Passengers at Mexican airports are happier than the average passenger globally. According to analysis released today by air transport IT provider SITA, 89% of Mexican passengers are happy along their journey.
They love to use technology but SITA warns that there are different types of travelers – and one size does not fit all.
In the 2016 SITA Passenger IT Trends Survey, conducted across six airports in Mexico and representing 76% of the country’s passenger traffic, SITA reports that airline passengers are so comfortable with technology today that they are choosing to use it rather than interacting with people.
In Mexico, 94% of passengers carry at least one mobile device and 48% carry a tablet. They also score very highly on an index of online and mobile service usage in their everyday lives at 7.1 out of 10 and increasingly are using online services for travel.
(SITA touches every aspect of the air transport industry, providing the technology that powers the industry for airlines, at airports and on aircraft. Nearly every airline and airport in the world does business with SITA and its border management solutions are used by more than 30 governments. Courtesy of SITA and YouTube)
Today more than half of these tech-savvy passengers use self-service technology along their journey and this is rising. Over the past year, more passengers in Mexico are using self-service for booking, checking-in and getting their boarding passes.
In particular, self-service check-in has jumped from 59% to 74% with online check-in rising the most.
SITA, analyzed the behavior of four different types of passengers. The Careful Planner, Pampered, Hyper-Connected and Open-Minded Adventurer profiles each uses technology in different ways.
Mexico has a high proportion of ‘careful planners’ with 42% compared to the global average of 34%. These passengers plan ahead to make their journey as easy as possible and use technology such as online check-in so they can double check everything in advance of arrival at the airport to avoid any negative experiences.
Speaking today at the Asociación Latinoamericana del Transporte Aéreo (ALTA) AGM, taking place in Mexico City, Alex Covarrubias, SITA Vice President, Latin American and Caribbean, said: “Our survey demonstrates the increased role and relevance of technology to deliver a great passenger journey and the opportunity to continue to harness its power to facilitate travel.
“Airports and airlines operating in Mexico are indeed investing significantly in technologies enabling automation, mobility, self-service, facilitation and personalization to improve all aspects of the passenger journey. In addition, the significant airport infrastructure projects in Mexico are a key opportunity to implement innovative solutions which continue to improve the passenger experience.”
SITA works together with airlines and airports across the world to improve the end-to-end passenger experience. In Mexico, AICM (Mexico City International); GAP, which operates 12 airports in Mexico, including Guadalajara and Tijuana; ASUR which operates Cancun and Cozumel and AMAIT in Toluca, all use SITA technology as they invest to improve the passenger experience.
Each country is unique but SITA’s global research shows that passengers are happier when using technology along their journey. At the points of the journey that self-service is available, people exhibit positive emotions.
Lower levels of self-service mirror a lower level of positive emotions. In Mexico, 89% have positive emotions across the whole journey. Globally the average is 85% with only two Asian countries ranking higher than Mexico.
To help illustrate the differences among travelers SITA has made it possible for people to find out their own passenger profile. Anyone can complete this short online form to find out what kind of traveler they are and compare their personal behavior to others from around the world.
This is the 11th edition of the SITA/ATW Passenger IT Trends Survey. It was conducted with more than 9,000 passengers from 19 countries across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa representing almost three-quarters of global passenger traffic.
*More details of the global results of SITA’s Passenger survey including information on the emotional scale tool and the technology adoption model are available here. There is a fact sheet on Mexico here.
* Visit travelerprofile.sita.aero to find out what kind of traveler you are.
