Airline challenges for future

See the following article: The travel gold rush 2020: how global travel is changing

A recent study has been carried out in order to bring out future travel trends and the new growth or revenue opportunities they could create. When looking at the main points developed in the study, it clearly appears that airlines will have to face different challenges if they want to keep growing despite the results of the financial crisis and social changes on travel consumption.

According to the study, Asia will represent the main destination as well as the region that will provide the most increasing rate of future tourists by 2020. Consequently, to anticipate such a demand, airlines will doubtless have to look for new routes and swell the number of aircrafts dedicated to Asian countries.  

Moreover, new influxes of tourists with different expectations will use air transport. As life expectancy is increasing in western countries, travelling people will get older and be able to spend more time in leisure and holidays. In addition, because of their rising standard of living, inhabitants from emerging countries will probably represent a large part of future travellers as well.

If airlines want to reach all these new potential customers, it is by now necessary to carry out market surveys on these different segments of population in order to target their specific expectations and needs while travelling. Then airlines will have to adapt their existing ground installations and offers. For example, they could implement personalised services for old people who usually need careful attention from air personnel or provide more comfortable cabin classes.

Broadly speaking, airlines will have to pay attention and meet the requirements of customers who long for new travel experiences. The study notably stresses the need to expand partnerships between rail and air transport so that customers can be taken on by travel agents without an interruption during their whole travel. Such partnerships will obviously have to be complemented with the development of industry niches and expert agents who will be able to provide advices and services compatible with their customers’ desire of new travel experiences.

Therefore, airlines will have to take all these changes into consideration if they want to play an active role in new travel trends and make their activities thrive in accordance with their new customers’ habits.