FLYR\u2019s chief product officer Sam Chamberlain<\/a> says new technology could spark a shift in both airline and consumer mindsets, which could signal a return to passenger control and cut out the stress of modern air travel.<\/p>\n\u201cIn the past, maybe in the 1960s, the 1970s and the 1980s, travel was a very, sort of, stress-free, exciting thing, something to look forward to. You think back to those vintage travel posters of somebody pushing like a buffet cart with the lobster down the aisle, and you\u2019ve got all of this legroom, and it looks amazing. And I think there\u2019s a meme somewhere of like, gosh, imagine what this will be like in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gone the opposite way\u2026 Travel today is fraught with worry and anxiety. You might be excited about the fact that you\u2019re taking a trip, but as soon as you start to think about what happens if my flight gets cancelled? And what happens if my bag doesn\u2019t make it, and what happens if you know I need to make a change, and do I do that? Does somebody else?<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that\u2019s what I mean by a return to the golden age of travel, getting the mindset back to something super enjoyable and super exciting, as opposed to something that\u2019s anxiety-inducing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although it isn\u2019t entirely about AI, Chamberlain is bullish about the uses of generative AI to improve the passenger experience and crucially, to help stakeholders develop the tech to deliver this change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He explains: \u201cBuilding solutions using AI, especially generative AI (genAI), can actually help build these capabilities a lot faster, can build these complex integrations between systems that can solve all of that very laborious effort very quickly. So we can build more efficiently and then put solutions in the airline\u2019s hands more easily.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the very two distinct ways, like AI being used to make recommendations of products and offering and setting the right price for you, and AI helping us build the software in the first place, to actually enable airlines to go and put that stuff in front of you, is how we are using it, and that we think it\u2019s going to make a huge, a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just airlines and vendors increasingly looking to AI and similar tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Airports see AI as a tool to reduce inefficiencies with the development, installation and now spread of AIRHART from Netcompany perhaps the clearest picture of this (although far from the only application hoping to boost the airport experience and profits).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Much of this work will be \u2018behind the scenes\u2019, at least at first. Business analysis tasks are likely to become dominated by genAI, and the significant cash injection from governments will only accelerate this.<\/p>\n
The MRO sector is also likely to benefit in several ways, according to Mather:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n- \u201cEnhance junior technicians\u2019 skillset: Junior technicians can gain virtual hands-on training with extended reality and call experienced technicians with augmented reality for guidance.<\/li>\n
- Reduce non-productive time: AI-enabled maintenance planning can help maximise maintenance yield and improve scheduling for both resources and technicians.<\/li>\n
- Optimise technicians\u2019 efficiency: Aviation-specific AI devices can arm technicians with on-the-job solutions and troubleshooting.<\/li>\n
- Increase legacy knowledge: Junior technicians can gain valuable knowledge from AI copilot suggesting solutions and diagnosing the correct IATA classification.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Launches \u2013 airlines to eVTOL<\/h2>\n
Airports have long been a window into the experience of luxury shopping, benefitting of course from the duty-free status, but the products offered have been the centre of this experience. With the advent of \u2018digital-first airlines\u2019, this could all change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hope of those behind the likes of Riyadh Air is that a connected digital vendor approach could become a money-spinner for airlines while giving passengers (or customers) a smooth and interconnected travel retail experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The idea, as explained by FLYR\u2019s Sam Chamberlain, is to utilise Gen AI and machine learning to formulate an airline shopfront that goes far beyond purchasing a plane ticket, maybe a hotel room, and being pushed a hire car (even when you don\u2019t have a driving licence.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chamberlain comments: \u201cThere is even the notion, which sounds really strange and hard to get yet kind of get your head around, just from a conceptual perspective, that eventually, airlines can sell products and services that aren\u2019t air travel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they sold the flight to the passenger and the passenger bought a bunch of other things. And theoretically, the passenger could cancel the flight but they might keep something they bought with that flight. And so the airline can become a real digital retailer, of which, for sure, 99% of the dominant content is airfare\u2026 but doesn\u2019t have to be just airfare. They really could be selling these other things, experiences, third-party content \u2026 they\u2019re just another retail outlet for that content. So I think that\u2019s going to be really interesting to see whether airlines really get that far.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Along with the digital airline, another technology that could enter commercial operation in 2025 is eVTOL aircraft and its likely application as air taxis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While 2024 was the year of test flights, notably Joby in the US and EHang in China, and contract signings that seek to set the frameworks for air taxi networks in a few major cities, no actual service has yet launched.<\/p>\n
And much like any nascent industry, not everyone has found success. For example, Lilium, the German startup that was given a premium position on Chancellor Scholz\u2019s tour of ILA Berlin, entered administration in October although a \u201cbreakthrough\u201d restructuring was announced on 24 December.<\/p>\n
However, according to OAG\u2019s Grant, California will leap this year and launch a premium passenger service, most likely in Los Angeles<\/a>. However, it won\u2019t be without competition from the Gulf. Archer Aviation, another forerunner in the eVTOL space, has signed contracts with Abu Dhabi authorities and is working with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority to develop a network.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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