WTCE to shine a light on Passenger Experience Conference sessions

The organisers of the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo have announced the sessions at this year’s Passenger Experience Conference (PEC) taking place on 13 June in Hamburg that will be of particular interest to their audience.

The conference will explore ways that the passenger experience community is helping to rebuild the industry following the COVID-19 pandemic of the past two years.

Aviation stalwarts such as TAP Portugal, Virgin Atlantic, Safran Cabin and Inmarsat are confirmed to speak, with interactive Q&As set to follow each session, allowing attendees to gain valuable insights into the current trends and challenges facing the industry.

Event director Polly Magraw said: “Complementing the innovation anticipated at this year’s WTCE, we are delighted to announce the line-up for this June’s Passenger Experience Conference. The pandemic has fundamentally shifted how the aviation sector does business, with an increased focus on building a new for the future and not simply repairing the past. This year’s speaker line-up will help us answer how we should be responding to the different cohorts of passengers who will be in the vanguard of travel recovery while creating flying experiences that meet their needs and addresses their values.”

The “Building Value and Values into the journey” session will look at how to imbue delight into the passenger experience and create onboard services that travellers will truly value because they are aligned to their needs and respond to their values. It will also examine what processes need rethinking and where the opportunities lie to make the passengers’ onboard experience easier and analyses how best airlines can establish connection, trust and meaningful engagement with passengers as well as the strategies that open up revenue opportunities for airlines and their partners.

The Customer Experience Investment Dilemma session, featuring Seth Miller, Editor at PaxEx.Aero and Konsta Hansson, Managing Director at Reaktor Aero will look at ways for the industry to reach the ideal balance for better business outcomes.

The Revitalising Air Travel session will delve into the critical passenger experience strategies that will transform travel and support airline renewal.

Jennifer Newlands, Vice President, Head of Strategy, Brand, Content at Airbus, Silvia Mosquera, Chief Commercial and Revenue Officer at TAP Portugal and Anthony Woodman, Vice President – Customer Journeys & Reward at Virgin Atlantic will examine how innovative airlines are mapping out the routes to more seamless and efficient journeys with human values at their heart.

This session will provide visitors with the opportunity to hear directly from airline experience chiefs on how they are responding to the needs of those passengers who will be in the vanguard of travel recovery and building sustainable businesses.

The Carbon Budgets – A New Way to Address the Environmental Footprint of Business Travel session will be led by Andrew Doyle, Senior Director Market Development at Cirium, and will offer context to the challenges and opportunities ahead. It will centre around evaluating how corporate travel spending is being shaped by the carbon emissions of individual flights, discussing solutions to give travellers more agency and a better understanding of the carbon cost of their flight as well as evaluating the potential impacts on aircraft routes, fleet and, ultimately, cabin classes onboard.

Featuring experts including Joe Leader, CEO at the Airline Passenger Experience Association & International Flight Services Association, Guillaume Vivet, Vice President Digital Commerce & Experience at Inmarsat, Jonas von Kruechten, Head of Strategy & Business Development at AERQ and Christian Grou Co-Founder, Neutral Digital, the Differentiating by Delight – Mapping the Future for Digital Experiences session will take a deep dive into the impact of creating more nuanced and targeted connections for new business opportunities and revenues. It will also detail the key strategic and practical requirements for airlines seeking to elevate their digital passenger engagement.

Delegates are also invited to the Passenger Experience Conference networking party, which is free to attend for conference delegates.