The World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo (WTCE) has announced that its Taste of Travel Theatre programme will feature sessions designed to inspire visitors to bring the ‘wow factor’ back to travel.
According to WTCE, well-known industry experts will guide and inspire airlines to adapt their onboard service strategies based on what passengers are looking for in their post-pandemic travels. In addition, panel discussions, live demonstrations and tastings will offer practical advice on how to bring the fun back to travel now that the industry has moved past the recovery phase.
A session entitled ‘Bringing the Fun Back to Air Travel’ will feature discussion on how airlines are working towards a better in-flight experience, including in the areas of sustainability, wellbeing, catering innovations and children’s entertainment. The session is moderated by Alison Wells, Owner and Managing Director of Plane Talking Products, and speakers from Icelandair, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Buzz Products draw on current trends to identify what passengers really want from their inflight experience.
The event will also see Director of Jetway Communications, Maryann Simson, moderate a discussion entitled ‘Digitising Onboard Retail’. Joined by speakers from Retail InMotion, easyJet, dnata and AirFi, this panel discussion will offer attendees insight into how easyJet has implemented portable streaming technology to transform retailing capabilities onboard, improve product offerings, reduce waste and create new touchpoints across the passenger journey.
Session entitled ‘How to Drive Inflight Retail for the Next Generation of Passengers’ will be presented by students from Wiesbaden Business School in Germany and will offer solutions for airlines and distributors on how they can meet the expectations of younger consumers.
The Taste of Travel Theatre will also introduce ‘The Ryder Cup of Wine! May the Best Win!’ interactive session which will give visitors the chance to taste a diverse range of wines from Californian sparkling wine and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to Italian Chardonnays and classic Chardonnays from the US. The session will explore a diverse range of flavours and aromas that the wines have to offer, including their unique sustainability farm practices, packaging alternatives and the growing category of non-alcoholic wine.
On day three of WTCE, Marc Warde, Owner and Director of Niche Free-From Kitchen moderates the panel discussion ‘Living the High Life: What Commercial, Private and Executive Aviation Can Learn From Each Other’. Warde will be joined by Daniel Hulme, CEO of OnAir Dining and Axel Bilstein, CEO of Flying Food, as they detail what makes private and executive aviation different and what the industry can learn to enhance the service in first class, as well as what influence commercial aviation has. The experts will also look at hybrid models, smaller jets and how a better service can be offered both on the ground and in the air.
WTCE Event Director, Polly Magraw said: “Creating memorable experiences onboard is key to moving past the post-pandemic recovery phase, especially when it comes to attracting the younger generations where brand loyalty isn’t necessarily a factor in their purchasing decisions. The Taste of Travel programme is always a highlight at WTCE and these sessions in particular are designed to inspire visitors to inject a bit of fun back into their onboard strategies. The expert speaker line-up will lead lively discussions on a topic that is so valuable to the future of the onboard services sector.”
