Three quarters of airline passengers carry a smartphone, and despite 90% of them saying technology helps them when travelling most have yet to make the transition to using their devices for their travel needs, reveals the annual  SITA/Air Transport World Passenger IT Trends Survey.

This year's survey finds that less than 5% of air travellers use mobile for services such as check-in and booking. The majority of passengers (78%) cites usability concerns and limitations of the device for not using mobile for travel.

More than half of the respondents (69%) booked their travel through a website, and 20% used a kiosk for check-in on the day of travel. SITA says these figures are in line with the levels as last year's, suggesting the first wave of self-service technology is a firmly established part of the travel experience.

The next wave will be the widespread adoption of mobile services, as global travellers have listed  information services as what they want most on their mobiles. 63% said they would use their mobile for flight search, 58% to check flight status, 29% to receive promotions, and 37% to buy tickets.

SITA stated the unique capabilities of smartphone technology, such as localisation and personalisation, provide the ability to offer a seamless travel experience to passengers. Both airlines and airports have the opportunity to provide much more personalized and intuitive services at the right time and stage of the journey.

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