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Airline IT investment set to ‘drop sharply’

Cannes, July 2, 2009

Airline investment in IT is set to reach a new low this year as aircraft operators cope with unprecedented financial losses, according to an airlines IT trends survey.

SITA, a specialist in air transport communication and IT solutions, and Airline Business magazine, have sponsored the 2009 Airline IT Trends Survey, which was launched yesterday (July 1) at the annual SITA Air Transport IT Summit in Cannes.

IT and telecommunications operating spend as a percentage of airline revenue is forecast to be just 1.7 per cent, the lowest level recorded since 2002, as airlines seek to reduce costs against a backdrop of $10.4 billion in losses in 2008 and an IATA forecast of $9 billion in losses in 2009.

Many airlines are in survival mode; 72 per cent of survey respondents intend to renegotiate IT supplier contracts and 70 per cent will invest in solutions that lower overall enterprise costs. Most airlines have already put in place measures such as rationalisation of IT suppliers, IT infrastructure consolidation, reduced head count and outsourcing.

Launching the survey, Paul Coby, SITA chairman and British Airways CIO, said: “The drop in IT investment by airlines is a direct response to the $80 billion in revenue that is expected to disappear this year due to falling passenger demand in our industry. For the first time in several years, there will be a year-on-year decline in IT spend. The focus everywhere is on doing even more with even less.

“We are living in the most challenging times any of us have seen in the air transport industry. We should not be surprised that when survival is the issue for many carriers, that all but the most essential of IT investments has been put on the back-burner,” he added.

“Any of us involved in the front-line management of airlines and airports understand this to be an absolute necessity. So it is no surprise that reductions in investment are cited by survey respondents as the main obstacle to airline CIOs achieving their strategy.

“But it is important to recognise that IT is also part of the solution to our challenges.  Used well and effectively IT will cut costs and protect revenues. The survey tells us that IT has already accomplished a great deal in reducing distribution costs and expanding self-service functionality.

“For the first time, 100 per cent of survey respondents have said they sell tickets on-line and it is clear that airlines are making web sales their most important distribution channel. Web check-in capability is now at 60 per cent and is expected to reach 92 per cent over the next three years. So the IT driven revolution in the air transport industry is continuing.”

Coby further commented: “It is important to note that over the strategic time horizon of the next three years, airlines are still prioritising investment in many areas, including IP telephony, service oriented architecture, software-as-a-service, Web 2.0,  cloud computing, data security and biometrics.

“Again no-one should be surprised by this.  It tells me that airlines absolutely understand the importance of technology for the future, and what we are seeing here is the immediate and necessary response to the global recession.

'This shows just how close to the real airline business IT now is. Every airline IT department in the world is contributing to the fight for survival not just with cost saving systems and automation like online check-in and selling, but they themselves are saving costs.

“Now every airline in the world also knows that IT is going to be key to future success when we come out of the recession with smart use of technology addressing not just the 1.7 per cent of airline costs but addressing 100 per cent of the airline cost base and 100 per cent of airline revenues.'

In a bid to reduce distribution costs, the airlines are keen to add more functionality to their web sites by




Tags: SITA | cannes | Airline IT | Airline Business | Paul Coby |

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