The Anatomy of the Switcher

Ghost-written article for Gunda Lapski, director of Utilities and Telecoms, J.D. Power and Associates Europe.
Published in Utility Week magazine, UK, November 2002.

Fortunately for UK utility suppliers, a public autopsy with a high media profile is not necessary to analyse who amongst the UK populous switches utility suppliers and why. J.D. Power and Associates is one of the leading companies specialising in the evaluation of customer satisfaction and has been in existence since 1968. Best known for its surveys in the automotive industry, for the last three years it has been analysing the utility industries in the UK.

And people do switch suppliers - in the latest survey of the UK domestic electricity industry covering interviews with over 4,500 customers, six per cent said they were “extremely” or “very likely” to switch from their current electricity supplier in the next 12 months. This figure varies considerably across the different supplier groups with some having a figure of potential switchers as high as 11 per cent, and some as low as three per cent. However, even the figure of three per cent is substantial when related to the customer base of the leading suppliers. When looking at the UK as a whole the same three per cent relates to a potential £24 million in revenue, with an average monthly bill of £29.58 and around 27 million households in the UK.

So, what is the profile of the switcher?

He or she spends slightly less per month than average, probably because price is one of the major reasons for moving suppliers. The switcher tends to have a slightly higher income than average and more pay their utility bills by direct debit than other methods (48 per cent vs. 40 per cent). There is a much higher penetration of owner-occupiers (75 per cent vs. 68 per cent) amongst the switchers and they are slightly younger than average.

A common feature across most of the different industries surveyed by J.D. Power and Associates is the fact that switchers are also more likely to be ‘techies’ in that they have higher computer ownership and are likely to be greater users of the internet. This is also reflected in the electricity survey: over half of switchers had a computer with 43 per cent having internet access at home, compared to 38 per cent for non-switchers. More switchers had visited the website of their electricity supplier (nine per cent) than those customers who had never switched had. This spells it out for the suppliers – use the internet or e-mail to communicate with these customers – it’s how they like to work.

Switchers are also more demanding and inquisitive – more have called customer service. Are they more likely to recommend their current supplier than those who have never switched – no, with less than half saying they would recommend their supplier compared to 61 per cent of the non-switchers.

Finally, are switchers more likely to switch again over the next 12 months than non-switchers? The answer is yes. Amongst customers who have never switched, five per cent said they were extremely or very likely to switch compared to eight per cent of switchers.

Moreover, as those switchers continue to move their satisfaction levels drop off as highlighted in the accompanying chart. So the message is to try and keep those new customers – they are in communication more than your existing customers so the opportunity is there to make them aware of the benefits of your services. This also may explode a few myths about poaching customers from other suppliers – the work is not finished when your newest customer joins. In fact, the honeymoon period of a new customer is likely to be their most critical time.

However more importantly make sure that your loyal customers are not ignored. A subsequent article by the writer will deal with the important facets of keeping your customers. Until then, the biggest clue would be that those suppliers who were ranked top in our survey were much better at communicating with their customers than those suppliers ranked at the bottom, especially if something goes wrong with supply.

A Nightmare on Lindbergh street? Never Again!

Ghost-written article for John Jarrell, SITA Airport Services.
Published in the International Herald-Tribune newspaper, European edition, October 2002.

At one time or another many experienced business travellers will flaunt their definitive travel horror story. Attempting to get from one place to another by air seems to be particularly hassle-prone. Though some may exaggerate, regular air travellers may genuinely wonder whether things will ever improve.

Fortunately airport operators know and see all. They are responding proactively to an ever-increasing demand for flights with enhanced customer service. The airport industry now reacts to and is an integral part of the global marketplace thanks to the Internet and e-commerce, and these guys know that IT is the way to maximise their effectiveness. SITA has the tools to get the job done.

Check-in lines were one of the first things airports wanted resolved. Originally, the airport would have to allocate check-in desks for every airline using the airport. Some desks would stand empty while others overflowed – neither cost-effective nor good customer service. Now over 150 commercial airports from Atlanta to Vienna use SITA’s common-use terminal equipment (CUTE). This means the airlines can share check-in desks, airports can use their infrastructure more judiciously, and passengers can move effortlessly to their flights. In the future kiosks will become more commonplace so passengers can breeze through within one card swipe.

The next step is immigration and visas. SITA developed the electronic travel authority system (iVisas) with CPS Systems and Australia’s Department of Immigration and Cultural Affairs to facilitate visa approval. The benefit to airports and passengers alike is that traditional paper visas are no longer needed. The visa request is now handled at the travel agent stage, and approval can be received within seconds. Additionally the Australian government requested that a complimentary service be developed for the recent Olympic Games, advanced passenger processing (iPass), which further reduces the potential for delays. Preliminary feedback suggests a stunning success.

Finally there’s baggage – what happens if an item of baggage gets into the departing plane’s cargo hold without its appropriate passenger? This used to cause major headaches for the airports, as by law a plane cannot leave the tarmac with unclaimed baggage on board. This could mean a delay of up to thirty minutes for everyone on board while the offending suitcase had to be located and removed. Nowadays airports use SITA’s baggage reconciliation service (BRS) to locate such baggage and remove it in under ten minutes – just enough time for those on the plane to choose between the latest bestseller, the in-flight movie, or a ‘powernap’.

The good news for the future is that airports are pushing solutions providers like SITA to realize ‘blue sky’ projects for the Internet generation of travellers. Solitary smart cards will hold your ticket information, passport, and airline food and seating preferences. Computer chips in your jacket will match you to your baggage. Star Trek-style teleports are still unfortunately unlikely, but the technology behind the airport scenes is rapidly evolving to make those air travel horror stories a thing of the past.

John Jarrell has been VP and general manager of SITA Airport Services since October 1998. He works with airports to provide a portfolio of solutions to combat airport congestion, maximize airport resources, improve airport operating efficiencies, reduce airport costs and provide new streams of airport revenue. SITA is the world’s leading provider of integrated telecommunications and IT solutions to the air transport industry.

Airport Integration – Mission Impossible?

Ghost-written for John Jarrell, vice president and general manager, SITA Airport Services.
Published in Airports International magazine, July 2002.

When you talk to most people about airport integration their eyes quickly glaze over and attention wanders to the game on TV last night or their next appointment. Ask for a concise definition and you are likely to get a different answer depending on whom you ask. The result is that for many across our industry airport integration remains a distant dream.

Over several years of working with all levels of airport management I developed a presentation that explains the main principles by transposing the issues faced in an airport with those of a film director aiming to deliver the next Hollywood blockbuster. A highly edited version is given below.

How many times have airport operators had all their labour saving IT systems running, but wondered why the special effects they are expecting resemble South Park rather than Jurassic Park? While the individual applications appear to work well enough, something is lacking.

In terms of time, integration feels like the Ben Hur of tasks, and in terms of cost it makes a biblical epic seem like a home video. It may not be a case of your CUTE not being quite cute enough, or your BRS being irreconcilable, but that many airport operators are letting their primadonna applications run the show as independently as Liz Taylor and Richard Burton during a tantrum. However, at least five of the main applications can be integrated to work in harmony for the benefit of all parties.

Airport Systems Integration is a classic in development worth paying attention to. The benefits are not just “Pulp Fiction”, as the increased efficiency of airports, increased staff motivation, and subsequent increased revenues it can create have airport operators on the edge of their seats.

The Plot
Similar to a Hitchcock thriller the integration plot is full of suspense.

For many years airlines have benefited from having interdependent functions such as fleet scheduling, yield management, reservations and departure control systems (DCS) brought together on a mainframe system to operate in perfect synchronisation. If this philosophy were transferred to airports it would make for an easier life. So, why aren’t common use terminal equipment (CUTE), baggage reconciliation systems (BRS), resource management systems (RMS), flight information display systems (FIDS) and airport operational databases (AODB) set up in this way? By taking this co-ordinated approach and bringing in an AODB, each system can communicate with each other, making the entire system more effective and more efficient.

Unfortunately many airport operators are still experiencing the shortcomings of using old applications, or using new applications independently. The biggest challenge is then attempting to make forward-thinking commercial and operational decisions based on information that isn’t sufficiently up to date. Even where information is up to date, it may be in an unwieldy format, or simply too difficult to extract from its source application to be of practical use. Therefore, to guarantee the ‘feelgood factor’ we must discover how airports can get accurate information in real time in order for them to do their job. This is the next step in the evolution of integration.

The Action
There is already plenty of action at airports. Ramps, gates, and check-in counters can become congested, and flight information displays may not always display the same information. Today there are numerous applications designed to support airport operations: passenger processing, finance, maintenance, ramp, cargo, safety and security, air traffic control and many more functions. Whilst many of these applications produce individual customised reports, unfortunately those reports do not always match. A single source of data would resolve many management problems.

Having these airport systems operate on a shared local area network (LAN) immediately solves the problems of proprietary, dedicated and sometimes redundant cabling worming its way around the airport. The LAN is a high speed, high capacity, voice-data-video backbone, accessible to all that need it. Along with the latest internet protocol (IP) and web applications this network also supports all passenger processing systems such as CUTE, local departure control systems and boarding applications. Resource management applications are equally important. These real-time tools for facility usage planning can help an airport to run more efficiently and effectively. When the facilities are full, the revenue for both owners and concessionaires is assured.

Building management systems can be arranged in the same way. Power, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to track tenant lease space, and finance systems to automatically track utilisation and invoice tenants are all possible. The network is also self-maintaining in that it runs self-diagnostic programs, and will alert users at the first sign of failure, recommend solutions, and provide call-out information at the same time.

Each of these systems is an important component of the overall airport operation. However, each one is still isolated, and there is a risk that information entered in one application (e.g. flight times) may not match another. Systems integration can achieve the goal of secured, shared information, in turn enabling the airport operator to make customised queries to the database. In the same way, getting all of the scriptwriters and editors to talk together ensures that the final dialogue, costumes, props and sets are all agreed.

The Cast
Each of the individual airport applications such as CUTE and FIDS plays its part - like Beatty and Bening taking the lead roles in the integration flick. CUTE is one of the stars, speeding up the process of passenger check-in and reducing the number of manual errors at the same time. CUTE also maximises airport check-in resources, enabling up to 25% more passengers to be processed. The other lead role is taken by BRS, the seasoned performer which reduces the quantity of mishandled baggage, and makes it easier for airlines and airports to track baggage in general. In the event of a last minute baggage offload BRS has cut the time required to locate and remove the bag from more than 30 minutes to less than ten. In turn this reduces flight delays, helps to maximise airport capacity, and enhances the security process.

Other stars FIDS and RMS add to the cast of supporting applications. A centralised, multi-user FIDS can ensure that all of the flight data is standardised across the airport. RMS offers everything from planning the usage of gates, check-in counters, baggage carousels and ramp equipment to real-time day-to-day operations of the same. Flights running off-schedule can be reallocated a parking resource with minimum impact to overall operations. Inside the building, the limited space available for check-in, gate hold, and transit lounges can be maximised at the same time. Additionally the system will ensure baggage assignments are allocated evenly across all available carousels.

The Crew
As the camera is to the final footage, so the AODB is to ensuring each separate application is pulled together to one whole. AODB captures what is pertinent from each airport application, or ‘zooms out’ to take in information from more than one application at once. This is then disseminated over a secure network whenever and wherever required. It is also flexible enough to adapt to any airport, and to any range of airport applications. Imagine a camera that comes with its own editing suite, and automatically cuts the out-takes from the film to help make a better movie.

However, cast and crew alone do not make a blockbuster film. The Master Systems Integrator (MSI) is the ‘Spielberg’ of airport integration, and provides the final stage of human/computer interface. The MSI “Director” ensures that the actors are in place, the script is memorised, and the cameras are in position, so that together they produce an automated stream of information, or an Oscar winning film. In other words, an airport operator pans across all of the applications through AODB, or zooms in to a particular application to suit any circumstance. It makes all of the applications interact in real time, regardless of what platform or protocol they are using, while following the script already provided. Furthermore, preferences can be customised to each individual using it, making it suitable for any airport manager.

Recipe for a Blockbuster – Mission Possible
Why should the airport strain to cajole the most out of its stars when it can settle back calmly as the producer, and let the director do that? With the MSI “Director” the airport operator will be able to maximise the value for money of CUTE, FIDS and all other systems, by using all of the functions of those applications to the fullest extent, and as a matter of course. Meanwhile the studio is running at its fullest capacity, and highest efficiency. Instead of wasting time with manual operations and re-entering of information into disparate systems, management can concentrate on using the information available to improve customer service, increase security and generate new revenues. Whether reviewing finances, expansion plans, marketing or staffing, the IT-integrated airport can provide the information necessary for the airport operators to remain informed and stay ahead of the growing competition.

At the same time the tenants are happy because they receive value-added programs from the airport. Perhaps most importantly, the audience i.e. passengers can see and experience the benefits these systems bring, and may rush back for the sequel a few months later. Again, instead of spending time on the administration of reports or paperwork, airport and airline staff are able to concentrate on customer-focused activities.

You should expect IT integration to arrive soon at an airport near you, and now it even has a name – in some cases it is already there. Those who haven’t yet experienced it can rest assured - it isn’t Mission Impossible.

Working to a Secure Future

Published in Airport Security, Safety & Service magazine, UK, July 2002

The repercussions of September 11th have put the air transport industry under unique pressure to deliver an organised, high-tech, and global solution to a security problem that was previously unheard of. However, the industry has been largely preoccupied with the efficiency of hardened cockpit doors, air marshals, explosive detection systems and biometrics amongst other things. While it is inevitable that biometrics may be needed, until recently there has been a lack of focus on the groundwork that will make such technology feasible.

Making security effective begins with the basics of air travel. For example, SITA is working with the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency, where a system is being developed to provide accurate, comprehensive and timely advanced passenger information on all passengers travelling on in-bound international flights to Canada. This information can be used to enable government agencies to analyse and cross-reference passenger details against their own databases. The system combines passenger name records (PNRs) with data from global distribution, airline reservation and departure control systems to quickly identify those passengers warranting further questioning at the airport.

Complementary to the system being developed for CCRA is the iBorders solution, which has been developed in conjunction with CPS Systems. The solution provides real time data to a government at not only time of check-in, but also at reservation. This allows any government to make intelligent decisions on whether to instruct the airline to deny boarding of a particular passenger. Use of this system relieves pressure on airports and airlines, and encourages the kind of information sharing that will be needed in the future.

Concentration on border control can then pave the way for additional security measures in the airport, such as biometrics. However, a biometrics system needs as much emphasis on its integration with a passenger database and other airport applications as there is on which particular method of identification is used, whether iris scan, thumbprint or facial geometry. This is why SITA developed the Secure-Travel (S-Travel) initiative. In short, SITA is leading a consortium of specialised IT companies with IATA, to trial a pan-European biometric card security system for the EC. The system must have a ‘trusted passenger’ database at its core, with an agreed enrolment process for passengers and agreed procedures for airports to use it. These, together with ICAO approval for global implementation are the real issues that need to be resolved in such a system. Once resolved, then people can volunteer to be ‘databased’ by accepting the necessary security checks and research for inclusion. Their reward is a fast and hassle-free journey through the airport whenever they need to fly, and safer air travel for all involved. Airports, governments, and other organisations can then begin to concentrate on those passengers not on the database.

The S-Travel project may eventually facilitate the linking of air transport organisations with governmental organisations, or other authorities that need to be involved, but that issue is not up to SITA to decide. SITA’s role is to get the right information to the right people at the right time – something that the industry has relied on SITA to do for more than 50 years. The intention is simply to use the knowledge and expertise that already exists within SITA and amongst its customer airports, airlines and other organisations, to reinforce secure and efficient air travel at minimum cost as soon as possible.