Innovate to stay ahead

Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Innovation and service excellence has become the core of the airline and aviation industry, with stakeholders needing to be on constant alert to stay ahead, APOT.Asia Chairman and SriLankan Airlines Director/CEO Rakitha Jayawardena said yesterday.
Speaking at the APOT.Asia (Asia Pacific On-board Travel) Forum in Sri Lanka, Jayawardena said: “We are meeting at a time when the industry trends are rapidly changing.”
He pointed out that discerning customer expectations had started revolving around the unique and innovative airline and aviation related products that service providers had to offer.
“This is the reason why many international airlines today introduce various innovations in their line-up of inflight products and services – from mood scanning blankets to signature dishes by celebrity chefs or digital baggage tags. All these are utilised by airlines in a concerted effort to be in the forefront of this competitive and highly volatile industry,” he explained.
Today’s air traveller also prefers to stay connected and be active on social media no matter what time of the day or night.
As a result, the airlines have been quick to recognise such passenger preferences and adjust their service strategies accordingly, focusing on optimum comfort levels when selecting products and services that help maintain the highest industry standards while creating that unique sense of individuality, he noted.
He said SriLankan Airlines had not been slow off the mark in this respect either and it now offered a completely new onboard experience across all classes on the new A330-300s which are being inducted into its fleet.
“I do hope that this conference will offer new perspectives and ideas on the way we serve our passengers and patrons,” he said.
At the last APOT event in Vietnam, the world’s longest spring roll was prepared by the APOT delegates on the Dragon Bridge, in Danang. This year, another Guinness record is in the making with the support and drive from Tourism Promotion Bureau and in association with the Tea Board – one that is absolutely unique and which requires great skill.
He said: “Ceylon Tea is famous the world over and you will have the opportunity of being a part of this exciting attempt at establishing a tea plucking, manufacturing and serving experience record – it sounds easy but I assure you it is not!’
“SriLankan Airlines as the country’s national carrier has been involved in many tourism promotion ventures and is happy to be part of this prestigious event. We will continue to endorse endeavours of this nature that facilitate the growth of the industry,” he added.
He also said that he considered it a singular honour to have assumed the Chairmanship of APOT.Asia, which has evolved into the premier forum for many top quality inflight and hospitality service providers to meet and share experiences and new ideas.