It’s fair to say that these are times unlike any we’ve experienced before. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world. Our industry is under unprecedented pressure, and the future remains hard to read. How fast will recovery take place once it begins? Will it be v-shaped or w-shaped?
I can’t answer these questions but I’m confident that we will fly again. We’ll fly for work, for adventure, for love, family and friendship. Flying will allow us to come together in ways that feel even more meaningful after isolation. But we’ll need answers to different questions before we buy a ticket. We’ll want to know how our experience will be different than before, and what airlines are doing to keep us safe.
Airlines know this already. You can see it in how they’ve quickly adapted their booking, cleaning and service procedures, and you can read about it in their crisis communications. ATPCO has used those communications to create, maintain, and publish Reassurance UPAs (visual content) for close to 90 airlines. This timely, targeted content lets flight shoppers know about those important measures at the point of sale in as many channels as possible, and we’re making it available for free. 
As airlines modify their flexible booking policies, enhanced cleaning, and air filtration procedures, real-time safety measures, and more, this innovative form of airline content can help passengers understand quickly changing situations. We’re also using UPAs to let people know about special requirements related to their origin and destination, such as mandatory quarantine policies.
When the crisis has abated, hopefully in a few months, we will evolve or turn off those Reassurance UPAs, and slowly start planning trips to see our loved ones again. But I don’t believe the questions of safety this crisis has raised will ever completely disappear. I know my team, the Airline Retailing team, will continue to explore the right way to cover these topics with our airline customers as the crisis recedes. This way we can let flight shoppers know what they need to know for their health and safety, in addition to illustrating the comfort of a seat or the deliciousness of a meal.
As our airline customers continue to adjust their processes to make the flight experience as safe as possible for crew members and passengers, the Airline Retailing team will continue to work closely with them to make their efforts known. We’ll leverage the flexibility of our publishing tools so we can get the right message out at the right time, wherever passengers are buying flights.
Please let us know if we can help you in this effort, too.
