It seems that the IT revolution is not hitting some airlines as fast as many may think. According to the latest ‘Annual SITA and Airline Business IT Trends Survey’, some 37% of airlines have yet to sell a ticket via the Web, with the majority counting only 10% of sales online.Major hurdles still exist for airlines to overcome, including a lack of skilled IT people, low levels of investment and the incorporation of legacy systems into the new IT developments.
33% of airlines have customer care components online, while about the same number intend to incorporate customers and frequent flyers into their online strategy in the next year.
Of those making the migration to Internet technologies, systems given priority include reservations (64%), ticketing (44%), frequent flyer (43%), check-in (36%), revenue management (30%), and bank settlements (15%).
Only a third of the airlines have a board member with IT included as part of their job description, although 60% of airlines have increased their IT budget, 27% have stayed the same with 8% reducing the spend.
Over 67 percent of airlines do not have any b2b applications available. Those that do, however, offer applications in areas such as airline and engine manufacture, spares and repairs, alliance partners, and handling and catering.
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