Excellence Takes Centre Stage at WTCE’s Taste of Travel Theatre

Excellence throughout the passenger journey will form a key part of Taste of Travel Theatre’s programme at this year’s World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE), organisers have announced. Taste of Travel Theatre, produced in association with Onboard Hospitality and sponsored this year by En Route, will welcome a line-up of professionals from airlines, rail services, consultancies and leading industry associations for a series of thought-provoking sessions looking at how airline operators can enhance the end-to-end passenger journey.

As passengers become savvier, airlines need to respond to changing customer behaviour. An improved guest experience can come through efficiency, personalisation, technology, and careful attention to diet, comfort, and wellbeing.

Keynote speaker and visionary, Vimal Kumar Rai of Commercial Excellence Partners, invites you to join him as he derives inspiration from AI-led transformation in other industries, to zoom into potential (realistic) use cases for the inflight domain. He will attempt to answer the question: Will AI really transform the Inflight Customer Experience?

As the theme of enhancing the guest experience continues it is no surprise that in Alison Wells session on The Journey Experience, Antony McNeil, Global – Food & Beverage Director, Inflight Service & Customer Experience, Singapore Airlines, will discuss how the airline’s latest onboard innovations are in direct response to their customers’ evolving tastes and requirements. Todd Traynor-Corey, MD Guest Products, will complete the scene and reveal how Alaska Airlines is raising the bar for guests through partnerships with local food and beverage brands, technology that provides guests with more options, better data to understand guest insights and investments in inflight and lounge products.

Industry experts in guest experience, Anne De Hauw and Simon Soni, alongside leading airlines, will focus on the importance of understanding changing customer behaviours and how to cater to their needs in an evolving eco-system and competitive landscape. They will discuss how innovative tools like AI can be used to develop better experiences for the future.

In addition to the programme of educational sessions at Taste of Travel Theatre, live cooking demonstrations and tasting opportunities will also take place. Taste of Travel Theatre, produced in association with Onboard Hospitality and sponsored this year by En Route, will be located in Hall A1 at the Hamburg Messe from 28-30 May 2024. Sessions are free to attend.