The organisers of World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) have announced the agenda for this year’s Passenger Experience Conference (PEC), which promises insightful discussions on how digital solutions, tailored services, and passenger wellbeing are shaping the future of air travel.
The PEC will take place ahead of WTCE on Monday 7th April 2025 at Hamburg Messe, the day before WTCE and Aircraft Interiors Expo open. The 2025 conference will bring together industry experts and visionaries from airlines, airframers, OEMs, suppliers and design organisations, to discuss and deliberate the future of passenger experience, onboard environments, and services.
Levelling up passenger experiences
Focusing on creating unique experiences for passengers, the ‘Experience Driven Design for the Inflight Segment’ session (11:30-11:50) will delve into the intricacies of aligning promised and delivered onboard services. Leading the session, Johannes Lampela, director of design at LA Studio Designworks (part of BMW Group) and Nathan Portlock, associate director of strategy and partnerships at Designworks, will be joined by Neil Baptista, managing director at Icon Ventures.
Together they will offer a future-facing perspective on airline experiences in 2030, focusing on personalisation, seamless user interfaces, and the integration of emerging technologies such as AI.
Homing in on the luxury travel experience, the ‘Shaping the Future of VIP Travel: Experience, Design and Technology’ session will examine how design and technical integration are shaping the next generation of VIP aircraft interiors (16:45-17:05).
The session will highlight advancements ranging from seamless ground-to-air transitions, to immersive entertainment and wellness solutions, ultimately enhancing comfort, connectivity, and the overall inflight experience. Cristian Sutter, managing director of Sutter Aviation Consulting, will moderate the discussion between McCahl Troupe, design manager, and Grayson Steding, director of client support, both from Greenpoint Technologies.
As airlines refine their sustainability strategies, passenger feedback becomes increasingly crucial to what will come next for the industry. The session, ‘Closing the Loop: Leveraging Passenger Feedback to Drive Ancillary Revenue Across the Travel Ecosystem’ (16:45-18:00), will feature Melanie Berry, chief customer officer at Vueling Airlines; Michael Raasch, chief executive officer at Omnevo; Kolbrún Ýr Jónsdóttir, product manager, inflight service and experience at Icelandair; and Thomas Grazioli, head of strategic partnership sales Germany at Qualtrics, moderated by Andrew Doyle, senior director, market development at Cirium.
From an airline perspective, this session will explore how inflight feedback can enhance the understanding of passenger preferences with regards to sustainability and personalised requirements, and how strategic partnerships can create seamless, eco-friendly, and favoured end-to-end journeys.
Case study learning
In order to provide practical insights and real-world examples, the PEC agenda will also bring together geographic and cross-industry perspectives to help the inflight passenger experience industry fine-tune its upcoming offerings.
With Air India at the midpoint of its in-flight experience transformation, the session ‘The Transformation of Passenger Experience in India’ (11:30 – 13:00) will explore how evolving Indian consumer trends are reshaping this crucial global aviation market. Hosted by Vimal Rai, co-founder and managing partner at Commercial Excellence Partners, the discussion will focus on evolving business models, building organisational agility, and enhancing in-flight services, including connectivity, food service, and retail.
Meanwhile, the session ‘How Rail-Aviation Cross-Pollination Can Elevate Passenger Experiences’ (11:30 – 11:55) will explore the potential for shared innovation between these two sectors. Weiwei He, director, and Geraint Edwards, creative director of service design, both from Tangerine, will present the latest advancements in rail passenger experience, highlighting innovations shaping the sector’s future. They will conduct a comparative analysis with the aviation industry, focusing on key aspects such as comfort, wellbeing, sustainability initiatives, digital integration, and inclusivity.
Continuing the exploration of cross-industry learning, the roundtable ‘Making the Connections – Insights into Rail-Aviation Partnerships and Customer Journeys’ (11:55 – 13:00) will focus on the future of integrated rail-aviation travel. The discussion will examine how passenger experience innovation can overcome key challenges, such as bridging existing gaps and managing growing expectations, to deliver seamless and consistent journeys for both rail and air passengers.
Geraint Edwards will moderate the discussion, guiding insights from Weiwei He; John Davidson, head of customer experience at Trenitalia UK; and Karyn McAlphin, creative design lead at Sekisui Kydex.
WTCE event manager, Shona Thomson, said of the PEC: “By diving deep into the key trends that are shaping onboard services and passenger experiences, this year’s PEC agenda perfectly sets the tone for WTCE.
From digital innovation and personalised experiences, to sustainability and passenger wellbeing, PEC brings these crucial themes to the front of everyone’s minds, providing invaluable insights that will resonate throughout the rest of the week at WTCE as the industry comes together to collaborate and plan for the future of travel.”
For more information and to register to attend the Passenger Experience Conference 2025, visit: https://www.passengerexperienceconference.com/en-gb.html
For more information on World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo 2025 and to register for free, please visit: https://www.worldtravelcateringexpo.com/en-gb.html
