In recent years, the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) mantra has been “focus on the customer instead of the flight.” IATA aims to do just that with its joint initiatives: New Distribution Capability (NDC), launched in 2012, and ONE Order, launched in 2016.

IATA’s goal with NDC is to deploy a new standard for richer data exchange between airlines and their resellers, paving the way for enhanced product merchandising and retailing across all distribution channels.

With ONE Order, IATA aims to simplify the current order management process, spanning purchase, fulfillment, servicing and accounting.

Both efforts are driven by full-service carriers (FSC) wanting to control their own offers and distribution, and move away from airline-centric processes and proprietary technologies to a more mainstream retailing and customer focused environment. Currently, most FSCs use combinations of their own revenue management, customer profile, loyalty management and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to deliver customized, albeit limited, offers to their distribution channels.

Indoor mapping technology has rapidly evolved over the last several years, and airports are some of the prime beneficiaries. Deployments from FRA to SFO have seen successful results, with impressive revenue, efficiency and customer satisfaction metrics. While GPS will continue to direct travelers to the airport, indoor mapping is enabling seamless continued navigation within the facility from parking to gate. Consumer demand is strong among seasoned and infrequent travelers alike.

Numerous travel companies have launched chatbots and AI-powered virtual assistants over the past several years. Travel startups, suppliers and intermediaries have sought to capitalize on the popularity of messaging platforms and voice interfaces such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. From simple bots on Slack or Facebook Messenger to AI-powered apps targeting end-to-end travel planning, chatbot technology is playing a growing role in travel planning. However, some of these early efforts proved to be more frustrating than helpful. If a bot failed to understand a request or had limited capabilities, frustrated travelers would reach a dead end. Several chatbot startups found a way to turn these limitations into a feature rather than a bug.