The travel industry is under increasing pressure to adapt to market changes and embrace new technologies to enhance operations and the passenger experience.

That is the view of Pierre Charbonneau, director of passenger experience and facilitation for the International Air Transport Association, which is the supporting organisation of this year's Passenger Experience Week a partner event to AIX 2019. Charbonneau is also speaking in a panel discussion on the experience of early adopters of biometric identification technologies, such as facial recognition, across the travel journey.

"There's not a day that goes by when we don't read about these technologies and buzzwords in the media, and the more education and information we can provide, the better it is for stakeholders as they can understand the potential benefits and challenges in using them," he says.

"This industry has grown over the years in designing solutions based on heavy regulations – developed internally by sometimes slow, bureaucratic and costly IT divisions – resulting in large and inflexible technology infrastructures," he adds. "In parallel, new entrants have not been constrained by legacy systems and processes, and have been able to make much better use of new technologies to offer simpler and more efficient processes for themselves and their customers. Legacy airlines must continue to look at new technologies and develop the right business case to justify these investments."

Source: Flight Daily News