Artificial intelligence and Aviation Industry
Overview
The aviation industry, especially the commercial aviation sector, is constantly striving to improve the way it works and customer satisfaction. To that end, it has been using AI. Though AI in the aviation industry is still in the nascent stage, some progress has been made already as certain leading carriers invest in AI. To start with, certain use uses are being implemented such as facial recognition, baggage check-in, customer queries and answers, aircraft fuel optimization and factory operations optimization. But AI can potentially go much beyond the current use cases. To cut a long story short, AI can redefine how the aviation industry go about its work.
The context
The global aviation industry has been exponentially growing. Take the example of the US commercial aviation industry. In the next two decades, passenger count is expected to double. In 2016, the US commercial aviation industry generated an operating revenue of $168.2 billion. This is an opportunity for an exponential growth which needs to be handled well. The aviation industry needs to move beyond its present ways of working and find better ways to optimize resources, improve customer satisfaction and safety records, control costs and be more responsible environmentally. Data is key to unlocking the potential and the aviation industry must leverage AI. So, while both the business case and context of AI in the aviation industry is set, we need to discuss the use cases being implemented currently.
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AI use cases in aviation
As stated earlier, AI in aviation is in the nascent stage but some use cases are already being implemented by some major US carriers. The use cases are described below.
· Passenger identification
The use case is to have machines perform end-to-end passenger identification and check-in at the airport. The Delta Airlines have been testing this process. The Delta Airlines has been keen on using AI for some time, as evident in its initiatives such as ticketing kiosks and check-in via the Fly Delta Mobile app. In May, 2017, it announced it was going to invest $600,000 in four automated self-service bag checking kiosks including one that will also have the facial recognition technology. The experiment is carried out at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. According to Delta Airlines, previous experiments have helped streamline customer flow at the airport and improve customer satisfaction scores. According to the Delta annual report, ““We are dependent on technology initiatives to provide customer service and operational effectiveness in order to compete in the current business environment. For example, we have made and continue to make significant investments in delta.com, mobile device applications, check-in kiosks, customer service applications, airport information displays and related initiatives, including security for these initiatives.”
· Baggage screening
In 2017, American Airlines conducted an app development competition with the goal of having an app developed for making baggage screening easier for the passengers. The competition, named HackWars, was themed upon artificial intelligence, drones and augmented and virtual reality. The winner, known as the “Team Avatar”, developed an app that would not only allow passengers determine their baggage size before arriving at the airport but also prepay any potential baggage-related expenses.
· Customer assistance
The United Airlines is using Amazon’s Alexa to have certain common customer queries answered. In September 2017, United announced a collaboration with Alexa. The feature is known as united skill. To get started, all passengers need to do is to add United skill to their Alexa app and then start asking. Alexa answers correctly to common questions such as status of a flight by number, check-in requests and availability of Wi-Fi on a flight. The review so far has been mixed which points to the fact that it is a learning curve and it is still a long way to go before AI can fully handle customer assistance.
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Challenges and tasks
Since the aviation industry has just embarked on the AI journey, it is going to be a challenging task embracing AI. The following challenges come to mind.
· Data confidentiality management
Humongous volumes of data will be in use as the aviation industry embraces AI and that will give rise to data confidentiality risks. Though it is not that prior to AI the airlines did not manage data. One such incident has already come to light when it was revealed that Emirates, a leading airline, leaks customer data to third-parties without authorization. It was found that customer details such as name, customer email, itinerary, phone number, passport number and details were shared with third-party service providers such as Boxever, Coremetrics, Crazy Egg, Facebook, and Google. Though Emirates policy states that there will be some data sharing, the policy is pretty much ambiguous.
· Tracking progress
Tracking progress is enormous challenge airliners will face. The first thing they need to do is to develop analytics that will help them develop and process accurate data. However, that in itself is a challenge. What kind of analytics will help? For example, customer satisfaction is going to be one of the most important factors in success. What kind of analytics will determine that airlines have been improving on customer satisfaction parameters?
· Managing investments
AI needs huge investments and probably the biggest risk in this is that smaller, especially budget airliners are going to miss out on reaping the benefits of AI fully. Does that mean that the performance of the smaller carriers will be impacted? That might not be the case because we might be moving towards more acquisitions and mergers. Bigger airlines will have a massive appetite for acquiring smaller airliners with an eye on market. It is not all gloom and doom though because smaller airlines like the SouthWest have already shown some initiatives towards embracing AI.
Conclusion
It is surprising that an important sector as aviation woke up to AI so late. As AI gathers pace, there could probably be a few mergers, acquisitions or even closure of small airlines who will not be able to afford the investments. Now, AI seems the best option to take aviation to the next level.
