As airlines progress with plans to become modern retailers, the importance of a smooth payments experience grows in importance. Yet outdated airline payments risk undermining efforts to turn airports into retailing hotspots and are the root-cause of traveler frustration, according to a newly published report. 

Drawing on qualitative research from business psychology firm, Innovationbubble, and a multi-market survey with travelers undertaken by market research firm, Opinium - this report, jointly commissioned by Outpayce from Amadeus and Worldline, explores the current state of paying for airline services at the airport.

‘Retailing ready: towards a traveler-centric airport payment experience’ highlights several airport payments pain-points when purchasing services from airlines:

• 54% of travelers have been asked to change location and re-queue to pay for services 
• 57% of travelers have been asked to pay with a less robust method, like swiping their card
• Airlines have waived ancillary service fees for more than half of travelers (56%) because they’ve been unable to accept payment
• 45% of travelers confirmed they would be more likely to buy additional airline services at the airport if they could pay with their preferred method
• Travelers rank airports third from eight options in terms of locations where it is most frustrating to encounter a payments issue, below the supermarket and restaurants, but above online retail, public transport, hotels, shopping centers, gas stations.

With two-thirds of travelers buying an ancillary service at the airport ‘at least sometimes’ and respondents spending an average of €263 on airline and airport related ancillary services per trip, payments pain points at the terminal already contribute to revenue leakage for airlines.

According to the report, airlines are rarely in complete control of payments at the terminal and must rely on legacy shared infrastructure that restricts travelers from paying in the way they choose at key service points like check-in, boarding and in-flight. However, using new approaches that integrate modern payments technology with an airline’s underlying IT systems can support a consistent and unified payments experience at multiple airports according to the report.

Jean Christophe Lacour, SVP & Global Head of Products, Outpayce said: “Through the research, travelers expressed frustration at having to walk to another desk to pay and needing to search through their bag for a payment method the airline can accept. As airlines transform to become modern retailers, we have a great opportunity to ensure passengers can pay easily using a card or a digital wallet anywhere in the terminal.”

Ifan Batey, Senior Business Psychologist, Innovationbubble added: “Our research shows that travelers find the airport payments experience to be unpredictable. In a high-stress environment like the airport, regular instances of unpredictability can reduce engagement, discourage future purchases and contribute to negative brand perceptions. For several of the frequent flyers we interviewed, being asked to change location to pay was frustrating enough for them to switch airline.” 

Biljana Bosnjak, VP Travel & Hospitality at Worldline said: “Air travel can be stressful, and airlines have an opportunity to make it easier for passengers. By providing frictionless, flexible payment options at various locations in the terminal, airlines can significantly improve the travel experience. It's vital for the industry to modernize and ensure that every traveler can pay effortlessly, no matter where they are in their journey.”

Travelers confirmed that cards remain king as the preferred way to pay for additional services at the airport, with contactless transactions being slightly more popular than Chip & Pin. However, a significant 35% of travelers prefer to pay with a digital wallet, like Apple Pay or Google Pay, underlining the rapid adoption of such methods.

How would you like to pay for additional airline services at the terminal?

• Card (Contactless) – 46%
• Card (Chip & Pin) – 44%
• Digital Wallet – 35%
• Cash – 28%
• Local payment method – 21%
• Secure link via text or QR Code – 19%