Innovation and Passenger Insight: Passenger Experience Conference Brings Together Visionaries and Industry Leaders

Hamburg, DE | April 3, 2017– Dozens of thought leaders and industry figureheads came together today to discuss the latest ideas and innovations shaping the passenger experience industry at the Passenger Experience Conference (PEC).

The annual event marks the start of Passenger Experience Week, hosted at the Hamburg Messe, which also encompasses Aircraft Interiors Expo and the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo.

New to the PEC this year was the Airline Breakfast Forum. The forum presented an opportunity for airline attendees to debate informally and to share industry best practice insights. Those who attended were welcomed by a keynote from Jeff James, vice president and general manager of the Disney Institute. His inspiring presentation focused on the importance of creating experiences that matter for customers and staff alike.

Following this, an address from Dick Powell, Co-Founder and Chairman of SeymourPowell, discussed the concept that reality and ideas are utterly inseparable and encouraged attendees to foster creative thinking in order to innovate effectively. This inspiring and creative session was followed by the Head to Head with the Innovators which saw industry leaders from businesses including; Plug and Play Tech Centre, Swiss International Airlines and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, share their experiences of generating passenger appeal.

From mid-morning the conference broke out into three concurrent streams, each of which analysed a different aspect of the passenger experience. The profiles of speakers from all three sessions can be found here.

Generating Revenue
The sessions in this stream took attendees through the innovations that are set to redefine customer expectations in the future and thought-provokingly encouraged the audience to disrupt conventional thinking about the onboard experience. Key highlights
Victoria Loomes, Senior Trend Analyst, TrendWatching talked about the trends airlines need to consider to create new digital products that consumers will enjoy
Nigel Duncan, Chief Executive Officer, STG Aerospace shed some insight regarding on-board discretionary spending and how aspects such as cabin lighting make a difference
John Baumgartner, Sales Director, Inflight & Catering, Gebr. Heinemann discussed strategies to ensure profitable retailing, looking at issues such as crew engagement and smart supply chain thinking

Comfort and Wellbeing
Focusing on passengers’ moods and physical reactions to their onboard experience as well as the learnings the industry can take from neuroscience, this stream enabled attendees to go back to the basics of human behaviour and apply it to the passenger experience. Key highlights:
· Dr G. Clotaire Rapaille, Founder, Archetype Discoveries Worldwide discussed the psychology behind flying, explaining that what people say about their flying experience is often wrong. He explained that the ‘reptilian’ brain often says it wants one thing – but in reality wants something completely different
· David Watts, Managing Director, CCD Design & Ergonomics talked about the British High Speed 2 rail network and those elements that will deliver a great customer experience based on passengers’ psychology and behaviour
· Avi Mannis, Senior Vice President Marketing, Hawaiian Airlines talked about how they have redesigned their cabin interiors to give a premium leisure experience to customers

The Connected Journey
This stream took industry attendees through the thinking behind the innovations streamlining the passenger journey from A to B and the designs revolutionising travel. Key highlights:
Loic Rigaud, Operations Manager, Peugeot Design Lab looked at the importance of connectively for car design in order to deliver the best experience
David Lavorel, Chief Executive Officer, SITONAIR discussed how inflight connectivity is opening up a stream of new content and services that consumers want to buy into
Jon Cobin, Chief Commercial Officer, Gogo joined a discussion about new revenue models for connectivity

The day provided many networking opportunities for attendees to make new connections and discuss the inspiring sessions with their industry peers. It also provided a platform for companies to launch new products. Notably, Hawaiian Airlines, revealed its distinctive cabin design for its new A321 neo fleet which will make its debut later this year.

The day closed with the Industry Networking Party which brought together industry leaders and attendees from across the airline supply chain under one roof. The event provided an ideal opportunity to facilitate new business connections in an informal environment.