Business Travel Executive, March 2020

Its About Time Apps provide escape from travel disruptions By Kathryn B Creedy The passenger lament if you have time to spare go by air is as true today as it was in the 1930s However the ever growing capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning are corralling Big Data so passengers can game the system to avoid or mitigate travel disruptions This new technology of consumer and travel management apps not only warns about trouble spots at booking but provides escape routes to recover when disruptions occur en route The most exciting development today is delivering information so the traveler doesnt have to worry doesnt have to search and it is all automatic with a few clicks OAG chief product officer Vipal Nikum says Today only AI and machine learning can deliver the right information at the right time What is coming to the forefront now is prescriptive information so passengers can manage disruptions themselves While airlines may blame weather and air traffic control fully two thirds of delays and cancellations come from carriers operational issues or from mitigating safety risks according to a 2019 study from Frost Sullivan Airlines are now leveraging data to 24 Business Travel Executive askBTE com March 2020 CS COVER STORY run operations better which may move the needle on airline reliability as they see on time performance as a competitive advantage This however is a long term solution to an increasingly critical problem that costs the passengers billions per year So Whats the Problem Statistics show 56 million departing flights were delayed for an average of 57 minutes 436000 flights were cancelled and the travel plans of over 655 million passengers were disrupted in 2018 the Frost Sullivan study reports Pilota chief executive officer Saniya Shah estimates disruption costs at 1200 per employee per disruption making apps like hers important to help passengers take matters into their own hands Unanticipated travel costs add to the toll such as non refundable hotel nights and the fact that when one segment is missed means the rest of the itinerary gets cancelled automatically Furthermore calculations often dont include the cost of employee burnout Disruptions usually result in stressed travelers waiting around trapped at an airport missing meetings and incurring extra expenses says Freebird