Five Ways Technology Can Improve Passenger Experience in India

In a previous article on Connected Aviation Today, we explored the aviation industry in India, which is poised for massive growth due to a number of factors. Some of these include an emerging and growing middle class, increased demand for travel, and a desire to make the Indian subcontinent a new travel hub connecting the East and West.

To help foster this growth, the government of India is working diligently to modernize its aviation industry and begin aligning it to international standards. This includes the passage of the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak (BVV) 2024, or Indian Aviation Bill, which significantly modifies the regulatory landscape in the aviation sector.

 The BVV seeks to bring India’s aviation industry in line with industry standards for aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). It gives the central government control over the issuance of Radio Telephony Restricted Aeronautical (RTR A) licenses, and addresses other necessary regulatory and oversight changes necessary to foster the country’s continued commercial aviation growth.

However, even with the adoption of the BVV, there will be challenges that the Indian commercial aviation industry needs to overcome as people increasingly flock to airports.

Congestion and passenger experience
The direct impact of increased demand is often congestion and a degradation in passenger experience. Each airport is designed to carry a predefined number of aircraft passengers. As the number of passengers increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to handle more with the same space and processes.

Unfortunately, since most larger airports are in big cities, space can be limited, and expansion can be a challenge. This means that airports and airlines often need to embrace new technologies that drive automation, optimize processes, and increase operational efficiency to eliminate congestion.

There are five fundamental areas of focus where new technologies could improve airline and airport operations and help make the passenger experience better. These include:

• Passenger Movement – With larger crowds flowing into India’s existing and soon-to-be-built airports, it’s essential that the flow of traffic into and through the airport is as efficient as possible. Biometric-based passenger clearance can unlock significant efficiencies and enable airports to handle more passenger footfall per square feet of infrastructure. By getting passengers to provide information prior to arriving, airports and airlines can save significant queueing time and avoid the last-minute rushes that often result from travel clearance issues.
• Baggage movement – It’s not enough to get passengers from the front door to the departure gate efficiently. Airports and airlines also need to get their baggage checked and processed efficiently. Established baggage handling systems coupled with new capabilities in bag drop devices – including self-bag drop solutions – can significantly improve baggage handling, mitigate lost baggage, and reduce the manpower required to move baggage from the carousel to the aircraft and back.
• Aircraft Movement – Moving people and baggage through the airport efficiently is secondary if no aircraft is waiting for them when they arrive at the gate. This makes aircraft operational efficiency one of the most important – if not the most difficult – part of the equation. To help increase aircraft operational efficiency, airports and airlines need reliable air-to-ground connectivity, air navigation aids, and software tools that can help avoid Aircraft on Ground (AOG) events, optimize flight paths, and enable futuristic trajectory-based operations (TBO).
• Crew Assignment – The availability of qualified and well-rested crew is critical for operations. In most cases, better predictability of aircraft operating time slots is key for better crew planning. This makes the ability to anticipate issues – either due to aircraft issues or weather – the key to replanning and key recovery. New predictive models and AI can significantly help to reduce crew non-availability and ensure timely operations.
• Ecological Factors – Weather has significantly changed in the past decade, and as India expands its airport footprint and makes challenging investments in its northeastern region, the ability to source, process, and apply the latest weather information is critical for smooth operations. This makes solutions that can aggregate the latest and most accurate weather data and apply proven forecast models using the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies essential.

Technology as the key
The Indian government’s Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Program – which was introduced to connect more remote parts of the country, develop new airports, and foster the commercial aviation industry, has been a massive success. There’s a reason why Indian airlines made enormous aircraft orders in the past few years.

Unfortunately, the success of the UDAN Program will invariably be tied to the passenger experience of those flocking to new and existing airports in India. Ultimately, most airline passengers have three fundamental expectations from their aviation experiences:

1. On-time arrival of aircraft
2. Receiving bags without delay
3. Turbulence free flights

All three of these things are possible, and all can be enabled with modern technology.

Modern software powered by mathematical models, physics-based learning, neural networks, and a reliable “aviation data mesh” that shares valuable data critical for decision-making is the key to delivering on passenger expectations.

The adoption of new technologies, such as Flight Profile Optimization (FPO), predictive and prognostics-based aircraft maintenance, biometrics, and AI can enable the end-to-end optimization of processes, including passenger processing, baggage drop, airside turn optimization, and operating sustainably. This will deliver the best possible passenger experience and ensure that the increased number of passengers flooding airlines in India only have a positive experience.

To learn more about how the connected aviation ecosystem can improve efficiency and workflows for airlines and airports, click HERE.