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Webinar: Securing growth by digitalizing airport non-aviation revenues

April 17, 2019
Author Christian HolzschuhChristian HolzschuhMarketing & Communications

Nearly 500 live participants and a record number of questions. These are the two major benchmarks of the live webinar “Securing growth by digitalizing airport non-aviation revenues”, which AOE carried out in conjunction with International Airport Review. Kian Gould, CEO and found of AOE, and Adil Raïhani, Digital Travel Retail Advisor and former Senior Vice President of Commercial at Vienna International Airport, provided insights into the ever-evolving travel retail industry, the impact of digitalization and how key players in aviation can meet the challenges they face to build sustainable, long-term revenue streams.

The two experts for digitalization and travel retail spoke about these – and other – industry-related topics for 35 minutes before opening the floor to questions. However, the remaining 25 minutes weren't nearly long enough to answer all the inquiries by the participants. Reason enough for AOE to produce a Q&A video, in which Kian Gould answers the open questions.

You can view the entire webinar below. Please also visit our webinar page in the AOE Knowledge Base, where you can find additional information as well as further links explaining in detail how AOE is changing the face of travel retail:

AOE KNOWLEDGE BASE WEBINAR PAGE 

The major cost of rolling out an omnichannel marketplace solution at an airport is in integrating it into the existing ecosystem. These costs are pretty much the same, no matter how small or big the airport is.

Webinar Video

Aviation & Travel

True Innovation Comes Outside The Cabin

One of the biggest emerging trends I have seen in the airline sector over the last couple of years is the concept of passenger self-serve onboard or order to seat. Despite the almost constant discussion at every industry event, the funny thing is, this isn’t really new at all – almost 10 years ago, a former CEO of an onboard retail technology provider proclaimed: “Over time the duty free model will shift to 100% passenger self-service transactions. One of the biggest reasons being the fact that the trolley only comes down the aisle once a journey, for half an hour – in essence the duty free store is only open for half an hour. If I can make transactions myself, through self-service technology, the store is open for the entire flight.” And yet, a decade later, this isn’t even close to the reality on-board most aircraft. During the pandemic, with the need for social distancing, coupled with a desire for innovation, self-service again bubbled to the fore – it gained a new level of relevance. With passengers across all demographics accustomed to ordering everything from groceries to new cars via their phones, digital transactions onboard an aircraft look to be a natural extension of what has become an everyday digital experience. The aviation sector is obsessed (but occasionally intimidated) by digital answers, and there is much that can already be done. Making a digital store available for browsing and even purchasing is achievable, both on IFE and passengers own devices. The process raises a number of operational implications, such as how crew learn of and deliver orders, how payments are handled (particularly if there is no air-to-ground connection) and how this sits alongside the existing cabin service. All of these issues require significant thought and, in some cases investment; and there lies the heart of the problem.