From PNR to personalisation: aviation’s unstoppable shift to e-retail.

We are living through the “offer and order” revolution. This necessary movement, spearheaded by IATA’s NDC and ONE Order mandate, is critical because the old, rigid Passenger Name Record (PNR) simply can’t handle the individual preferences that customers want today.

Think about trying to run a state-of-the-art medical service using a language only understandable by a specialist with a PhD. Legacy PNR is like that specialised, complicated language - it struggles to sell and manage complex "packages of goods", especially when a customer needs to change something. The new offer and order model is essential for flexibility.

The benefits aren't just a load of theory; they are delivering results now. Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, said on one CEO panel that they are experiencing 50 Net Promoter Score (NPS) points higher on NDC transactions alongside reduced distribution costs.

Many airlines at the World Aviation Festival view the ONE order transition as a frightening issue due to the monumental complexity of legacy systems. The solution suggested by Willie Walsh, the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is to adopt modular systems. This "plug-and-play" approach allows airlines to choose the best-in-class solutions for every piece of their operation, avoiding vendor lock-in.

Loyalty is built on seamless service and deep customer understanding. Generative AI can utilise a vast amount of traveller-focused data for hyper-personalisation. But this requires walking a critical line: the "cool vs. creepy" line.

At the event panels, the industry was asking itself questions such as:

• Will travellers trust us with the depth of data needed for micro-segmentation?
• Will transparency be enough when prices differ between groups/co-travellers based on their individual preferences?
• Can we ensure the consumer feels safe and is truly getting the best price?
• How will we ensure that the digital experience on an app is perfectly consistent with the physical touchpoints at the airport or onboard?

Finding the answers to these questions and more is key to striking the right balance. Tomorrow’s aviation leaders must deliver the customisation modern customers crave without compromising their loyalty by violating travellers’ privacy - or today’s increasingly stringent international data and privacy regulations. That requires trust, and that trust demands transparency in how the airlines use data.

To succeed, aviation is borrowing insights from another travel heavyweight segment: hospitality. The lesson they are learning is to pivot away from treating passengers as customers towards embracing them as guests. This means enhancing attention to detail, strengthening interpersonal relationships digitally and onboard the flight, and enriching service offerings to make personalisation a natural, lucrative, and mutually rewarding key part of the aviation industry.

A world of possibilities awaits aviation brands - one where digital technology enables customised offerings at scale, transforming simple transit into an enjoyable aspect of the travel experience. Getting this right means retaining trust and harnessing data intentionally and transparently. It also means taking inspiration from guest-oriented industries like hospitality and dining to revolutionise offerings and present a range of personalised options, all available at the touch of a button. E-retail dominates aviation already, and tech-driven CX will define its future.