SITA and Zodiac Partner on Next Generation Customer Service Management Tool
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SITA OnAir is partnering with Zodiac Inflight Innovations (Zii) to improve how passengers interact with flight crew through a two-way communication channel that would operate via an aircraft’s in-flight entertainment system on seatback screens or wireless tablets.
“Cabin crew will be able to provide information directly to passengers’ screens, such as messages and short video announcements,” François Rodriguez, chief strategy and marketing officer, SITA OnAir. “Passengers will be able to use their screens to order food, drink, promotional inflight items to cabin crew, and where relevant, pay for those using their NFC-equipped mobile phone, for example.”
Announcement of the collaboration was made at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg in April this year. It involves Zii’s expertise on in-flight entertainment systems and SITA’s CrewTablet app (currently employed on Etihad, Aeroflot, Air Caraïbes and Malaysia airlines) that gives flight crew access to seat maps, training documents, reports, flight and baggage information, as well as retail processing, and is part of SITA OnAir’s nose-to-tail e-Aircraft portfolio.
The addition of a communication channel has the potential to make crew operations more efficient. Instead of making a trip down the aircraft aisle to relay a message to a passenger, flight crew can simply send a message directly to a passenger’s seatback screen, allowing communication to be discrete and providing passengers with a more personalized service.