Airlines are in serious need of some upward force. And it could all begin with a highly-overdue digital facelift.
We’re well aware of the buzz surrounding digital transformation. Some might consider it a one-way ticket to disruption. For others, it could mean creating chatbots, applications and software capable of simplifying the mundane.
But what about scalability?
We’re talking about the ability to provision IT resources on-demand, paying for only what you need (and when you need it).
The ability to serve a virtually limitless amount of users across open interfaces with zero compromise in quality.
The ability to find correlations in data to deliver the best solutions for staff, customers and the airline as a whole.
So what does digital transformation actually mean for scalability?
Airline Transformation & Scalability
In pretty much any business, a huge motivator behind digital transformation is the access it gives you to scale.
And we’re not talking small numbers, either.
Digital transformation grants you the ability to scale at a similar level to the likes of Google, Facebook, Uber and other popular digital businesses. It enhances your ability to manage and utilise the influx of data from millions of users on a daily basis.
What that means is that these leading companies grow their business by doubling both the revenue, or the amount of users, in up to 18 months.
And they’re not necessarily doubling the amount of staff they have each time. While they might be increasing their staff by 10%, they’re still able to double their business.
The only way to do that?
To use digital technologies. Digital ways of working.
To be able to free up your teams to do more with less.
Digital transformation is incredibly important for an airline that can have as many seats as they can possibly manage. It’s a fixed cost that will probably never go away.
But they should be able to manage an increasing number of seats from an operational point of view.
So whether that’s getting food to the plane, onboarding, being more effective with how passengers flow through the product sets – finding new passengers at scale is probably the most important, because it’s an incredibly competitive, price sensitive world.
And it’s to not only have the ability to attract passengers to those various routes, but to grow those routes and even add additional ones.
So Transforming Digitally is Literally Vitally Important
The days of getting away without digital transformation are here no more.
Post COVID, airlines have slashed the number of staff that support them. Losses have been the worst they’ve ever been. And yet these airlines need to remain agile, resilient and maintain a strong vision to still keep alive.
The great news? Agility, resilience and a clear-cut path to longevity are all part and parcel in a successful digital transformation.
If you can architect your technology stack correctly, without unnecessary resources to try and manage it, if you take fine-grain control of your passenger journeys across multiple channels; If you can approach digital transformation with the right people, teams and culture – you’ll be able to create a differentiator.
You’ll be able to become the new low-cost airline that provides the ultimate service.
We need to start thinking of new business models and new market positions. We need to approach business differently.
Digital is helping you understand what the experience is like and how you can improve upon it, so that you can do different things to what your competitors do.
