Impact of Digital Transformation on Charter Travel

Over the past decade digital lifestyles have become a fabric of our society.  Transformative technology with innovations in drones, quantum computing, 3-D printers, fuel cells, augmented reality and virtual reality offer a glimpse into the future and the digital economy.  What does this mean for travel and the charter business?

From a prioritization perspective, travel is not different from other industry verticals like automotive, high tech manufacturing, telecommunications, and healthcare. Key investment priorities for travel companies are cloud migration, big data analytics, cyber security, mobile-first, artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain.

Key trends that will accelerate digital transformation are the growth of Internet users from developing countries and exponential growth in structured and unstructured data. Digital transformation benefits both customers and charter airlines.  

Benefits to business and leisure customers begin with a simplified intuitive workflow to search and book travel effortlessly with a minimum number of clicks.  Factoring customer preferences into the customer interaction workflow produces personalized displays that resonate with customers and improves conversion rates from a flight search to a confirmed booking. 

Digital transformation also enables the sale of non-air ancillaries such as preferred in-flight catering, hotel, and rental cars at the destination.  Air charter customers need support like any other traveler, so providing the ability to book non-air ancillaries are important ingredients to enhance the customer experience.  Charter and Go has a technology strategy that will allow customers to book their entire journey with a single transaction by accessing our site via a computer or a smartphone in the near future.  

In the charter business, retention of high valued customers is a key to success.  Customer lifetime value based on past spend data must create personalized discounts off the list price for a charter.  We support customer centric dynamic pricing that ensures the price quoted is specific to a single customer or business entity.

This digital transformation gives charter companies an opportunity to take control of their brand. Charter airlines can enhance their marketing and brand messaging as well as create a unique customer experience on the Charter and Go website with customized offerings and improved customer experience. From the transactional content that we collect, Charter and Go provides valuable insight into aggregate prices by origin and destination across multiple charter suppliers.  This information is invaluable for every charter company to fine tune their pricing strategy and remain competitive based on prevailing market conditions.

DAVID HOBT – Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer