Press release from Business Wire India
Source: SITA
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 03:01 PM IST (09:31 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Travel & tourism; Business: Information technology, Media & entertainment, Travel & tourism
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Steep Rise in Self-Service check-in at India's Leading International Gateway
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Wednesday, December 14, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- The growing popularity of web, kiosk and mobile check-in has helped trigger a steep rise in passenger self-service check-in at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai over the last twelve months, up from 36% on the day of the survey in 2010 to 65% this year.
The 2011 SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey found that the web check-in rate was higher in Mumbai than at any of the other airports included in the survey. At Mumbai, 70% of passengers said they use it occasionally or frequently compared to a global average of 65%.
Mumbai passengers also have the highest user rates across several self-service options and the demand was high for new services, according to this year's survey which also found that the mobile phone is now an integral part of the passenger experience in India.
A total of 98% of Mumbai survey respondents were carrying either a mobile phone (56%) or a smartphone (42%). Smartphones are most popular with 66% of first/business class respondents and 44% of frequent flyers (ten or more trips per year) and is fuelling a high demand for self-service options and Wi-Fi access. The Blackberry was the choice for 48% of those carrying a smartphone.
The rising influence of the smartphone is a key finding from the 6th annual SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey carried out with a representative sample of the 283.5 million passengers who pass through six of the world's leading airport hubs including Abu Dhabi International Airport, Beijing International Airport; Frankfurt International Airport; Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta; Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai; and São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport.
The majority of smartphone carriers, 80%, would like to connect to a free airport Wi-Fi network while 38% would be willing to pay for access compared to 10% globally. Services that are of particular interest to Mumbai smartphone carriers are: information on gate changes, flight delays and boarding status, 78%; time to reach departure gate, 25%; location of nearest lounge, 23%; wait times at security, 15%; and information on airport parking, 7%.
There is a high demand also for SMS notifications of flight information; 68% of frequent flyers have already signed up for such services. Among all passengers carrying a mobile device, 48% already receive SMS notifications and a further 46% would like to receive them. At 30%, there is also above average interest in Mumbai in receiving shopping deals on mobile devices; the global interest is just 19%.
At 63%, online booking was the most popular form of booking among Mumbai passengers compared to a global rate of 57%. Online travel agencies were used by 59% of those who booked online. Airline websites accounted for 34% of this online traffic and among these survey respondents there was much higher usage rate of airline websites for non-air offers than at any other airport in the survey.
Actual usage rates of airline websites for non-air offers among Mumbai passengers are as follows with the global figures in brackets:
-- Modify reservation, 68%, (45%)
-- Purchase preferred seating, 64%, (30%)
-- Book a hotel room, 26%, (25%)
-- Rent/hire a car, 21%, (19%)
-- Book a vacation, 36%, (12%)
-- Buy products and gifts, 23%, (12%)
-- Purchase additional transportation, 31%, (8%)
Meenakshi Agrawal, Vice President - IT, Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd, said: "This year's survey shows that passengers really appreciate the degree of self-service which the airport and the airlines have made available to them over the last year. Our strategy around passenger facilitation has been validated and we have gained a very useful insight into how this might evolve in the future."
Mr Vikram Sethi, Vice President and Head of Terminal Operations, Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd, who is a key driver of the self-service strategy, said: "The key aspect was understanding passenger perceptions and placing self check-in kiosks at locations where passengers found it convenient to access them. The next step was to provide bag drops adjacent to self check-in kiosks and we then saw a significant increase in usage.
"There will be a further increase in offsite check-in/self check-in as the government requirement for airlines to stamp boarding cards generated from kiosks is being discontinued and airlines will have to conduct identity checks at the boarding gate. MIAL has a target of increasing Common Use Self Service (CUSS) usage to 30% this year, from the 20% of passengers who use self check-in facilities at the moment."
Maneesh Jaikrishna, SITA Country Director for India and Subcontinent, said: "It is great to see that the investment in passenger facilitation made by Mumbai International Airport and its customer airlines is paying off so dramatically. It is now one of the most efficient airports in Asia when it comes to passenger self-service and the travelling public clearly wants to have more control over the different steps of the journey. This is good news for everyone."
Notes to Editors:
About SITA
SITA is the world's leading specialist in air transport communications and IT solutions. SITA delivers and manages business solutions for airline, airport, GDS, government and other customers over the world's most extensive network, which forms the communications backbone of the global air transport industry.
SITA's portfolio includes managed global communications, infrastructure and outsourcing services, as well as services for airline commercial management and passenger operations, flight operations, aircraft operations and air-to-ground communications, airport management and operations, baggage operations, transportation security and border management, cargo operations and more.
With a customer service team of over 2,000 staff around the world, SITA invests significantly in achieving best-in-class customer service, providing integrated local and global support for both its communications and IT application services.
SITA has two main subsidiaries: OnAir, which is the leading provider of in-flight connectivity, and CHAMP Cargosystems, the world's only IT company dedicated solely to air cargo. SITA also operates two joint ventures providing services to the air transport community: Aviareto for aircraft asset management and CertiPath for secure electronic identity management.
SITA is one of the world's most international companies. Its global reach is based on local presence, with services for over 500 air transport industry members and 2,700 customers in over 200 countries and territories. Set up in 1949 with 11 member airlines, SITA today employs people of more than 140 nationalities, speaking over 70 different languages. SITA had consolidated revenues of US$1.46 billion in 2010.
For further information go to www.sita.aero
About Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL)
Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (MIAL) is a joint venture between the GVK-SA consortium and Airports Authority of India. MIAL was awarded the mandate of modernizing, upgrading and expanding Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in April 2006. CSIA catered to 29.1 million passengers and 670,235 tonnes of cargo between April 2010 and March 2011. MIAL's vision is to transform CSIA into one of the world's best airports that consistently delights customers and to be the pride of Mumbai.
Further information on MIAL can be found at www.csia.in.
About GVK
GVK is India's leading infrastructure developer with experience and expertise spanning areas such as energy, airports, roads and urban infrastructure. To date GVK has invested over Rs. 14,000 crore in infrastructure projects and has projects in the pipeline of over Rs. 62,000 crore.
Further information on GVK can be found at www.gvk.com.
CONTACT DETAILS
Brenda Flinter, SITA, +353 87 750 6229, Brenda.Flinter@sita.aero
Vishwendra Verma, SITA (Regional Contact), +91 (124) 4193930/ +91 9650017018, vishwendra.verma@sita.aero
Mannik Nangia, MIAL/ ( Media contact), +91 (22) 66850801/ +91 9833301331, mannik.nangia@gvk.com
Charlie Pryor, Director, Leidar, +44 (0)20 7031 8270, charlie.pryor@leidar.com
Monica Miglani, Ogilvy PR, +91 (124) 4744652/ +91 9873398590, Monica.Miglani@ogilvy.com
KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, TOURISM, IT, MEDIA, TRAVEL
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