Airline IT Trends: Danger of a Tech Divide

This morning I received some interesting commentary and statistics from SITA, a provider of IT and communications solutions for air transport and related industries. Their release was issued in connection with a webcast scheduled for 2:00 PM BST today (Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 -- 9 AM US Eastern time). The webcast is titled "The Future of 21st Century Air Travel."

Today SITA is releasing its annual Airline IT Trends Survey. The survey especially highlights the trend toward increasing electronic self-service as a business model for airline customer communications. Following are some figures quoted from today's release:

• Over 70% of the world's airlines now sell tickets through the Internet

• E-tickets now make up 30% of all tickets issued by airlines, up from 19% in 2004

• 60% of airlines will be using bar-coded boarding passes by the end of 2007, giving travelers the convenience of printing the passes out at home or in the office 

SITA's study does warn against a growing gap between airline companies that are making good use of IT and those that are falling behind. The announcement quotes SITA President Peter Buecking: "There is the spectre of a two-speed industry, with weaker airlines losing competitive advantage because of a lack of technology investment."

The release also says that forward-thinking airlines are moving rapidly to IP communications: "The pace-setting airlines are embracing new Internet Protocol (IP) and wireless-based technologies that underpin applications, such as e-ticketing and self-service kiosks."

SITA also says that their study "underscores deep regional differences" in IT strategies in the industry: "Lack-lustre North American performances contrast sharply with a vibrant Asia-Pacific region, where dynamic passenger growth is driving plans to deploy innovative in-flight passenger communications services.Europe is a mixed bag, with some leaders and some laggards."

AB -- 9/1/05