Most airline passengers do not use smartphones for travel services, despite three quarters of them carrying one during their travel, according to a survey.

The 2013 Sita/Air Transport World Passenger IT Trends survey included more than 2,400 passengers at six leading airports around the world and showed tech-savvy passengers who are equipped to use the latest mobile travel services but are cautious about doing so.

Even though passengers carry smartphones and say that they would use mobile services the majority are yet to make the transition. Despite the increase in recent years, actual rates of usage of these services, such as check-in and booking, remain below 5 per cent, said the survey.

About 78 per cent of passengers cite usability concerns and limitations of the device as a possible reason for not using mobile for travel.

Francesco Violante, CEO, Sita, said: “Technology has become an indispensible travel tool for the vast majority of today’s passengers. Our survey this year has seen 90 per cent of them say that technology has helped them when traveling. The opportunity for further improvements is here now – with smartphones in their hands passengers are equipped to use sophisticated mobile services.

“Passengers are ready but remain at the edge of really ‘going mobile.’ This year’s survey has shown that the industry should indeed offer mobile services that make it easier to book travel and manage the entire journey. Improving usability and utilising the unique capabilities of smartphones is the key to increase usage.”

The survey found that 69 per cent of respondents booked their travel through a website and 20 per cent used a kiosk for check-in on the day of travel. These figures are in line with the levels seen in last year’s survey, suggesting the first wave of self-service technology is a firmly established part of the travel experience.

The next wave will be the widespread adoption of mobile services, it said. To persuade people to change their travel habits these will need to deliver additional value over existing technology choices. - TradeArabia News Service