Convenience, speed are the priority for passengers

Last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released the results of its 2024 Global Passenger Survey, revealing that travellers continue to prioritise convenience and speed. For a smoother travel experience, they are eager to use biometric identification and complete some travel processes before reaching the airport. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing some 330 airlines over 80 percent of global air traffic. They support many areas of aviation activity and help formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.

Looking at the passenger journey, the report quoted Nick Careen, IATA’s senior vice president of operations, safety, and security as saying that passengers want flexibility and transparency when planning and booking travel. While at the airport, their priority is speed and convenience. There is also the increased adoption by passengers of biometrics, digital wallets, and off-airport processes.

In selecting departure airports, proximity to departure airports was top priority (68%), followed by minimising total travel time (33%) and getting the best ticket price (25%). The layover time at an airport is surely important to travellers and will affect their choice of departure airport. Where airports are in close proximity, and visa constraints are taken off, total travel time is an important consideration in choice of airport and airline.

Further, 71 percent said they book travel online or via a mobile app, with 53 percent preferring to use the airline’s website/app and only 16 percent preferring human interaction. The continued adoption of technology is an important consideration as airlines seek to attract passengers and increase the use of air travel in Africa.

Travel agents need to understand that information on ticket fares are no secret and can be searched out by passengers. The choice of one travel agent over another can be influenced by the ease with which any one can provide various information on airlines for the needed trip by the passenger. In the report, 32 percent said they wanted to have all travel information consolidated in one place during the pre-travel process.

Payment methods are still an important consideration for travellers. With innovations in payment methods, airlines and airports can gain some strategic advantage with innovations in payment methods. In the report,79 percent prefer to pay for travel with a credit or debit card (+8 ppt on 2023), followed by digital wallets at 20 percent (+2ppt on 2023) and instant payment solutions, such as IATA Pay, at 7% (+3ppt on 2023). Also convenience was the main reason passengers chose a particular payment method (70%), followed by benefits (39%) and security (33%), the report says.

An insight on the report is that passengers prioritise convenience in the planning, booking and payment phase of travel. For this convenience, they may accept some higher costs and they are increasingly willing to use technologies such as digital wallets.

While looking at technology, Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s senior vice president for financial settlement and distribution services, said, “Technology continues to change the way people plan, book and pay for travel. Travellers expect the same conveniences when shopping for travel that they get in any other online shopping experience. That means simplicity, clarity, and with options to meet their preferences while keeping their data secure. The industry is stepping up to meet the demand for greater customer centricity through IATA’s Modern Airline Retailing initiative. Passengers will experience its positive impact progressively in the very near future.” 

It also concluded that digital solutions are preferred by younger generations  and that under-25s are considerably more proactive in using technology to improve their travel but want assurances on security.

The survey on airports considered time to boarding gate, willingness to share immigration data, immigration procedures, biometric identification and data protection. On these, Nick Careen was quoted as having said: “The clear message from travellers is that they expect to board their planes faster with technology and smarter processes beginning well before they reach the airport. And the good news is that we are making this happen. Already travellers can arrive at the airport ready to fly with admissibility checks completed. And biometrics and digital identity can deliver a paperless experience once at the airport. That’s great for passengers. Importantly, the greater efficiency will help airport infrastructure to better cope with the growth in passenger numbers, helping to make the business case for adopting these new technologies and processes even more compelling.”

The convenience and speed of service needed by passengers will be a differentiating factor for airports which should not be ignored in giving passengers the service they expect as they opt for air travel.

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