China’s fast-growing airline industry is facing multiple challenges: the fast-expanding high-speed rail system, the restructuring of customer base, the increasingly diversified customer needs, the growing increasingly influential new media channels, and the evolving technological innovations are pushing the airlines to refine their offerings to satisfy these changing demands. 

Transforming from a relatively closed industry to an open ecosystem will be an arduous journey for the airline sector. How to break these barriers, create a win-win situation and provide consumers with enriched travel experience will be the challenges ahead.

The new generation of consumers is radically changing the airline’s customer base while traditional channel marketing strategies have, to some degree, torn apart the direct connection between airlines and its customers. 

How will airlines rebuild the communication channel with its passengers, develop personalization and precise marketing, and improve the overall air travel experience by leveraging innovative technologies like big data? China Southern Airlines will share thoughts from their own practice to inspire the airline industry.   

Digital Transformation is the latest buzz. But what is a Digital Transformation? What does it take to ensure the successful delivery of a Digital Transformation? What capabilities should the scope of the Digital Transformation address and what is the best sequence to deliver the capabilities? The Successful Airline Digital Transformation presentation will answer these critical questions. The presentation will also address different approaches to solving for a Digital Transformation based on the maturity of the airline.

Is the direct-sales gap between low-cost carriers and full-service airlines really insurmountable? How do pre-order channels affect airlines' ancillary revenue growth? How should airlines leverage unified user data collection and management to better serve passengers, especially high-value travelers? What opportunities will it bring as China is lifting restrictions on the use of electronic devices on flights?

The three major state-owned carriers in China are required by regulations to maintain at least The minimum 50% of business from direct sales is a regulatory request on the three major state-owned carriers in China. To achieve that, the airline companies have to resort to cutting agency commission, shunning third-party platforms, and permitting only white- list agents.

How are these adjusted strategies boosting airline companies’ direct distribution? Other than increasing direct sale, how should the carriers optimize the service and product experience on their direct channels, so as to improve customer loyalty? 

Supported by their local governments, China’s airline companies have embarked on a new round of expansion on international routes, with carriers launching intercontinental routes in second-tier cities. Drifting away from the market environment and sales channels that they are used to, how will the airlines improve their brand awareness with the emerging media marketing tools and brand marketing channels to build their core competitiveness in the global market? 

What makes your customers choose you? And how can you ensure they keep choosing you? There are endless influences that lead travellers to make a purchase with a brand – or not. So how is the aviation industry faring in comparison to others when it comes to harnessing the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to emotionally connect with travellers? Today, it’s about understanding all the influences customers are under at any given time and always being ready to respond with relevant offers that will deliver something of value to them. My session will set the scene for what is coming next by giving an overview of the emerging trends and the latest technologies that are revolutionising the way airlines will be presenting their products to travellers in the near future.

Alibaba Group has more than 500 million active internet users in China. The conglomerate's travel unit Fliggy is using tools such as big data and precise marketing to help airlines from home and abroad reach the 500 million Chinese consumers directly through Alibaba's platform.

For a long time depending on their operating model, the airlines have put internal operation and service at the center of their IT system but bolstered limited supports for App-based personalization service and marketing campaigns. With travelers’ demands increasingly diversified and personalized, how should airlines build an IT system focused on offering customers personalized experience? 

Emerging technologies and platforms are bringing revenue management systems to the heart of marketing. The cooperation between marketers and revenue managers will be closer. 

Startups around the world will showcase their innovative technological products in the airline business. The products are aimed to improve air travel experience or boost airline companies’ marketing returns and operational efficiencies. 

Airline Distribution Revolution. It’s Not Quite What You Think - Timothy O'Neil-Dunne 

Air Black Box's Product Head Timothy O’Neil-Dunne will outline how his company is bringing innovation to the eCommerce layer of Airline Distribution thus fulfilling their promise to “Connect Airlines to Sell Stuff”. The Award-Winning Platform is already in production for Airlines across Asia and beyond.

The tech-savvy young travelers are not just using search engines to compare airfares, but also combining flights across different airlines and alliances to build their own transport solutions. How should airlines leverage search engines in overseas competition to present their air routes advantages, reach broader customer base, and enhance direct sales at home and abroad?

A successful cross-border payment strategy is a balancing act. Many factors influence the outcome of the payment step in the booking flow; localization (language, currency and payment methods), user experience across devices and fraud management all play a role. New payment products are introduced on a regular basis, which ones to choose to effectively grow cross-border sales via your direct channels, reduce costs and minimize the impact on your operational processes?

In the era with overloaded information, how can airlines discover value through a huge volume of statistics, configure reports vividly and efficiently, identify anomalous traffic, and sort through possible causes? How will they monitor and set up alerts for OTA searches in rapid response to increase direct sales and trim distribution cost? As China's first big data company to get listed on NASDAQ, Gridsum will share a small application based on big data facilitating airline marketing.

To seize future opportunities, airlines must understand the new generation of customers. How should airlines explore user value and identify customer needs through consumption and credit data? How should they make rapid adjustments to improve product and travel experience leveraging fintech, attract young members to their programs, and boost their direct sales?

The modern global consumer has new demands for a personalized experience provided by airlines. Consumers want airlines to provide digital experiences across all channels before and after a trip. If such demands are met, it will enhance your global brand image and brand loyalty as well as global direct sales revenue. But how can you do that?

The time of exponential growth has come for explosive increases in not just data, but also emerging technologies such as computing capabilities, artificial intelligence, and interactive models. How should airlines find new operational growth beyond air ticketing sales? What value does the explosive growth in data and technologies bring to airlines, and what are the success cases that are worth noticing?

A case study of Finnair's journey moving from mass customized messages to personalization. Why is the carrier doing personalization for ancillary sales and how does it look like in the carrier’s platforms? How does Finnair keep personalization as a driver for change? What does the buzzword really mean?

Airline ancillary service consultancy IdeaWorks projected that global airline ancillary revenues were USD 67.4 billion in 2016, a nearly 200% rise from 2010. With ancillary service playing an important role in profit growth, how should airline companies provide passengers with superior travel experience at each touch point of the journey with the help from technologies and corporate partnerships, in order to optimize the full potential of ancillary revenue?
 

For almost all airline loyalty programs, 20% members contribute 80% of their revenues. With the new generation of travelers demanding more personalized services, how should airlines design a cost-effective loyalty program to appeal to more young customers?