Cargo being transported at an airportPascal Buchner, chief information officer at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association representing the world's airlines, stated that "Airlines are not always very good at information technology."Anyone who lost their luggage or had to delay their flight would likely agree.Airlines are betting that technology can help improve the situation.Buchner says, "We now know data is the primary source of performance for airline,"Data - and how it is analysed – has quickly become a key factor in how an airline operates."During a single flight, a passenger can interact with up to 10 entities - from airlines to government to ground handlers to at most two airports – all of which require the secure exchange data on baggage, flight, and travel documents," says Jacques Demael (senior vice president of strategy & business support at SITA), an aviation-focused global IT company based in Geneva.According to Mr Demael the industry's data sharing has "exploded" in the past few years.Although it may seem like this to be a secret, smooth travel is dependent on data. This includes sharing travel documents and monitoring baggage flow between airports.According to SITA, baggage mishandling rates have fallen in half in the past decade."The ability to track your bag at multiple points along the journey and share that information dramatically reduces the likelihood that your bag will be mishandled," Mr Demael said. He explained that airlines can achieve up to 66% improvement in their baggage tracking data."These improvements have led to baggage mishandling rates worldwide being cut in half in the last decade."There is still much to be done, despite the positive changes. SITA's 2020 report found that 25.4 million pieces were lost or mishandled in 2019 around the world, resulting in an estimated $2.5bn ($1.8bn; $2.21bn) for the air transport industry.Continue the storyThe airline industry has suffered greatly from the global pandemic. IATA believes the industry will return in 2022 to its 2019 levels. This year, however, is the expected year when the industry will be back to profitability or breakeven.With that recovery comes the collection of records amounts of data.Business Technology: MoreAirports and airlines can use real-time data to better manage their resources. This means that baggage centres, check-in counters, and gates can be properly staffed. Unexpected events like weather cancellations can also be handled quickly.For passengers, Mr Demael states that the data will be especially valuable in a post Covid environment.Air Canada uses Sisense, a New York-based technology company, to collect and push different forms of data to its staff, from frontline employees to senior executives."Only by measuring, can we improve," Shaul Shalev is Air Canada's Manager for Safety Analytics & Innovation.Data was traditionally shared via e-mails, alerts, PDFs, and simple dashboards. Air Canada can now quickly push information to employees using new technologies, such as apps, smart watches, and immersive 3D environments that display the data.Mr Shalev says, "It's all about getting the data to the right people at the right times." I cannot expect users to quit their day jobs and go to work to print out a PDF. They will then be able to digest the data by looking at a dashboard, e-mail, or bulletin.With just a few clicks, the passenger can access all the information about the Air Canada fleet. This is a vast improvement on what it used to take days to put together.He says the next step is to be able identify problems before they happen.He says, "Imagine if it is possible to tell if an aircraft's part needs to be replaced before its life expectancy ends or if it can be predicted when it will fail and take appropriate action." This is a current and based on performance degradation over time. Our approach will increase precision and allow us to choose not only what to replace but also where and when.Air Canada now allows employees to receive information directly from their phonesAmerican Airlines consolidated around 100 systems into ten in order to simplify data management for its cargo business.The technology has had a positive impact on the work of over 8,000 people in cargo and airport operations as well as more customers.Jessica Tyler, American Airlines' President Cargo and Vice-President Operations Innovation and Delivery, says, "We can learn more from data we receive based upon customer behaviour, shipment performances and any issues that may be reoccurring.""In many cases, we can see patterns before the issue affects the shipment journey.
