IBS Software's executive chairman V K Mathews believes airlines need a robust digital business strategy to cope commercially with external factors over which they have no control.
At an IBS event in London this week Mathews outlined the many and various global dynamics which are directly impacting the airline business. The usual suspects of Brexit, the upcoming US election and the drop in aviation fuel price over the past few years were supplemented by a few outliers.
The "exodus" as he described it by millions of people from Syria, at the same time as the GCC countries such as Dubai and Oman start to introduce VAT and raise corporation tax, is contributing to tensions across EMEA.
And on a global scale the crisis in the sea freight industry has and will impact trade patterns. A week or so ago South Korea's Hanjin - one of the biggest container shipping businesses in the world - went bankrupt.
Aviation in particular but travel and tourism in general is exposed to these factors, but Mathews believes the industry's best response is to "motivate the world to travel more" and that thinking in terms of "a digital business strategy, rather than just a business strategy" can contribute to this.
A few weeks ago IBS launched an NDC-enabled merchandising platform, known as iTravel, which will also use Open Travel Alliance standards and social media plug-ins to "raise distribution capabilities at all possible customer touchpoints".
iTravel, he said, "allows airlines to become a digital personal assistant to every traveller" and will help airlines to sell the passenger "what they want, not what the airline has".
But digital is also vital in driving operational excellence, independent of its customer management functions, Mathews noted. "Airlines should use digital to source products in the most efficient way, the service can be digitally managed, staff can be digitally organised".
Related reading from Tnooz:
IBS launches NDC-compliant PSS, signs SunExpress (Jan 2016)
Blackstone back in travel tech with $170 million IBS Software deal (Dec 2015)
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