Upgrading Your Travel Experience

Except for extreme situations like the experience those on the Costa Concordia, most people find vacations enjoyable. However, their experiences with traveling for vacation are often a less happy time. According to FlightView, 2012 is the year that airlines, airports and hotels will make the process a little palatable for travelers.

USAToday published the 10 worst

Recently, airport terminals got a bad rap when around the world, citing issues with cleanliness, services, on-time departures, navigation and the ease of getting to and from a city’s center. Since travelers can spend a lot of time in terminals and are often the first and last impressions for trips, working are providing a better travel experience wouldn’t go amiss.

Businesses related to travel will be making changes this year to better provide customers with up-to-the-minute travel and flight information. According to Mike Benjamin, chief executive officer of FlightView, travelers are going to be more demanding about the sort of information that businesses in the industry provide to make traveling less stressful.

"Last year, airports and airlines looking for a competitive advantage were quick to implement mobile websites, native apps and new terminal displays," Benjamin said. "This year, simply making content available through technology isn't enough.”

One of the biggest issues travelers face is the dreaded flight delay. FlightView reported that 62% of travelers were frustrated at their gate when they learned that their flight was delayed and couldn’t get more information on a new take-off time. Passengers are expecting that airlines and airports will provide more detailed information on delayed flights this year.

Mobile content is another area where the industry can improve. While many airlines and airports offer apps and sites with flight status information, that’s not enough. In this age where customers are used to having a wealth of information available, these apps and sites are expected to also provide information on nearby amenities, upgrade information and boarding messages.

And it’s not just the businesses that are directly involved with travel that will be upping the ante in 2012. According to Flightview, malls, hotels and other businesses will leverage flight information. For malls, this has the potential to be a huge revenue driver: by displaying flight information consumers can better gauge how much time they have to continue shopping.

“Travelers crave real-time flight information, and more venues will aim to satisfy that appetite in 2012,” Benjamin said. “We expect to see more outlets — including malls, hotels and consumer websites — leverage travel content to build customer relationships and loyalty."