Festive Feasts: Airlines Offer Up Seasonal Specials for Holiday Travelers

APEX Insight: Many airlines are using the upcoming holiday season to offer hearty meals inspired by traditional flavors to help get passengers in the festive spirit. Delta One passengers may want to loosen their belts after sampling the seasonal fare created by top New York chefs, while British Airways will dish out traditional English holiday plates […]

Overheard in Singapore: Personalization is the New Billion-Dollar Word

If you attended APEX Asia or FTE Asia this week in Singapore, you probably noticed a few themes for the Asian air travel market and beyond. Personalization – driven by consumers empowered by connectivity and unlimited choice – is in high demand in the air travel industry and is set to transform the airline passenger experience. Business is […]

Shifting Liability: Airlines Chip In to Limit Fraud

APEX Insight: A shift in accountability from credit card companies to merchants over fraudulent transactions means many vendors are starting to transition to the more secure chip enabled Point of Sale terminals. While fraudulent in-flight purchases are a minor issue for airlines – many bemoan the cost of upgrading to chip enabled card readers – Rich […]

Go Local: China Southern and Qantas Profit from Regional Touches

APEX Insight: As both China Southern and Qantas expand globally with new routes and strategic alliances, both carriers from the Asia-Pacific region have found that providing passengers with local creature comforts – from familiar entertainment options to regionally inspired menus – is key to customer satisfaction. Opening day two of the APEX Asia conference Tuesday, November 17, […]

Choice Profits: Airlines and Passengers Benefit from Personalization

APEX Insight: Airlines have moved away from bundling ticket options by opening new revenue streams for the sale of individual ancillaries. Not only do these retail models bring new ways for airlines to be competitive and market their brands, they’re improving the passenger experience by letting customers personalize and upgrade in-flight services and order them à la carte. Airlines […]

Brewing Loyalty: What Airline Coffee Pairings Say About the Brand

APEX Insight: Coffee is more than just a complimentary beverage for some airlines. The right brand partnership can characterize an airline from bland brand to one that is cool, classy or down-to-earth. From local San Francisco indie brews to everyday brands like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, based on the brand of coffee you drink, what airline would you fly with? Are […]

Airlines Chase the Sun to New Vacation Destinations

APEX Insight: Seasonal shuttling newcomers WowAir and Norwegian are competing by flying passengers from the US, UK and Iceland to sunny getaways in California, Guadeloupe, Martinique and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, longtime winter leisure airlines are expanding their networks to Hawaii and Costa Rica. “Our loyal Bay Area travelers … have been asking for an island escape […]

New Voice Travel App: “Hello? Can You Find Me a Room?”

APEX Insight: APEX Media caught up with Greg Apple of HelloGbye to hear about his company’s smartphone travel app launching early next year. The premise is an ambitious one –  creating an app to transform even the most complicated travel itineraries into a simple and easy to understand step-by-step process. The technology will use SIRI-style […]

FLIO App Aims to Relieve Airport Pain Points for Passengers

APEX Insight: FLIO is aiming to be the only airport app passengers will ever need. Instead of having to download an app for every airport on a flight with multiple connections, FLIO will serve as an all-in-one solution, including one-touch access to any airport Wi-Fi network. So far, the FLIO app has collected the data of 850 airports and 150 Wi-Fi setups. “We do those tedious login […]