Lufthansa Consulting identified (30-Apr-2020) six key traveller demands becoming more prominent after the COVID-19 epidemic, as follows:
- Staying healthy: Travellers are expected to be wary of infection when travelling for the foreseeable future. They will be more confident if measures such as automated queue management during boarding, security controls, customs and passport controls and onboard social distancing are implemented;
- Financial security: Selling insurance to gain customer confidence in booking trips. A shift in booking channels towards the airline website could also be an opportunity for airlines to gain trust as travellers value direct interaction with the airline and perceive the brand as an insurance for booking future trips;
- More flexibility: Customers will require more flexibility and appreciate modular products to fulfill individual needs. The willingness to pay for selected services is expected to be higher than for full fledged bundled fares, such as optional flexible fare conditions across all booking classes;
- Memorable moments: A response to the need to create moments in light of extended lockdown periods is an opportunity to capitalise on inspirational offers, especially in the leisure segment;
- Modular corporate offers: Future revenue management strategies should consider personalisation for B2B segments, creating business travel incentives through more modular corporate fare offers;
- Focus on digitalisation: Airlines should reach out to passengers offering individualised content services and products via digital touch-points, despite lockdowns in place. [more - original PR]