Air India mobile ticket sales up three fold

AIR India has seen revenues from tickets booked through mobile devices go up nearly three-fold since the re-launch of its mobile application in October. The sales grew more after November 8 when Prime Minister announced what is being termed as one of the biggest fiscal reform of Independent India.  
Air India was collecting in daily revenues to the tune of Rs 10-12 lakh from the tickets booked through mobile...
devices. With the launch of the mobile app, the amount grew nearly three-fold to Rs 36 lakh per day, a senior official told PTI.
"We have seen this uptick in the last and a half months following the re-launch of our mobile app in October," Air India Finance Director Vinod Hejmadi said at SITA's two-day 2016 Aviation ICT forum in Goa on December 16.
The 2016 Aviation ICT Forum India is taking place on December 16-17 in Goa where SITA, together with leaders from across India's aviation industry, came together to explore how the air transport industry can become smarter at every step of the journey.
SITA, the global airport transport IT provider, is to provide faster, more reliable connectivity to Air India as part of a package of solutions aimed at transforming the airline’s communications and network infrastructure. The solution will underpin the airline’s bid to become more agile and responsive to India’s fast-growing aviation market while becoming more competitive internationally.
The collaboration followed a seven-year deal signed between SITA and Air India. It will see SITA roll out the latest communication technology both in India and internationally. Through SITA Connect the largest communication network in the air transport industry used in over 220 countries and territories Air India will be able to link all 93 international outstations and its six biggest airports in India to the airline’s central hubs in New Delhi and Mumbai.
Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and MD of Air India, said: “Having been a long-standing technology partner in aviation, SITA is able to fulfill the vision of passenger experience by identifying appropriate innovations covering network and communications that can help the airline to become more efficient and cost effective. This will help us benefit from the opportunities in the fast-growing Indian aviation market while elevating our international competitiveness.”
The app makes it easier for passengers to book, check-in and manage every aspect of their journey from their mobile device. With the app, the airline is looking to meet growing demand for mobile services as well as increase direct bookings by consumers -- both domestically and internationally. As per estimates, more than one billion Indians use a mobile phone and out of them around 300 million regularly use them to access Internet. Built on SITA's iTravel® platform, the Air India app offers the ability to book and pay for a flight by scanning both passport and credit card.
The app has also been integrated with Air India's Flying Returns loyalty programme where passengers can securely access details of points earned or other updates to their accounts. In October, Air India carried 11.25 lakh passengers domestically and had a market share of 13 per cent.