Impact of digital technologies on airline operations

Abstract

With more and more passengers choosing to fly by air, how to improve customer in-flight experience becomes an important issue for airlines. Digitalization has changed the way people enjoy their lives and it also has impacted on airline\’s business strategy. Thus, it is worth to investigate how digitalization impacts on passengers’ in-flight preference. Due to the different strategy, inflight entertainment (IFE) system has different application in low-cost airlines and full-service airlines. In order to balance the cost and revenue of airlines, a customer satisfied survey about IFE has been conducted to investigate how passengers value IFE when they travel by air. Since more than 1/3 of respondents thought IFE was an important element when they taking flights, it is meaningful to provide passengers with IFE systems to improve their satisfaction. Thus, based on passengers\’ needs, more types of movies and TV programs, personality functions, earphones, and other elements could be added to IFE systems to enhance customer in-flight experience.