Future Picks

The world of aviation gathered last week in Amsterdam for this year’s edition of the Aviation Festival and we had the opportunity to hear how Air Malta is taking this time as the moment of truth for digital commerce. Antonella Zirilli, Head of Digital Commerce and Distribution of Air Malta, Ursula Silling, CEO of Branchspace, and David Turton, CTO of Branchspace talked about it on the first day of the festival.  

Learn more at https://www.branchspace.com/

Starting something innovative in your company might be scary at first. You must have a clear plan in your mind and the right team to execute it. You need to prepare a pitch to convince your CEO and stakeholders as their absolute support is crucial to determine if this idea is going anywhere. Even so, you decide to go ahead, but you can’t have any physical meeting because the world is dealing with a new virus. At this time many of us would have thought that leaving things as they were is the best option to avoid any headaches. That was not what happened with Wayne Grixti, CTO of Air Malta.

Branchspace: branchspace.com

Air Malta: airmalta.com

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Like so many travels in the history of the Mediterranean Sea, embarking on the digital journey can be quite a challenge for many companies, and if we add a pandemic in the process it might seem like an impossible mission. Well, that was not the case for Air Malta. The determination this team has shown to make this digital dream come true was an example of how companies should face the many challenges that come in the way.

We had the pleasure to meet two of the members of this airline, Antoine Vella, Head of Digital Commerce at Air Malta, and Stephen Gauci, Head of Corporate Communications at Air Malta. Both are ready to be part of the change coming to the travel industry.

Branchspace: branchspace.com

Air Malta: airmalta.com

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Taking airline and travel retail to the next level  

David Turton, CTO at Branchspace, describes the Triplake delivery experience - during the pandemic - as a key part of the digital transformation strategy of Air Malta. He explains what Triplake is all about, how this becomes part of the digital transformation strategy, what the delivery really means, the optimisation journey which follows and how it helps to personalise offers and create new revenue streams truly.   

Dave also explains how the platform gives control back to the organisation, allowing real-time intervention without intermediates, increasing speed to market and reducing cost. Dave comments "Our goal with Triplake is to give our customers everything out of the box where possible, to allow (our customers) to be in control".   

And he describes an exciting roadmap and vision for Triplake, from loyalty integration and a b2b platform to real-time dynamic personalisation with the help of machine learning. All of this in the course of 2022.  

How Branchspace can help travel stakeholders with their digital transformation? Everyone is a bit different, one for all does not work. "We are willing to start the journey absolutely anywhere", says Dave.  

Do you want to learn more or have specific questions? Please contact us at [email protected].

Ursula Silling and Carl Michel talk about travel in the post-pandemic era, the impact of changing customer behaviour, digital and personalised experiences, more conscious travel decisions, sustainability and what it means different modes of travel and transport.  

Some key thoughts and questions tackled include: The habit of repeat purchase is lost, as most aviation and travel stakeholders are not used to engaging their customers beyond the travel experience. Will people be ready to pay more for sourcing local food or more sustainable products? Will people feel guilty to fly and avoid medium and long-haul traffic more? How will the latest innovations to fly more sustainably develop? What share of business travel is going to be replaced with virtual meetings. 

Loyalty, personalisation and customer experience will become more important, as how to engage customers beyond the travel experience. How to tackle skill gaps and how to get the right people in terms of digital, true retailing and customer engagement. And how to deal with the ever more dynamic behaviour and a real-time - everything, everywhere, now - world. How to differentiate and achieve stickiness.

In this episode by Branchspace, Radoslav Dutkovski and Ursula Silling talk about the latest trends in customer behaviour and how this affects loyalty and retail strategies for aviation and travel. Trends from retailers and hospitality including Starbucks, Nike, McDonald's and Accor Hotels do influence customer expectations as much as does more environmental awareness.   

Radek and Ursula also discuss organisational design and the importance of a holistic approach as some of the critical success factors.  New approaches to loyalty and optional services. Customer loyalty is determined by their experience and the ability to travel their way.

Ursula Silling, CEO at Branchspace, asks Martin Gauss, CEO at Air Baltic, about his recipe for success.   

The conversation covers topics such as how Air Baltic manages to keep innovation going, why can Air Baltic claim to be the greenest airline, how did Martin manage to convince staff to become a Covid Free company, other innovations as well as Martin as a person and his perspective on the future of the aviation industry. Martin has been CEO at Air Baltic for more than 10 years. He plans for an IPO for Air Baltic post pandemic.  

Innovation is part of the Air Baltic DNA. Next to the 100% vaccination company there have been many others. In 2014, Air Baltic already built on the Blockchain advantage and introduced bitcoin as a payment method. In 2012 they had a vision for a new modern and sustainable fleet and see the positive impact now with the implementation, with latest aircraft from Airbus.   

The outlook for the future of aviation? Martin is convinced that 2019 levels will come back once there will be more stability in terms of the Covid impact. But customers will think more about travel and take more conscious decisions, and the mix of customers and reasons for travel will change and be more biased towards leisure travel, continuing the current trend.  

This audio was recorded at the Branchspace booth at the Aviation Festival in London on December 1, 2021. Air Baltic is the Latvian national carrier. In 2008, Air Baltic changed its operating model from a point-to-point carrier to a network airline making Riga a connecting hub. The airline offers low-fare tickets in its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East. The prices are competitive not only with other airlines, but also with the prices of bus, car, train or ferry travel. Tickets are available not only for direct but also for transfer flights. Their values cover three key areas: delivery, customer care and sustainability, growth.

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David Turton, Branchspace's CTO, and Radu Iliescu, Director of Consulting Services discuss why airlines should be more data-driven.

Website: branchspace.com