Innovation and Foresight in Aviation - Interview with Ryan Ghee Head of Strategy & Development - Future Travel Experience

As you may know, we have worked extensively with Future Travel Experience (FTE) delivering our thinking to their global aviation audience through keynote presentations, workshops, research, and now consultancy services. FTE is an independent aviation sector leader providing online content and media, events, creative cross-sectoral initiatives, training, and support for innovation change leadership.?

In this interview, Ryan Ghee, FTE’s Head of Strategy & Development, shares their latest thinking on how the aviation sector is coming out of the pandemic and navigating a course to the future.?

Tell us a little about yourselves

Future Travel Experience (FTE) was founded back in 2006. We have always believed that technology and innovation hold the key to the continual advancement of the air transport industry, and that certainly remains the case today. Having initially focused on the mobile and common-use revolution 16 years ago, FTE’s big areas of focus today range from digital transformation to touchless travel. We have a strong focus on exploring how new?and emerging technologies can help aviation industry stakeholders optimise efficiency, reduce costs, create new revenue streams, and improve the overall customer experience. We do this through our?online media, international events, the?FTE Innovation & Startup Hub,?industry working groups?and our?FTE Consulting?division.

As the sector recovers from the impacts of the pandemic what are some of the most interesting innovations taking place right now – has the pandemic accelerated the delivery of some of these?

The pandemic has certainly helped accelerate innovation in the air transport industry. The sector was faced with what was essentially an existential crisis with population lockdowns and border closures across the globe. In response, the entire industry – airlines, airports, vendors and all their partners – quickly realised that it had to embrace new thinking and new ways of doing things in order to survive. We’ve seen biometric-enabled touchless processing at the airport become mainstream around the world; the use of antimicrobial materials become commonplace in airports and aircraft; and a widespread acceptance that modernisation through digital transformation is an urgent priority to future-proof the industry.

How do you see thinking in the sector evolving post-pandemic around the role and importance of innovation and foresight?

It seems everyone now understands the true value of innovation. In the past, some may have thought of innovation teams as simply playing around with and testing new technologies and ideas. Now everyone respects the fact that embracing innovation is essential. This ranges from the importance of an innovation-focused mindset through to the use of structured innovation processes that can help to bring projects from idea to implementation in a short timeframe. It’s a similar story with foresight. Following the impact of the pandemic and the way it caught the industry and the world in general off guard, organisations and their people have a real appetite to learn what’s on the horizon, what might be coming next, and how we can all take action today to prepare for those potential changes.

What are the key capabilities that you believe leaders and managers in the sector need to develop or refine in order to ensure they are fit for the future?

A few things spring to mind. Firstly, given the important role of innovation throughout the pandemic, embracing a culture of innovation is vital to ensure that everyone feels empowered to make a positive difference, especially during testing times. Also, a willingness to collaborate is fundamental. In the air transport industry, you have so many players involved behind the scenes – airlines, airports, vendors, government agencies, ground handlers, to name just a handful – and things can only really change when everyone is pulling in the same direction.

The pandemic, and the crisis that it created for the aviation industry, brought these different stakeholders together, and many willingly (eventually, at least) embraced collaboration, which was very powerful. Finally, a focus on future-readiness is vitally important. Naturally, there is always a big focus on making sure today’s operations are undertaken assmoothly as possible (which is a big challenge given the current workforce shortages). However, looking ahead, planning for what might come next, and having a strategy in place to respond to tomorrow’s changes and challenges is the key to future-proofing any business.

Future Travel Experience has created the FTE Innovation & Startup Hub – how is this helping to shape the future of the aviation ecosystem?

We launched the FTE Innovation & Startup Hub in 2018 and our motivation was two-fold. Firstly, we wanted to help airlines, airports, and their partners tap into the huge amount of innovation that is coming out of the startup scene. Secondly, our goal was to create the first global community for the organisations and individuals who are at the forefront of innovation in aviation. We’re proud to be working with a variety of airlines, airports and vendors – ranging from Southwest Airlines and American Airlines to Schiphol Group and Miami International Airport – to support their innovation strategies. The nature of our community - and the way it encourages all members to share their experiences and expertise with one another - is having a very positive impact in accelerating innovation.

What do you see as some of the big risks and opportunities ahead that are driving the need for players in the sector to future proof themselves?

One big challenge right now is the workforce shortage that is having a negative knock-on effect for many in the industry. However, every challenge creates an opportunity and in this case the opportunity is around embracing technology and automation. There is a huge amount of talent in the aviation industry and once everyone can tap into the potential offered by the latest technological developments, the benefits will be huge. These range from efficiency gains and an improved and more personalised customer experience, through to the creation of new long-term revenue streams.

Can you give some examples of the most interesting airline and airport innovations taking place that are helping to shape the future for their organisations??

In terms of the bigger picture developments that have the potential to?really revolutionise the industry, we’re seeing lots of organisations, including the likes of United, AirAsia, Fraport, Groupe ADP, GOL, Japan Airlines, and many others exploring and investing in electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles and the ground infrastructure needed to support their future operations. This is in response to a growing acceptance that commercial eVTOL operations really are going to take-off in the next few years. Airports and airlines realise that they need to act now to ensure they’re not left behind.

We’re also seeing a big investment in digital twin technology, with the likes of Vancouver Airport Authority, Hamad International Airport, and Aeroporti di Roma among some of the first movers. Web3 and the many opportunities it creates is another hot topic. We’ve seen airlines like Air Europa, Emirates, Etihad Airways, and airBaltic embrace NFTs already, while at our recent Future Travel Experience conference in Dublin the likes of IGA Istanbul Airport outlined their metaverse plans.

Who has been doing a good job of longer term thinking and laying out their future vision and roadmap - what are some of the stand out elements?

Royal Schiphol Group – a member of the FTE Innovation & Startup Hub – has an ambitious vision in place which looks ahead to 2050. One of the most eye-catching aspects of the vision is the focus on autonomous operations and sustainability. In fact, Schiphol Group is aiming to make its airports emission-free by 2030. While the focus is on the medium- to long-term, we’ve already seen some interesting trials taking place in Amsterdam, including the use of autonomous vehicles on the apron as well as the use of “taxibots” as part of the efforts to make airside operations greener. Elsewhere in Europe, Groupe ADP has also laid out some ambitious plans; its ‘2025 Pioneers’ vision is built around the idea of its airports becoming multi-modal hubs powered by clean energy.

In closing, what are three key actions that you think every leader should be taking today to prepare for an uncertain future?

Firstly, embrace the power of innovation. Empowering your people to innovate and supporting them with the right tools and processes will stand you in good stead today and in the future. Secondly, share andcollaborate. When the industry shows a willingness to work together to overcome a common challenge, anything is possible. Thirdly, prepare for the future. Take the time to explore what’s on the horizon and what the next big technology, trend, challenge or opportunity might be in order to help future proof your business.

Future Travel Experience?is an independent online media, events, creative, and industry change leader with more than 15 years’ experience of helping the sector innovate and transform the travel experience. The business is dedicated to working with airports, airlines, and industry stakeholders to enhance the end-to-end passenger experience and business performance. This is achieved by providing the air transport industry with high-level thought leadership, connecting industry stakeholders to drive innovative new approaches. FTE plays a major role in driving sector transformation by supporting the aviation start-up ecosystem, and offering inspiration on the steps that airlines, airports, and their partners should be taking to future-proof their businesses,

Fast Future is partnering with FTE to offer a programme of aviation sector foresight, visioning, and strategy services. These are designed and tailored to the specific future focused needs of clients across the sector. The goal is to help organisations navigate the fundamental shifts taking place around us and plot a course through the forces shaping future risks and opportunities. To learn more about these services please visit?https://fastfuture.com/consulting/aviation-foresight/?or contact [email protected].

Image 1:https://pixabay.com/photos/hands-team-united-together-people-1917895/

Image 2:https://view.publitas.com/cfreport/schiphol-annual-report-2021/page/17

Image 3:?https://evtol.com/

Image 4: Amsterdam Airport?Schiphol