NB: This is a guest post by Raphael Bejar, chief executive of Airsavings.

For an industry accustomed to terms like "headwinds", "drag" and "holding patterns", you’d think innovation sluggishness or "innovation inertia" would be a systems malfunction both low cost and legacy carriers would happily avoid.

Besides, even without the help of stubborn fog banks, nasty winds or de-icing emergencies, the airline industry is rife with entirely human-caused backups, snags and delays.

If there was one area where airlines could claim unequivocal victory it should be in the realm of technology’s latest - and therefore, products and services that constitute the ultimate passenger experience. Right?

Wrong.

Conservative branding and antiquated ancillaries:

Innovation inertia speaks to the lack of insight, foresight and imagination that weighs too heavily on the air travel industry, especially in North America.

There, carriers have been criticized for their notoriously conservative branding and others remain fixated on antiquated ancillary revenue offerings like baggage and beverage fees, or refuse to invest in new technology offerings.

Innovation inertia is particularly unsettling in an age of economic uncertainty, ever rising fuel costs, (with cruise oil trading at $92.07, up 10.76% in the last year) and cut-throat low cost carrier competition (that in some cases are being innovative), bucking the inertia trend.

So how can airlines turn inertia into action?

The answer: Google it. And I don’t mean typing in the question and waiting for millions of responses, like some sort of digital oracle.

Google as a role model:

No. Airlines should literally be modelling their innovation endeavours off the search engine and mobile platform giant. That includes an attention to detail concerning what works and what doesn't work.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Google was getting rid of several services it deems redundant, like Google Video For Business, a video hosting and sharing feature.

It also means that if there’s a trend out there, something new, something popular, that airlines should emulate as much as possible (without trademark infringement) while adding their own unique touch.

This frenetic, start-up-like pace is exactly the mentality air carriers need to embrace if they want to beat back innovation inertia. Like Google, airlines and their passengers have become increasingly tech-savvy.

Some 75% of business travelers own a smartphone, a statistic sharply higher than most other smartphone demographics. Both the latest in lightweight IFE and out-of-the-box ideas like Singapore Airlines budget carrier Scoot offering $17 rented iPads, are ideal ways to improve the passenger travel experience, while at the same time, boost and re-imagine vital ancillary revenue options – options that provide value rather than nickel and dime.

Think beyond inflight:

But in-cabin is just one component. Throughout the booking path, a host of tech-centric ancillary revenue solutions are already being adopted by the most innovative airlines aware that, like on-time departures, product launch expediency is critical.

Options such as personal travel concierges, gadget travel insurance, or even Airsaving’s own Let Me Think social media offering , all of which can be linked to personal mobile devices via wifi are proving the way forward – even if innovative headwinds remain.

What’s more it’s also been found that unbundled ticket prices are more malleable than once thought. If services like the ones mentioned above can be well marketed and passengers have a clear understanding of what their money is going toward, travelers will pay higher fares to supplement their journey’s in ways that matter to them – even beyond additional ancillary fees.

Mother Nature has a funny way of fiddling with airlines’ plans. Headwinds can turn a four-hour flight into six.

But, for an industry that once held the monopoly on technology and what defined "jet set" cool, reversing innovation inertia should be a mission that legacy and low cost carriers readily accept before their next takeoff.

NB: This is a guest post by Raphael Bejar, chief executive of Airsavings.

NB2: Image of plane taking off via Shutterstock