10 Insights - World Aviation Festival Tech Panel

Tech’s power to revolutionise aviation is always a hot topic, and something that is of no small interest to Jenny Walsh. It’s something of a tradition for her to host a couple of panels at the World Aviation Festival’s Talent Summit, so the influence and application of technology across the industry was a natural subject for her second and final session on Day One.

Joining Jenny for the discussion, which was titled ‘Beyond the algorithm: How can technology empower crew and in turn enhance the passenger experience?’, were a host of familiar faces, namely:

Chris Denton: Executive Advisor – People, Corporate & Sustainability, WestJet

Rossann Domingo, MBAR. Domingo: Manager – Crew Planning Division, Philippine Airlines

Jim Udinski: Vice President, ID90 Travel

Luca De Angelis: CEO Meeting and Workforce Solutions, HRS Group

Jason Ward: Chief People & Customer Officer, Azul

It was brilliant to get up-to-the-minute insights from seasoned aviation professionals – so just what did we learn from this session?

Chris noted that there was ‘a direct correlation between our NPS, our on-time performance, and our employee engagement.’ Clear, up-to-the-minute dialogue about problems like delays and disruptions can infinitely improve passenger and crew experience alike. Jason agreed, stating that providing crew members ‘with the information that they need in a timely manner, and [being] as transparent as possible’ is essential. Never underestimate putting ‘the power of information in the hands of crew members’ – especially when hiring and retention remain problematic for the industry.

Digital systems and apps have revolutionised how crew and other staff members communicate – but there is still room for improvement. In addition to the need to reflect real-time experience and engagement without just turning everything into feedback loops, Luca also spoke about the necessity of making such arrangements simpler and cutting down on the number of apps workers need to communicate. He mentioned his shock on learning one of his carriers used 25 separate apps: ‘I feel that things need to be coming in one ecosystem [...] we need to think all about that holistically’.

Artificial intelligence is shaking up the aviation industry in various ways – and this extends to making working life easier for cabin crew, too. For example, variable pay for flight staff means forecasting income can be difficult – but, as Jason highlighted, feeding schedules into an AI programme makes ‘this circle data as good as possible’ while also empowering crew to have better support and communication.

AI programmes, as Rosann pointed out, can now anticipate problems such as tiredness. Having previously been a flight attendant herself, she recognised the value of airlines not having to wait for crew to report issues. ‘We have to be smart, and we have to be one step ahead with AI’. This extends to planning and how best to make use of empty seats, saving money for airlines.

Software necessary for such data is extremely complex, and airlines are advised to keep theirs cutting-edge. Jim mentioned the failure of a cruise system for one US airline one Christmas that ended up costing millions in damage to their brand. ‘My sentiment is just, whoever you’re using, wherever you choose – keep it up to date,’ he said.

Digital solutions for everything from where and how staff have their meals to how they manage their expenses are making life easier for flight attendants. ‘If you can save every single minute of your journey and invest this minute in something for yourself, this is a great win,’ Luca said. Why send cheques rather than offering ‘model wallet functionality, so that your crews can use the money as they’re doing in their private consumer life?’

On a directly functional level, the digital revolution is also improving in-flight issues. Where duplicate seats might once have caused a scene while passengers attempted to board, the EASA Crew tool that Azul use lets attendants ‘move customers and assign them seats with the app,’ Jason observed.

Airlines should use digital to improve their staff’s work-life balance too, not just offer them discounts on flights and vacations, as Jim pointed out. He cited the example of LATAM, who have harnessed digital capabilities to hire top candidates far from the airline’s regional hubs, removing the need for commuting. While other airlines might not accommodate this, at the very least having vendors to offer user-friendly apps to streamline the journey to work is key. ‘It’s all got to be mobile-based, so staff have that flexibility to say, “I need to get from A to B to start my work day,’ he noted. ‘It’s got to be easy.’

Azul used to offer on-board priority for their crew’s family members only if the staff were travelling with them as customers, though they have since applied family-member privilege for flights where attendants are on duty too. ‘Just understanding what these little needs and the commute are’ is key for Jason. When many staff members live in cities that are not served by their airlines, carriers must be conscious and understanding: ‘It no longer is an option to say, “Well, you chose that.”’

In a similar vein, Christmas is always a nightmare for operations staff at Philippine Airlines, so pilots are incentivised to work on flights at this time of year. Benefits include holiday passes for spouses, not to mention this being ‘on top of [a pilot’s] benefits,’ Rosann said. ‘That encourages our pilots to volunteer for these duties, whether it is New Year or Christmas.’

Using data to forecast how things might look in the next five or 10 years is one way for airlines to stay on top of everything from recruiting to flight management. ‘Given the training requirements for a lot of pilots and cabin crew, that’s the timeframe that we really need to start thinking about,’ Chris said. ‘Even just looking at the macro economy, what are the demographic shifts across our network?’ Building a broader talent strategy to support and enable such changes should be foremost on the minds of senior aviation professionals.

Luca recounted the time when, years ago, his younger sister was turned away from an attendant role at Alitalia for not being tall enough. ‘Now, if we look back at the entire situation, we are struggling to find people, to find new talent.’ He stressed the need to increase the online visibility of aviation jobs, as well as ‘how to offer a story – basically, that they’re contributing to something much bigger, not just fulfilling a job.’

When it comes to introducing new technology for staff, selling the benefit to that it will bring to them should be front and centre. Pragmatism is important: ‘If you give something that has a value, that same value that [staff] have in their private consumer life through an app, they will use it,’ Luca noted. Offering value to crew’s in-work experience will in turn improve the passenger journey – and, as our panel proved, digital and tech policies and innovations can make this infinitely smoother.