Consumerisation - passengers toting their tablets, laptops, smartphones and e-readers on planes - has forced airlines to re-think. Should they continue to invest heavily in Inflight Entertainment (IFE) hardware, or concentrate on offering WIFI and power in the cabin? This paper defines IFE from a consumer perspective. Several consumer satisfaction methodologies were evaluated and the Kano approach chosen. The latter categorises alternatives of a product or service, in this case IFE, in must-be, attractive and indifferent elements. A for Europe representative online survey revealed movies and power to be must, TV and WIFI to be attractive and the rest, e-books, music, games and duty free onboard, to be indifferent elements of IFE. The majority of people indicated they would pay for movies and WIFI but not for power supply, TV or other content. Differently said, content-wise passengers only insisted in the supply of movies, for the rest they expected the airline to provide Internet and power so they could get the content themselves. Further, the author analysed sub-groups, people within the sample with mutual characteristics like gender, travel frequency or ownership of smart devices. So is music on a plane a must for women and owners of iPhones are more willing to pay for apps than others. Overall, country of residence, travel purpose (leisure or business) and flight duration (long vs. short haul) were the greatest dividers regarding IFE requirements. To answer the core question of how a future IFE should look, the author in argues that consumerisation means an enormous potential for airlines.
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Topic
1.2. Goal And Research Questions
2. LIMITATIONS
2.1. Focus Commercial And Cultural Barrier
2.2. Focus Europe
3. RESEARCH
3.1. Quantitative Survey
3.1.1. Kano Methodology
3.1.2. Online Methodology
3.1.3. Sample Size
3.1.4. Online Questionnaire
3.2. Qualitative Research
3.2.1. Methodology
3.2.2. Semi-structured Questionnaire
4. ANALYSIS QUANTITATIVE SURVEY
4.1. Demographics, Habits, Devices
4.2. Sub-Groups
4.3. Kano Matrix
4.3.1. Kano Matrix Of Whole Sample
4.3.2. Kano Matrix Per Sub-Group
4.3.3. Kano Analysis Of Each Alternative
4.4. Willingness to Pay
4.4.1. Willingness To Pay Of Whole Sample
4.4.2. Willingness To Pay Per Sub-Group
4.5. Key Findings Of Kano Analysis And Payment Willingness Analysis
5. ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
5.1. Avianca Airlines
5.2. Swiss Airlines
6. CONCLUSION: A FUTURE IFE APPROACH
6.1. Current IFE Position Of Airlines
6.2. IFE Expectations By Passengers
6.3. IFE Future Model: Consumer Centric
Goal and Research Focus
The primary goal of this paper is to define an Inflight Entertainment (IFE) approach that aligns with the expectations of modern passengers, especially given the widespread usage of personal electronic devices on board. The research examines whether airlines are currently meeting these expectations and how the phenomenon of "consumerisation"—the increasing reliance on personal technology—can be leveraged to improve the passenger experience and create new value for airlines.
- Passenger expectations regarding IFE systems today.
- The influence of personal consumer technology on inflight requirements.
- Divergence of expectations across different passenger sub-groups (e.g., business vs. leisure, age, tech ownership).
- Evaluation of whether current European airline strategies meet these expectations.
- Development of a future-oriented, consumer-centric IFE business model.
Excerpt from the Book
IFE: makes the difference
Like described earlier WIFI scores as one-dimensional for the overall sample. It is considered a must for the sub-groups of frequent travellers, travellers for business, those travelling mostly in business class, those 35 years and older, or iPhone owners.
What is the difference between scoring one-dimensional or as must? If WIFI is considered one-dimensional it means that by offering it, an airline makes the flight experience actively better, it is a positive surprise, so it was not expected but when passengers encounter it they enjoy it. Conversely, if an airline does not offer WIFI, it makes the IFE experience for the traveller actively worse, it disappoints. In the case of a must, passengers, already before boarding the plane, expect to find WIFI and are then frustrated if it is not available. If it though is available, passengers are not positively surprised, they are simply fine, they expected it, and their experience is not actively made better.
For travellers with a business purpose and frequent travellers, two sub-groups that anyhow strongly overlap in this survey, WIFI is a must. Digging deeper into these results I found that a very high 97% of people travelling mostly for business, or equally for business and leisure, said they liked WIFI or saw it as must. Contrary to this, only 78% of leisure travellers indicated so. Nowadays some work can only be done while online due to cloud-based systems or information being delivered through e-mails. Logically, business travellers have more of a need to work, and the more often one is on a plane, the higher the need to not be cut off the Internet.
Summary of Chapters
1. INTRODUCTION: Outlines the historical evolution of Inflight Entertainment and introduces the concept of consumerisation and the research goals.
2. LIMITATIONS: Identifies the technical, legal, commercial, and cultural barriers facing the airline industry and justifies the regional focus on Europe.
3. RESEARCH: Details the quantitative survey methodology using the Kano model and explains the qualitative approach involving expert interviews.
4. ANALYSIS QUANTITATIVE SURVEY: Presents demographic data and evaluates IFE elements using Kano matrices and willingness-to-pay analysis across defined sub-groups.
5. ANALYSIS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: Discusses insights gathered from expert interviews with representatives from Avianca and Swiss Airlines regarding industry practices.
6. CONCLUSION: A FUTURE IFE APPROACH: Synthesizes research findings to propose a consumer-centric "always on" IFE model that integrates into the entire travel journey.
Keywords
Inflight Entertainment, IFE, Consumerisation, Kano Model, Passenger Expectations, WIFI, Airline Industry, Business Model, Travel Experience, Mobile Devices, Customer Satisfaction, Digital Transformation, Revenue Streams, Europe, Airline App.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on defining a future IFE model for European airlines by assessing passenger expectations through the lens of "consumerisation"—the trend of passengers bringing and relying on their own mobile technology during travel.
Which methodology was used to evaluate passenger preferences?
The author employed the traditional Kano methodology to categorize service attributes (like movies, WIFI, and power) into "must-be," "attractive," and "indifferent" elements, supplemented by an analysis of passengers' willingness to pay.
How is "consumerisation" affecting the aviation industry?
Consumerisation has shifted expectations, as passengers now expect a seamless digital experience on planes similar to what they have on the ground. This places pressure on airlines to either upgrade expensive hardware or pivot toward facilitating connectivity and personal content access.
What are the key IFE elements identified as "must-haves"?
Movies and power supply were identified as the primary "must-have" elements for the majority of the survey respondents.
What is the primary role of IFE according to the proposed future model?
The proposed "always on" IFE model suggests that entertainment should not be limited to the air cabin but should be part of the entire travel value chain, starting from the booking process via an airline app.
Why are European airlines considered "tech laggards" in the study?
The study notes that, compared to US and Middle Eastern carriers, European airlines are slower to widely deploy modern features like inflight WIFI, live TV, and mobile phone usage, partly due to higher regulatory, commercial, and cultural barriers.
How did the author define frequent travellers in this study?
Frequent travellers were defined as those who had taken 33 or more flights in the preceding twelve months.
Are there significant differences between business and leisure travellers?
Yes, business travellers have a stronger requirement for connectivity (WIFI) and power to support their work, whereas leisure travellers show more interest in features like duty-free shopping and entertainment content.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Jasmin Schawalder (Autor:in), 2013, The future of inflight entertainment in Europe, according to passenger expectations, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/268876
