‘Excellence throughout the passenger journey’ will be a key theme of the Taste of Travel Theatre programme at this year’s World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) in Hamburg. The Taste of Travel Theatre is a discussion forum at the expo that will see a line-up of professionals from airlines, rail services, consultancies and industry associations engage visitors in thought-provoking sessions looking at how airline operators can enhance the end-to-end passenger journey.
Airlines need to respond to changing customer behaviours. For today’s travellers, expectations of an improved guest experience can include greater efficiency and personalisation, enhanced technology, and more attention to their diet, comfort, and wellbeing.
The keynote speaker at the Taste of Travel Theatre, Vimal Kumar Rai, founder of sales consultancy Commercial Excellence Partners, invites you to join him in Hamburg Messe where he will discuss AI-led transformation in other industries, and potential (realistic) use cases for the inflight customer experience.
In another session, titled ‘The Journey Experience’, Alison Wells, managing director of Plane Talking Products will lead the discussion. She will be joined by Antony McNeil, global director of food & beverage, inflight service & customer experience, at Singapore Airlines, who will share how the airline’s latest onboard innovations have been introduced in direct response to customers’ evolving tastes and requirements.
Another guest, Todd Traynor-Corey, managing director of Guest Products, will reveal how Alaska Airlines is raising the bar for guests through partnerships with local food and beverage brands, technology that provides guests with more options, better data to understand guest insights, and investments in inflight and lounge products.
In another session, Anne De Hauw founder of IN Air Travel Experience, and Simon Soni, a customer experience strategy expert, will be joined by leading airlines, to focus on the importance of understanding changing customer behaviours and how to cater to their needs in an evolving eco-system and competitive landscape. They will discuss how innovative tools such as AI can be used to develop better experiences.
In addition to the programme of educational sessions at Taste of Travel Theatre, live cooking demonstrations and tasting opportunities will also take place. The Taste of Travel Theatre will be located in Hall A1 at the Hamburg Messe from 28-30 May 2024. Sessions are free to attend.
