a smoke alarm while in flight leading to an emergency landing. Japanese investigators have yet to identify the cause of that fire.

The NTSB will hold a meeting on lithium-ion batteries in April, where the controversial technology will be discussed by airline and freight executives as well as safety experts and scientists. Lithium-ion batteries have caused fires in smaller planes, cars, computers and mobile devices in the past. Freighting the technology by plane is also carefully regulated.

Robert Mann, founder of airline consultant RW Mann, said it was a positive step that Boeing was testing the 787 but added: "Until there is a conclusive root-cause analysis a lot of folk will be circumspect about the Dreamliner.

"At this point, it is not clear to anyone except Boeing exactly what they are testing. We don't know what the cause of the incidents were. I assume that they are testing the enclosure of the battery bit if it subsequently turns out that that was not where the issuer started, we haven't learnt anything."

Boeing is losing an estimated $50m a week while the 787 is grounded and has told customers it expects to have the plane back in the air this spring. Rival Airbus has dropped lithium-ion battery technology from its A350 passenger jet.

Boeing is losing a lot of money, as still 787 Dreamliner's are grounded. The company has put new batteries and have performed several tests on the aircraft and its batteries. Hopefully by the next test flight, it should be all clear that everything is fine with the aircraft's, and the Dreamliner's should be ready to fly again. The National Transport Safety Board still haven't found a reason behind these battery fires but Boeing has to react fast, and solve this problem as they are losing $50m a week, and major airlines which have ordered the Dreamliner's need to put the aircraft's back on their routes. 

  

GOOGLE SET TO SPONSOR ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET TECHNOLOGY THEATRE

MIDDLE EAST - Search engine heavyweight Google has signed up to Reed Travel Exhibition’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Technology Theatre as a sponsor. 

As part of the newly-launched Digital Technology Day on 8 May, Google will be using the Technology Theatre to share insights of the travel industry and technology under the umbrella theme of ‘Think Travel’.

“This is a first for ATM and the regional travel and tourism community,” says Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director at Reed Travel Exhibitions. “Our partnership with Google will not only deliver industry data, but will showcase how technology plays a role in the travel industry - whether it’s searching for ideas or booking vacations or sharing their experience through social platforms.”

Google’s Gulf Regional Manager, Mohamad Mourad and Marie de Ducla, Travel Industry Manager for Google in MENA will share the findings of a Google-commissioned research study conducted by IPSOS.
The study will reveal the results of how travellers in MENA make decisions when it comes to travel and purchase behavior. Google commissioned a similar survey for the US travel market in 2012, with 7,500 respondents completing a 21-minute attitude and usage survey into travel habits and attitudes of leisure, business and affluent travellers.

The ‘Google Think Travel’ day will feature a series of seminars for industry professionals. Several Googlers will be flying in including Nigel Huddleston, Google’s Industry Head for Travel in the UK; Dr Bernd Fauser, Global Travel Accounts Director; Maciek Nowakowski, Google Travel Product Specialist, Edouard Mailfait, Mobile Travel Expert.

The dedicated Travel Technology Theatre was introduced in 2012 in response to the huge demand for technology-related content and the success of previous sessions within the main Seminar Theatre. Targeting all Arabian Travel Market attendees, the programme covers online travel trends, new developments in social media and advances in travel technology.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, Arabian Travel Market 2013 will be held from 6-9 May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Sponsoring a event as the Arabian Travel Market will get a boost in people travelling to the Middle East, and to destinations as UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Google as a leading search engine, it will give information to people booking holidays in the Middle East, and increase knowledge of industry experts and travelers with data on the travel industry. Technology is really advanced, and more people want travel advise and see real experiences before they go to a destination, and this will guide people in choosing the right type of holiday. However most importantly travel experts and travel associations in the Middle east would like to collect data on what are the buyer behaviors of consumers are, and what attracts people in going to an particular destination. This will help Arabian Travel Market to promote its destinations, airlines, tour operators and hotels to consumers all over the world, but also to get people attracted to new technology in the travel industry, with the new technology theatre. 

Volotea chooses Travelport e-ticket technologies

Travelport, the business services provider to the global travel industry, today announces a new long-term IT services agreement with Volotea, the new low-cost European carrier headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. Volotea, which commenced operations in April 2012, is the newest participant in Travelport’s electronic ticket database hosting service, and has also joined the Travelport E-Ticket Interchange™. The technologies are central to Volotea’s growth and expansion plans through more distribution channels, including global distribution systems (GDS).

Travelport’s e-ticket database hosting service, the Travelport ETDBase™, is in use by airlines globally to quickly implement e-ticketing, and store and manage e-ticket data for online and interline e-ticketing (IET). The solution makes interline connections a cost-effective process, yet allows airlines to maintain control over their own interline agreements. The Travelport E-Ticket Interchange™, one of the largest global e-ticketing facilities for the exchange of interline e-ticket messages between airline partners, including ground handlers, supports nearly 420 participants and over 6,000 interline/codeshare agreements, processing over 55 million messages monthly.

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/volotea-chooses-travelport-e-ticket-technologies/

Travelport is a business service provider to companies in every travel industry segment. And Travelport is one of the largest and leading providers to major airlines, travel agencies, and online retailers which helps these sectors in providing their customers with travel industry packages e.g accommodation, flights and other relevant significant elements. Travelport is a global distribution system, which includes Galileo and Worldspan which are GDS platforms. Airlines which are new and up coming as Volotea are using Travelport for their ticketing, as the Travelport system would give them efficient and fast ticketing process online, and when managing flight information, plus with extra elements for passengers. 

Singapore Airlines extends distribution agreement with Sabre

Sabre to increase marketing campaigns for airline

Singapore Airlines has renewed its full-content distribution agreement with Sabre Travel Network, meaning all Sabre-connected travel agents will continue to have access to all Singapore Airlines’ fares, schedules and inventory. 

“Sabre is very pleased to extend our distribution agreement with Singapore Airlines and to further strengthen our existing strong and long-term relationship. We look forward to implementing this new distribution agreement, which will support Singapore Airlines strategies and its position as a premier full-service airline,” said Hans Belle, vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Sabre Travel Network.
With this agreement, Sabre will also support Singapore Airlines’ growth through increased global distribution system (GDS) media marketing by building awareness through promotions and campaigns via the Sabre GDS.

Sabre which is a global distribution system is increasing marketing campaigns with airlines such as Singapore airlines. This will bring profits into the Sabre travel network, and more airlines will be using Sabre, as their GDS system. The global distribution systems provide passengers with fares for flights, seat allocation, special requests for passengers and much more information which is ideal for a passenger traveling and airlines benefit from GDS systems as its a main data provider for airlines. As in the article is says GDS provide media marketing by the system offering promotions and campaigns via the system, so Singapore Airlines brand will be promoted. 

Airlines and travel websites face off over flight perks

I have started this first blog on airlines and travel websites argue about having travel/ flight perks on their websites. 

Behind the ease of booking a flight seat online lies mounting tension between two industries.

Airlines are increasingly moving toward offering customers bundles of travels perks, everything from extra legroom to pre-boarding privileges to more frequent-flier points, for additional fees. In an industry with low margins, airlines are trying to eke out revenue by differentiating their bundled services.

The problem is, bundles are hard to buy on third-party travel sites.

And that’s the root of a new push by airlines such as Air Canada to draw customers toward their own e-commerce sites, where the bundles are laid out in more detail, and away from third-party reservation sites. For each customer that does book directly, airlines save the $15 or so in fees that third-party reservation bookings charge. Particularly for cheap fares under $200, that $15 makes a substantial difference to airline profit margins.

But airlines still need to list their fares on popular sites such as Expedia and Travelocity. 

Shelly Terry, vice-president of supplier merchandising at Sabre Holdings, a GDS headquartered in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, argued that it isn't a question of reservation companies’ technology not keeping pace with new bundles, as the airline industry argues. GDS systems such as Sabre have for years included detailed information about bundles, as well as extra charges such as baggage fees not included in fare bundles. The difficulty is that online ticketing sites simply feel they can’t list myriad combinations of bundles without overwhelming users.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/airlines-and-travel-websites-face-off-over-flight-perks/article9190235/?cmpid=rss1

Airlines are making more profits though their websites, as they offer travel bundles through their main websites which are easily accessible. However travel websites, as Travelocity and Expedia are losing out on their profits, as airlines still need to list their bundles on their websites in a proper way. Even when booking though GDS systems as Sabre they have detailed information on extra bundles which customers may want to buy. I think travel websites need to get a equal combination of bundles across their websites, so customers get to have the option of extra elements in their flights. And GDS systems as Sabre have vast amount of airline data to give extra charges to customers which sometimes are not included in online travel sites, so customers don't get informed on extra charges for baggage and seat allocation.