The pandemic has largely altered the functioning of almost every industry vertical, and the aviation industry is no exception to it. Let us see how the situation has given rise to various new trends in the arena of aviation and how these trends are impacting the strategy formulation across the sector.
30-second summary:
- Creating brand equity through greater attention to social media platforms
- Effective planning and implementation to merge the offline and online channels to offer a solution to customer complaints
- Stopping revenue leakage through the total revenue integrity route and tapping into the alternate streams of revenue generation
- New directives and regulations on standardization to dominate the business environment in the future
For the leadership teams in the aviation sector, the challenges extend beyond responding to the current operational environment of the industry. In fact, it is about strategizing as much for the present as it is for the years to come.
As such, the trajectory of the trends of strategy formulation that dominate the sector is almost like that of the aircrafts. Per se, when one trend takes off for the high skies, the other starts to hit the ground at the same time. And between this ebb and flow of the strategic trends lies the story of the booming aviation sector, which is replete with major milestones, successes, and factors that keep fueling the growth.
It is a sector that has bounced back through the pandemic and crossed several hurdles along the way to still come up as one of the top revenue earners of the nation. On that note, we, at Avlon Shiksha Niketan, one of the leading aviation colleges in Kolkata, will take a closer look today at the top trends impacting the strategy formulation across the aviation sector.
Building social pace for creating greater brand equity
Several leading airlines across the world have taken off on the social flight, while others are still indulging in newer ways to engage with passengers to ensure lasting relationships with them. Though it means going out of the comfort zone and establishing real-time engagement with the customers, airlines are aiming to achieve this feat in a bid to improve brand equity and receive a mind share of the passengers.
Though some airlines have already taken the lead in social media engagement and management, others are still testing the waters. With social media taking priority in the overall customer relationship management scene, airlines are aiming to build robust and large resource pools that are able to respond to customer queries, posts, complaints, and tweets 24*7.
According to studies, the volume of social media communication for some of the leading airlines of the world ranges between 60,000 – 1,000,000 Facebook fans and 15,000 – 200,000 tweets. However, these numbers are expected to register a significant increase in the near future. Since competent social media management is at the forefront of strategy formulation at present, many aviation businesses are partnering with providers who can offer them a readymade talent pool of social media gurus and technology platforms to enhance brand equity on social platforms.
Maneuvering both the offline and online world of customers
The internet today is a powerful revenue generator for the airlines, as indicated by market research data. We live in an era where more than seventy-five percent of air tickets are purchased online. Automation of business processes like web check-in has considerably enhanced the convenience associated with air travel. Add to that the rising popularity of smartphones, which is bound to play a crucial role in revenue generation and relationship management now and in the times to come.
Regardless of how strong the online channels get, the airline customer service contact center or the offline channel will continue being the crucial touch-point between the airlines and their customers because of the need for the ‘personal touch’ it brings. Many times, when it comes to challenges and complaints, customers would still rather speak to an actual customer service agent than talk to a bot.
In fact, there are instances where the customers drop-off from making an online purchase of travel packages or air tickets due to technical errors, slow page speed, or any billing glitches. An effective strategy to merge the offline and online channels can offer a solution to this issue. The airlines can consider the placement of a click-to-call option on the website of the airline or a travel agencies’ site. Thus, even when the online channel fails, the offline channel can take it smoothly from there to offer effective solutions to customer problems or queries.
Changing the course in terms of revenue generation
Consistently increasing fuel prices and rising competition are the realities that are negatively impacting the revenue-generating potential of the aviation sector at present. Thus, airline businesses are looking for new and improved ways of altering the course of revenue generation. A few of these strategies involve stopping revenue leakage through the total revenue integrity route or tapping into the alternate streams of revenue generation, such as selling ancillary services and products across value chains.
Going by the ancillary route has turned out to be a crucial revenue generator for the airline companies nowadays. Some of the services that have been coming up as top favorites in this aspect are booking preferred seats, Wi-Fi connectivity, and paying for the checked baggage.
We, at Avlon Shiksha Niketan, have seen that revenue leakage at different business levels is also a major concern for most airlines. Per se, airlines are actively seeking to mitigate this challenge by adopting total revenue integrity programs. These programs focus on multiple processes, such as departure control, e-ticketing, and customer relationship management.
Greater focus on the standardization and regulatory route
Directives and regulations on standardization will keep on dominating the business environment now and in the future. Though most of these regulations at present pertain to the health and safety regulations, other factors like accounting and finance, consumer and environmental rights also have a significant role to play. For instance, the airlines across the nation stand a chance to get penalized if they fail to follow the COVID norms.
Though regulations increase passenger safety and improve business sustainability, compliance adds to the cost of operations. However, it is one of the major strategies of the sector to bear the cost on their own instead of transferring the burden to the customers.
As a future professional in the aviation industry, you will be a part of formulating and upholding these strategic decisions of the businesses. And to play a critical role in this regard, you need your skills and abilities honed to perfection in terms of decision-making, real-world knowledge, and industry insight. This is where Avlon Shiksha Niketan comes into the picture as one of the premier aviation colleges in Kolkata, training and prepping up ambitious minds to make their mark in the aviation industry. So, come and join us at Avlon and grow into an accomplished expert leading all these trends and more in the future.