Embedded Trip Advising on the Fly
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This story was originally published in the March/April issue of APEX Experience magazine.
It’s hard to imagine life before the smartphone. Reservations for dinner, flights and hotels were made well in advance, and trips and routes were plotted out on actual maps. Today, however, accustomed to a new degree of freedom and consumer choice, we leave these to the last minute. Now travelers can leave them even longer. In partnership with Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE), TripAdvisor’s five-million-plus business listing reviews and booking platform is available for passengers to peruse through Air New Zealand’s in-flight entertainment (IFE) offerings.
“Aircraft with enabled Internet connectivity could allow users live access.” – Aaron Hung, TripAdvisor
“This enables passengers traveling on Air New Zealand to find the best hotels, restaurants or activities even while they are up in the air and before arriving at their destination,” says TripAdvisor’s Aaron Hung, director of Partnerships, APAC. Passengers can begin to discover what awaits their arrival before landing, all the while remaining engaged with both the airline and TripAdvisor’s brand.
Accessing TripAdvisor through an IFE console permits a level of specificity that can be fine-tuned to the individual passenger’s needs. “In the world of in-seat applications on non-connected aircraft, most of the traditional destination content offerings available are limited,” explains Jenelle Benoit, director, Marketing and Communications, GEE. “By targeting content to the flight’s source and destination cities, passengers are provided with information that they can readily relate to and use,” she adds.
The merging of TripAdvisor’s platform with IFE systems bridges the gap between home and destination – and in-flight connectivity promises to do so even further. “The price comparison and hotel booking functionality simply needs an Internet connection,” Hung says. “Aircraft with enabled Internet connectivity could allow users live access, and we certainly feel that would help travelers even more.” No longer will those last-minute travel details have to be left up in the air.