Airlines in the Asia Pacific region are looking to use more sophisticated data intelligence to increase sales and meet passenger expectations.

A survey of 30 carriers in the region, carried out by Sabre, found 70% believe technological advancement was the most important trend in the airline industry, alongside finding new solutions to meet higher consumer expectations.

More than half of the airlines (53%) said they were increasingly using data intelligence to gain more insights into both market trends and passenger booking behaviour.

But the majority (80%) admitted they were continuing to “fall short” when it came to how they ideally wanted to sell their ancillary products, such as baggage, seat selection, meals, onboard wifi and other services.

This comes despite Asia-Pacific airlines recording an 88% rise in ancillary sales over the past year. One third of the carriers surveyed now bring in more than 20% of all revenue from selling these add-on services.

Rakesh Narayanan, vice president, air line of business, Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific, said:

“Airlines have the potential to generate significant growth by efficiently channelling their content with innovative technology solutions that harness artificial intelligence and machine learning.

“Our Beyond NDC programme drives collaboration with airlines and agencies to help them create rich personas and micro-segmented offers using rich data that support their business objectives.”

The survey found airlines’ top priority was to “increase cross-sell and upsell opportunities to maximise revenue per passenger”.

Baggage, seat selection and meals are the top three ancillary requests from passengers, while 25% of business travellers also request onboard wifi.

The results of Sabre’s survey were unveiled at the STX Singapore event for the Asia Pacific travel industry.