For most travel industry leaders, the time has come to leave behind comparisons with pre-pandemic travel and look forward to the direction the industry will take in the coming years. That was the consensus among attendees at this year’s UATP Airline Distribution Conference held in Vienna March 12-14.
The conference featured panel discussions covering airline trends, distribution developments, and changes in payments and technology. The disruptions across the entire airline distribution value chain are creating an increasingly complex web of options in the ways travelers search, book and pay for travel.
In this neutral setting sponsored by UATP, panelists from across the travel industry, including representatives of major carriers, data providers, travel management companies and payment platforms explored how these changes will impact future airline distribution and traveler demands for optimal flexibility.
Travel payment trends amid changing rules and regulations, and new opportunities in payment technology were topics of both formal panel presentations and much of the informal networking conversations throughout the conference.
Successful global payment strategies depend on understanding the latest international regional regulatory factors, panelists pointed out. In addition, the conference underscored the ways airlines are adopting innovative fintech solutions like virtual cards, account-to-account bank payments, and closed loop alternatives to enhance profitability.
The 2024 UATP Airline Distribution Conference was held at the Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna Hotel. UATP’s annual interactive conferences focus on important distribution issues affecting the airline industry.
