Did Skyscanner Get It Right?

With a blend of today’s technology and H.G. Wells imagination, Skyscanner prepared a report on what they see as the future of travel. Not so sure that Apple’s Siri or Google Glass will be a central part of the travel universe in another decade but it is hard to disagree that Big Data will play a much more important role. Indeed IATA has been working toward this goal for years. Formal regs should be out by next year.

But really, will travel planning and booking be “seamless” in the next decade? T’would be nice if they are correct but that seems doubtful. Of course technology will be much improved in the next ten years but getting to the point where each of us has our own perfect personal Digital Travel Buddy on our wrists is a reach. But if they are correct, this holographic gizmo will know everything about our likes and dislikes, and only plan perfect travel for us. Traveling internationally? No problem, your Wrist Buddy will translate everything you are told.

Supersonic air travel? It is possible since it is being worked on right now. Space travel in the next decade? Perhaps. Undersea hotels, too? Absolutely. Hotels in space? I don’t know, the idea of zero gravity check-in may be a bit further out but I would love to see what the room upgrades look like.

All of this sounds exciting but the report left out a couple elements like delayed/canceled flights and overbooked hotels. Don’t expect either of those problems to go away in the next decade. They also assume that the economy will keep humping along until 2024 and that consumers will be able to afford all these luxury devices.

Let’s see, in ten years I will be…. Uh, well I will be ten years older. Hopefully I will have a follow-up blog in 2024 to see how much Skyscanner got right or wrong.

At the very least, the report makes for very interesting reading. Check it out for yourselves because I may be way off base here.