Stephen Tame, Chief Adviser IT, Indigo Airlines

Enterprises in the transportation industry are increasingly turning to information technology (IT) solutions to bring in efficiency in their operations. These solutions have enabled them to meet signalling requirements, maintain passenger records and track vehicles on a real-time basis. Officials from leading enterprises in this space discuss their IT strategies, deployment challenges and future plans…

What role are IT and telecom solutions playing in the transportation industry? How are enterprises in the sector undertaking digi­t­a­l­isati­on?

The transportation industry is witnessing a big shift and the emergence of a connected consumer owing to the expansion of 4G coverage in the country. Over 53 per cent of our direct customers book tickets through their mobile phones. The demand for connectivity has increased at airports as well. Meanwhile, there have been significant developments during the past six months that have changed the landscape of the airline industry. To this end, the government has begun talks about providing Wi-Fi facility in aircraft. In fact, it has reportedly granted a licence to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited for providing satellite-based services. These Wi-Fi services would help in developing a connected airline and a connected  aircraft in the future and increase connectivity and efficiency at airports.

What are some of the IT, telecom, enterprise and mobility solutions used by your organisation? How have they helped in enhancing business performance and efficiency?

In May 2017, we revamped our website. We have also been developing solutions for maintaining our engines, checking fuel consumption, etc. From the customer’s point of view, we aim to make the information on our application/website easily accessible. We are also planning to connect our ground staff and deliver mobility to our engineers through tablets or mobile devices to enhance the company’s business efficiency. However, we are at the beginner’s stage right now.

What are the challenges faced in managing IT and telecom infrastructure, and deploying new technologies?

One of the problems that we faced was pro­­viding connectivity between our ground staff and the aircraft. While all other countries recognise mobile data as an essential service, there is no such provision in India. Further, limited network coverage in certain parts of the country has been a big challenge.

What is the scope of big data analytics, cloud and IoT technologies in the transportation industry? Is your company using/planning to use any of these technologies?

The airline industry has huge experience in the IoT domain. It is also witnessing growing traction in terms of big data analytics. As the wireless network grows, we will witness the emergence of more consistent models for the connected consumer, which would enable the industry to send passengers’ itinerary and boarding passes through Facebook Messenger or Whats­App messenger rather than by email. Some airline companies in the world are already using WhatsApp or Hike Messen­ger to share this information. In the fu­ture, we would look at  implementing arti­­­ficial intelligence in our systems.

What are the key IT and telecom trends that the transportation industry is likely to witness going forward?

In the future, we would witness the emergence of many new technology trends. For instance, the pilot of an aircraft would be able to turn on a Wi-Fi device and create a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot when the aircraft lands. Through this, updates can be sent to the ground staff and information rec­e­ived from them.