Over the past 20 years, the air travel experience has become increasingly digitalized, in some cases radically so, for the greater comfort of passengers. At least that’s the impression one may have.

In fact, a recent study by Chair Pégase on the digitalization of air transport shows that, while this is appreciated by passengers, there comes a point when it adds to the stress of the journey.

A highly digitized experience

It seems so obvious today that we don’t even notice how much our travel experience has become digitalized. From booking to incident management, from border crossing to boarding, the moments when we deal with a human being are becoming extremely rare.

Long gone are the days when, talking to airline representatives, I was told that the use of Apple Wallet for boarding passes was being studied, but that a certain amount of skepticism prevailed.

And this digitalization is rather well received. In any case, 66% of travelers see it as a step forward. 59% of them find that it gives them more freedom in organizing their trip.

But not all promises are kept: only 48% find that technology makes them feel more at ease in airports, and, above all, 66% want more human interaction in their journey.

Flying remains stressful

It’s important to realize that for many people, flying is a stressful and anxiety-provoking experience.

Paradoxically, the least stressful phase of the trip is the flight (17%), when passengers trust the pilot. But all other stages are a source of concern, from long queues at security checkpoints (31%) to baggage reclaim.

It’s worth noting that passenger satisfaction is highly correlated with the stress experienced during the journey.

What the study shows is that stress caused by travel and stress caused by the use of technology (technostress) are cumulative.

Just when you might think that technology is a stress-relieving reassurance factor, the opposite is true.

Passengers generally positive about technology

The people least at ease with technology are therefore those who will experience the greatest increase in technostress. And it’s generally people with the lowest levels of education and income, while travel stress is highest among people who travel the least, with the exception of business travelers, who are stressed by time constraints.

The solution to reducing overall stress is not, then, as one might think, to add more digital as a reassurance tool, but opportunities to interact with humans at key points in the journey.

An expectation that, let’s face it, comes as something of a surprise. Today, we find that digital technology is a powerful reassurance tool.

An app like tripit, for example, provides information on delays, gate changes and baggage delivery belts, which is what more and more airline apps are doing. Lufthansa keeps you constantly informed about your luggage’s journey. The SAS application informs you as soon as boarding begins!

But maybe the majority of passengers travel with airlines that don’t offer these services, maybe they’re not aware of the applications that simplify travel, and maybe, quite simply, we don’t have the profile of the average traveler. It’s true that airline apps, and even their websites, are of very uneven quality. Hats off to Air France, bravo to SAS, a somewhat laborious experience with Lufthansa, from bad to catastrophic with Turkish Airlines or Garuda Indonesia, to mention only recent experiences.

On the other hand, we feel that the excessive digitization of incident management is a real step backwards. While some airlines (Air France, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines….) are doing very well, the same cannot be said for many airlines renowned for their quality of service, mainly Middle Eastern and Asian. When all goes well, they are excellent, but we advise you never to have to deal with Turkish Airlines customer service, for example. As for TAP, we won’t even mention it, since it’s so unworthy of an airline worthy of the name, and even comes under the heading of fraud and bad faith.

Let’s face it: some use digital technology to make life as difficult as possible for customers, complicating their journey and ultimately discouraging them from seeking compensation. And don’t expect to talk to a human.

Bottom line: still room for improvement

Nevertheless, 19.5% of passengers are enthusiastic and 45% optimistic about the use of technology in their travel experience. A priori good figures, but they show that there is still room for progress: people believe in the future, which means that the present remains unsatisfactory.

In fact, 25% of them are nostalgic for the old days, and 10.5% are downright skeptical.

What about you? Are you nostalgic for the days when your journey was marked by human contact? Do you find that all this brings welcome comfort and fluidity? Tell us in the comments.

Image : digital travel experience by Jaromir Chalabala via Shutterstock