With the summer break currently underway in India, travel is high on the agenda for vacationers who are gearing up to reach their favorite destinations. A Yatra.com annual survey, found nearly 90% of respondents planning a summer vacation this year, as opposed to only 83% in 2016. Similarly, this trend has also been noticed by MakeMyTrip, who reported a substantial increase of about 39% in travel bookings during the April – June 2017 period. During this peak travel period, the aviation industry faces tremendous performance pressure with an escalated amount of passengers and the need to maintain operational efficiency.
A key pain-point that the industry grapples with is the risk of disruption of scheduled itineraries due to flight delays and cancellations. For instance, according to government reports, almost 2.4 lakh domestic air passengers had to be compensated by various airlines in the month of January 2017 on account of flight delays beyond two hours; more than twice the number during the same period last year. This means close to 8,000 people had to contend with delays beyond two hours every single day of January. While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has revised the compensation norms to provide relief to passengers affected by such disruptions, the aviation industry is tasked with improving its performance, while ramping up its scale.
Bhupender Singh, CEO, Intelenet Global Services, opines, “Airline travel in the country has seen exponential growth in recent years, with India now among the five fastest-growing aviation markets globally with 275 million new passengers (as reported by the India Brand Equity Foundation). Efficient operational management is extremely crucial, to improve resource utilization and enhance customer satisfaction. Technology therefore must assume a larger role, especially with regard to automation.”
“As artificial intelligence is now coming into play, it has the potential to open up a wealth of opportunity within the market. Its ability to infuse intelligence without consistent human intervention can enable this industry to considerably minimise errors and significantly enhance performance. In our experience, through the use of our iFare tool, the industry can reduce potential retail losses by about 77%. Moreover, working with partners who have invested heavily in understanding the intricate dynamics of this sector will not only aid the airlines and travel agencies, but also enrich their customer experience,” continued Bhupender Singh.
