Based on Goldman Sachs economic projection for India, International Air Transport Association estimates that the country will experience 300 million passengers departure through a movement of 6 million aircraft by the calendar year 2030. The freight traffic by 2032 is expected to cross 11.4 million tonnes, making air cargo a significant contributor of the logistics industry. However, long before that, by 2020, India is predicted to achieve the position of third largest aviation market in the world.
In the post Covid-19 world, competition in the airline industry will be intense. To drive customer satisfaction and create sustainable business models, airlines will need to carefully choose their technology solution providers.
Internet of Things. Big Data Analytics. Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning. Passenger data capture. Digital Call Centers. Business Intelligence.
Airline investments in these areas will drive corporate strategies, help create innovative business models, and transform the overall airline customer experience. In particular, airlines will double down on offering seamless omnichannel experiences, standout mobile app experiences, AR/VR, and e-commerce features to keep customers returning to mobile devices even after their trips end.
The use of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, AR/VR, digital twins, and 3D printing to perform maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations are referred to as digital MRO. These technologies increase the efficiency of operations and reduce turnaround time.
Having a digital MRO strategy is no longer peripheral to an aviation business – it is becoming central to core strategies of organizations, helping them to gain a competitive edge over others. Having the right tool to automate data ingestion, parsing it, and managing various versions of the document, amongst other tasks, can reduce indirect costs by more than 70 per cent.
Nothing is changing the MRO industry and driving the development of new solutions more than digitalization. It is the biggest game changer of this decade. With 50-times more data generated by new aircraft types, and approximately 50 per cent of airline operating costs consisting directly or indirectly of MRO services – further cost reduction can only be accomplished through MRO and operational optimization driven by digitalization.
According to a Market Research Future report, the global digital MRO market is expected to register a 12-per-cent annual growth during the forecast period 2019-2030. The report says: “Digitalization will help the industry to create a continuous stream of data flowing through different levels of the supply chain. The digital transformation in the aviation industry substantially impacts all areas of the supply chain of the industry such as air traffic management, aircraft operations, and aircraft and component manufacturing and servicing.”
