COVID-19 and the airline industry: tackling turbulence with technology

If your industry is especially affected by the current situation, and you’re not sure how to handle the new digital challenges – we’re here for you. We’re offering free services and if you help us understand the biggest challenges you’re facing right now, we can get back to you with an action plan. 

There’s no real way to sugarcoat this: these are tough times we are living in. In the last weeks, it’s been nearly impossible to log onto any website, scroll through any social media platform, or read any piece of news without seeing the words “Coronavirus” or “COVID-19” highlighted, bolded, or underlined. This current global health crisis threatens not only the health of the world’s population, but it is also forcing us to reevaluate the core nature of our businesses. Many industries have already felt the impact of the virus, with airlines being one of the hardest hit.

COVID-19 – thoughts of an airline industry expert

According to the latest financial estimates by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Novel Coronavirus is expected to lead airlines to experience up to $252 billion in global revenue loss. Over 1 million flights have been canceled up to 30 June, with bookings plummeting up to 50% for the next three months.

We recently sat down to discuss the topic with Attila Prikler, former Head of IT at Wizzair, and since then Head of Travel here at ALiZ. Attila, having over a decade of professional experience, has helped spearhead the ongoing digital transformation of the industry, which is one of the crucial survival strategies airlines should adopt in the current situation. 

“The key to success is to become digital”, he said. 

He explained the importance for companies to create a strategy with distinct pillars, initiatives, and projects that support data-driven decision making, automation of internal processes, and personalization. This sets up them to achieve maximum efficiency, react in near-real-time, and be able to focus efforts on preserving their core business. 

“In regards to a situation like today, with Coronavirus, it is absolutely important for any airline to be prepared.” 

“All airlines have strategies in place for crisis handling…what is also important when a crisis hits is not the fact that it happened, but how your company responds. A response plan is crucial – how you communicate to the customers, to the media [as well]. If you have all of these digital processes set up, then it is much easier to react accordingly.” 

At Aliz, we are proud of our strong relationship with the airline industry. Over the years, our team has had the pleasure of collaborating with and delivering a number of high-level dev projects for many companies, including helping leading low-cost carriers in both the APAC and CEE region utilize machine learning models to enhance their processes and drive ROI. 

Now more than ever, we are committed to understanding the biggest challenges our clients are currently facing, and devising a plan of action to equip them with the most effective technical solutions they need to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and stay ahead in these turbulent circumstances. 

If there’s one positive takeaway to all this, it’s the reminder that we stand stronger when we work as a team. That’s why we want to help people in all industries ease the effects of COVID-19 on their business with technology. If your team is struggling with any aspect of remote work, let’s team up. We’re offering free services, and if you can help us understand your team’s current challenges, we’ll get back to you with an action plan. You can fill out this form to get started. 

We know these are trying times – especially in the travel industry. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back: we offer 2*2 hours of free tech consultancy to travel related companies (e.g. how to automate customer care, or anything tech related that you may need help with). Just reach out at hello@aliz.ai, or fill out the form above. We’re in this together.

Research toolkit:

• https://www.iata.org/
• https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/publications/economic-reports/third-impact-assessment/