Research and consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, has published Analysis of the Global Airline IT Market, Forecast to 2025, a study that discovered that passengers’ increasing digital expectations are driving airlines to introduce digital enablers. The consultancy states that this trend is “propelling a digital transformation journey” that will “fundamentally change traditional airline information technology (IT) strategies.”

The airline IT market has been diminished by the Covid-19 pandemic and is expected to produce revenues of US$20.74 billion by 2025, related to US$21.20 billion in 2019. Frost & Sullivan initially forecast that, by 2025, the market would reach revenues of US$25.1 billion from $21.20 billion in 2019.

“Despite the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the industry, airlines are increasingly focusing on adopting next-generation digital solutions such as mobility, machine learning (ML), Big Data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify cost-saving and revenue-generating opportunities,” said Abhilash Varkey Abraham, aerospace & defence research analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Additionally, a few major airlines have already committed to migrating their entire IT infrastructure to the Cloud over the next 3-5 years, and this trend is likely to continue and grow, mainly among low-cost carriers.”

Abraham added, “From a regional airline IT market perspective, North American airlines were the highest revenue contributor in 2019 and are expected to remain so during the forecast period. Further, APAC is expected to be the key growth engine over the medium and long terms.”

The report says that global airlines are losing US$25 billion due to interruptions in operations, some 50% of which is addressable through digital solutions. According to Frost & Sullivan, a “huge opportunity” exists for IT suppliers to innovate and extend their portfolio. Market opportunities combine real-time data analytics – with interactive displays and graphical user interfaces (GUI) with greater market penetration in the medium term. This area will assist as a growth opportunity for suppliers. With airlines welcoming the capabilities of next-generation technologies like AI and ML, solution providers are encouraged to combine them into their solutions.

Frost & Sullivan also helps vendors generate solutions to solve airlines’ disruption pain points, particularly in passenger re-accommodation and compensation. Adopting Big Data platforms can also streamline the operations of airlines, reducing cost and time.