A Side-Slipping Seat & IATA’s 2016 Global Passenger Survey: APEX Daily Experience Week in Review
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Here are the most-read stories from this week’s APEX Daily Experience newsletters. To receive breaking passenger experience industry news in your inbox on a daily basis, subscribe here.
Middle-Seat Redemption: Side-Slip Seat Market-Ready By End of Month
AIRCRAFT INTERIORS INTERNATIONAL | OCTOBER 19, 2016
Denver-based Molon Labe Seating says its Side-Slip Seat will be market-ready by the end of this month after a period of successful 16g testing conducted by the National Institute for Aviation Research. The economy-class product will be displayed to the public for the first time at next week’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, colocated with APEX EXPO in Singapore. The economy-class design allows the aisle seat to slip over the middle seat, doubling the size of the aisle to speed up the passenger boarding process on short- and medium-haul flights by up to 30 percent. The company says the staggered design also offers 20.8 inches of width for passengers in the middle seat, compared to 18 inches for aisle and window seats.
More Tech, Please: IATA 2016 Pax Survey Results Revealed
IATA | OCTOBER 18, 2016
A majority of air travelers want technology to improve the passenger experience, according to results from IATA’s 2016 Global Passenger Survey (GPS). Based on 6,920 responses from around the globe, 85 percent of travelers said they would be willing to provide more personal data in exchange for a more customized travel experience, and just over half of those surveyed would prefer using personal devices to access entertainment options on board. The GPS findings also reveal that many travelers would like to see improvements in the baggage process: One third of respondents want to self-tag their bags and 39 percent want to use electronic tags.
Anticipation Builds for the Unveiling of Qatar Airways’ Super Business Class
APEX MEDIA | OCTOBER 20, 2016
With an unveiling expected in the near future, Qatar Airways executives are building momentum for the airline’s proprietary super business-class seat. The launch will coincide with the merging of first-class and business-class cabins, a decision that will differentiate Qatar from its Gulf rivals.”We like to create our own experience,” says Rossen Dimitrov, senior vice-president of Customer Experience. “When it comes to seat designs, we don’t just take [preexisting seats] and customize. We design the seats from scratch.”
APEX Direct With Inmarsat’s Leo Mondale
APEX MEDIA | OCTOBER 20, 2016
As Inmarsat’s Global Xpress program readies for its full launch, Leo Mondale, president, Inmarsat Aviation, weighs in on how the in-flight connectivity market is taking shape, where Inmarsat stands in the landscape and how promises of on-the-ground connection can be misleading to passengers. “I’m excited by the prospects of streaming and we’ll support streaming, but it’s not going to be every passenger on every airplane on day one,” says Mondale.
Customer Expectations and Digital Transformation Are Biggest Challenges, Say Airline Execs
STOCKHOUSE | OCTOBER 18, 2016
Nearly two-thirds of airline executives believe they are failing to implement plans to improve passenger experience, according to a study conducted by Accenture. Based on interviews with executives from some of the biggest airlines, the “Digital Readiness for Customer Experience in the Airline Industry” study reported on the key challenges facing the industry. The report says the challenges include meeting customer experience expectations, delivering consistency across multiple touchpoints and implementing digital technology. Personalizing the passenger experience with real-time data was cited by 96 percent of senior airline executives as the top emerging trend. Eight of 10 interviewees said the airline for which they work will deliver real-time personalization within three years.
LIFT by EnCore Announces Two Mystery Launch Customers for Boeing 737 Seats
YAHOO | OCTOBER 21, 2016
LIFT by EnCore has secured orders from two undisclosed airlines, which will become launch customers for its Boeing 737 Tourist Class Seating. The announcement comes after LIFT recently agreed to provide Boeing with seats that are spatially, structurally and aesthetically designed to complement the Boeing 737 Sky Interior. “The combination of a great product that is designed from the ground up for the 737, and is offered directly by Boeing, is very appealing,” says Elijah Dobrusin, VP of Strategy and Development for LIFT.
