Tech companies have a leg up on airlines, experts warn
Airlines must increase their use of disruptive technology, warned officials at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit
By Nyshka Chandran
As more tech companies enter the transportation market, their capabilities with big data and other disruptive technologies could spell trouble for airlines.
“A tech giant who extracts customer behaviour will be much better placed than an airline, for example, which only has information on its own operations,” said Henrik Hololei, director-general for mobility and transport at the European Commission.
Speaking at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit on Monday, a day before the Southeast Asian nation kicks off its annual air show, Hololei pointed to Amazon as an example. The world’s largest online retailer announced air cargo services for its U.S. deliveries in 2016, raising fears that CEO Jeff Bezos could soon compete with global logistics giants such as FedEx or DHL.
From Google’s self-driving car to Uber’s helicopter tie-up with Airbus , a number of Silicon Valley names are now concentrating research and investment on moving customers from point A to point B.
Tech firms enjoy access to huge stores of data and boast the ability to process that information, which means they “know better what the customer wants,” Hololei said. Once a company flies a drone, it may have more ambitious plans in the pipeline, he cautioned.
Leveraging data analytics offers a number of benefits for airlines, from optimised on-the-ground operations such as baggage tracking to increased revenues.