Tech and personalisation will be key for APAC airline growth: Sabre

Sabre Corporation has surveyed 30 APAC airlines, and the results show that carriers are revaluating their strategic focus as they think about new ways to generate revenue and increase yield.

Announced at STX Singapore, an event for members of the travel industry, the survey findings revealed that close to 70% of the airlines that participated in the study indicated the two main factors that are influencing change: technological advancement and increasing traveller expectations.

STX Singapore, which took place from 28-30 August, welcomed over 500 airline, hotel and travel agency leaders to discuss and steer the evolution of the industry.

“Generate significant growth by efficiently channelling their content”

Rakesh Narayanan, vice president, air line of business, Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific, said: “With consumer trends evolving as fast as the markets they serve, airlines have the potential to generate significant growth by efficiently channelling their content with innovative technology solutions that harness artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

According to the research, consumers and travellers are expecting targeted offers from their shopping experience. It was revealed that 53% of the survey participants believe that leveraging data intelligence, whether to gain insights into market trends or passenger behaviour is a top growth area for their airline.

80% of the respondents admit falling short on their ideal ancillary sales vision, despite airlines acknowledging the power of tech to enable new ways to sell. Moreover, only one in five respondents have identified product differentiation as their airline’s strategic focus – demonstrating a significant opportunity for Asia-Pacific (APAC) airlines to create a personalised retail experience for the traveller.

Successful retailers understand that the key to delivering curated experiences lies in tailoring offers to distinct buying personas, requiring a robust data-sciences approach to maximise individual consumer engagement as well as end-to-end profitability.

Narayanan added: “Our Beyond NDC program drives collaboration with airlines and agencies to help them create rich personas and micro-segmented offers using rich data that support their business objectives.”