The future of aviation is up in the air, so to speak, following an unprecedented year of disruption to the industry.

But SITA is confident the future of the industry is in good hands, with technology stepping in as a major game changer in all flying arenas.

SITA is the world’s leading specialist in air transport communications and information technology, and SITA’s President Asia-Pacific, Ilya Gutlin, gave us the lowdown on the future of the aviation industry.

“There are many customer-focused innovations in aviation that promise significant change,” Gutlin said, citing technology as the lion of the industry.

“For example, SITA’s trial with Virgin Atlantic of wearable technology, including Google Glass and Sony Smart watches, demonstrates great potential to enhance passengers’ travel experiences.  The trial enabled concierge staff to meet and greet VIP passengers with a personalised check-in service.

“We are only at the beginning of a learning curve that could see wearable technology impacting other areas across the airport, as well as aircraft maintenance.  The launch of the Apple Watch may well see a surge in the use of wearable tech by passengers. Soon moving through the airport checkpoints and boarding the plane could be done with a simple flick of the wrist.”

The industry shifts to meet the needs of travellers, and it’s clear that many are enjoying the benefits of becoming more self-sufficient in airports.

According to the 2014 SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Survey, almost every passenger (97%) carries a smartphone, tablet or laptop when they fly, and one in five travels with all three.

“Passengers are clear that they want more self-service options, one example is self-bagdrop 65% are interested in this service and 63% would prefer to use a self-boarding gate than the current procedure,” Gutlin said.

“They want to use the smartphones that they carry with them – 92% would like a notification on their smartphone in the case of disruption.”

“In Asia, airports are turning more and more to self-service to manage increasing passenger numbers. For example, at Changi Airport in Singapore, SITA has provided a combination of self-service check-in kiosks, self-bag drop and self-boarding to increase passenger throughput.

“Self bagdrop is proving very successful with passengers being able to drop their bags in less than 20 seconds, as experienced at major airports in Australia like Melbourne and Brisbane.”

Gutlin added that developments in passenger flow monitoring are another good example of IT shaping and advancing airport efficiency.

SITA’s own passenger flow monitoring technology is working to drive passengers through airports at an optimum pace, keeping delays down and spending up.

“Wait times can now be measured and passed onto passengers to keep them informed,” Gutlin told TW.

“But more importantly, our technology provides airport management with detailed information that can be used to better manage resources and reduce bottlenecks.

“The system provides airport managers to manage queues better both in real time and for their longer term planning.  With delays of only a few minutes potentially costing tens of thousands of dollars, passenger ‘visibility’ and flow is more important than ever.”

In terms of challenges, however, Gutlin said it was all about the infrastructure.

In the Asia Pacific region in particular, as passenger numbers soar, and air travel shoots up at around 5% a year, bigger and more efficient airports are critical.

“Accordingly to IATA, international passenger numbers will rise by a quarter to 1.5 billion in 2017,” Gutlin said. “Adding to this is the new generation aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 that require longer and wider bays. This growth in air travel puts further pressure on airport infrastructure and exacerbates the potential impact of disruptions.”

And in these circumstances, airports either need to grow up, or get smarter, which is where tech steps in as a problem solver.

SITA’s self-service kiosks, for example, provide 25% faster check-in, with 25 seconds the average time to process a passenger with SITA Self BagDrop.

Self-service boarding gates can also speed up boarding by as much as 50%. In the USA, airports are enjoying a 40% reduction in wait times with the use of Automated Passport Control kiosks.

“It pays to keep passengers happy: an extra ten minutes queuing can reduce a passenger’s airside spending by as much as 30%,” Gutlin told TW.

And of course, flight tracking is fresh on the minds of every plane passenger, with SITA jumping right in the thick of it.

“SITA, as part of its community remit, has responded by introducing an advanced end-to-end aircraft tracking solution to meet the industry’s pressing need,” Gutlin adds.

“This SITA AIRCOM Server Flight Tracker will utilise technology that is already installed in the aircraft to provide advanced tracking capabilities, so it does not call for extensive additional cost or investment by the airlines.”

SITA has already kicked off tests with several airlines, including Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines.