FOCUS ON AIRLINE TRENDS
ipads on the flight deck; Korean Air responds to demand from female travellers for dedicated areas; winning cheesecake in Cathay Pacific’s ‘Art of Dessert’ Facebook competition
are currently the only airlines that rent out iPads to passengers in-flight. Since November 2010, Iceland Express offers passengers the option to rent an iPad for around €10 on transatlantic flights between Reykjavik and North America. AirBaltic, meanwhile, in June 2011 introduced the iPad 2 for rent on flights longer than 2.5 hours. The fee for Economy passengers is €9.00 per flight, while Business passengers can use the device free of charge. After experiencing multiple delays,
Australian LCC Jetstar is about to offer the iPad 2 for rent for around AU$10. Jetstar reportedly will fit the iPads with a purpose- built case that lets passengers hang the device at eye level on aircraft with new slimline seats. Qantas is currently trialling the iPad on a Boeing 767-300 and also uses wi-fi to stream content to the tablets from a central server on the aircraft.
Cabin crew British Airways has equipped its cabin crew with iPads to enable them to have prior awareness of customer preferences so they can offer a more personalised service. The iPad lets BA crew identify where each customer is seated, who they are travelling with, their frequent flyer status, any special meal requests, as well as customer service updates. On a similar note, KLM has provided a group
of 50 senior pursers with iPads as part of a six-month trial project. The airline says it feels it is essential that cabin crew have easy access to the latest information in the air, as personal contact with passengers on the ground is becoming rarer due to the increased deployment of self-service kiosks.
Pilots Replacing the large amount of paper documents that pilots carry with them, iPads can improve fuel economy by cutting back on the weight on board while also allowing for documents to be updated more frequently. In the USA, where the Federal Aviation Administation in March 2011 approved the use of iPads as an electronic flight bag, Alaska
Airlines and United are currently providing all their pilots with company-issued iPads. Several more airlines, including American
Airlines, Delta, KLM, Qantas and South African LCC 1Time, are currently testing the use of iPads by their pilots.
Crowdsourcing new onboard dishes Several airlines have been asking the general public to come up with designs for aircraft liveries, crew uniforms and frequent flyer cards. Cathay Pacific recently applied the crowdsourcing concept to its catering. Earlier this year, Cathay Pacific USA asked
its Facebook fans to come up with an Asian- inspired dessert, snap a photo of their creation, and submit it online for voting. The winner would have his or her dessert served on the airline’s flights out of North America from August until October 2011. The winner
of Cathay’s ‘Art of Dessert’ contest was an Asian-inspired cheesecake from Ada Ngai of Richmond, British Columbia. Says Cathay Pacific, “Ada’s recipe, while being delicious, also demonstrates the essence of Cathay Pacific with her mixture of Asian influence and elegant presentation.”
Raymond Kollau is the founder of market research agency www.
airlinetrends.com. Having been part of the leading consumer trend firm
trendwatching.com since its inception, Raymond founded
airlinetrends.com to focus on trends and innovations in the global airline industry. He has been quoted as an industry expert in a range of media as diverse as CNN, MSNBC, and The New York Times and is also known for his high-level and colourful presentations.
www.airlinetrends.com
www.onboardhospitality.com 29
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