We are being transported to a new age where distributed database technologies (Blockchain / Ethereum) have become widespread, digital money (crypto-currencies) has begun to gain traction, even being consolidated, IoT (Internet of Things) has enabled all the equipment connected to the internet to exchange information, autonomous robots and software have undertaken many human functions, a transition from fossil fuels to the use of bioenergy and cellular batteries has been done, virtual reality and human experiences have been carried over to the virtual world and biometric identities have been enabled globally.
With a futuristic outlook, our goal is to examine how technological developments in the aviation sector are likely to be realized and affect individuals.
So, let's fast forward a little bit, and see what awaits us in the future…
Most jobs have been moved to home-office environments a long time ago, and Denis had his share in it. He was working as an analyst programmer at a global investment company and developing various artificial intelligence solutions with his teammates, living in various countries around the world.
The last meeting of the morning session with the Chinese, Korean and Indian offices was just finished. While ending the hologram conference-call for a coffee break, Bibo entered the room and asked, “You have your wedding anniversary on May 21st, I found a great gift suitable for your budget, would you like to have a look?”.
Bibo is an autonomous robot based on artificial intelligence, provided complimentary to a monthly data contract by the GSM operator of Denis and his wife Selin. Home internet, security, housekeeping, budgeting, shopping... in a word, everything was under its responsibility. All the gadgets in the house were constantly exchanging data with Bibo, which enabled it to perform all the household duties. Bibo was also an extraordinary assistant capable of remembering important occasions and preparing unique surprises.
After taking his first sip of coffee Denis said “Let me see” and started watching. Selin and Denis have been married for 9 years and Bibi was aware that their life has been turning into a routine, that’s why it selected a romantic holiday package to add excitement to their relationship. The Paris-New York leg, which was the part of the whole Istanbul-Paris-New York route, would take only 2.5 hours with the supersonic flight, therefore, it was possible to complete the entire trip in a week.
After watching a short vocation promo, "Wow" said Denis, “It looks quite impressive. Is our budget sufficient enough?”
Paper money has been out of circulation, having been replaced by digital (crypto) money, which has been transformed into a globally valid cryptocurrency by being consolidated through international financial institutions.
“I got the budget from the Hitit platform, and if I make a reservation tomorrow for the best possible price, we spend a total of 450 crypto money. There is 110 crypto accumulated money in our frequent-flyer program. 340 crypto money will not hurt our budget for this month.” replied Bibo.
The "national aviation" project, which was started many years ago under the supervision of global leading companies and made Turkey equal with the world greatest influencers, the project, that was launched with the contributions of Turkey's most important public and private organizations in the aviation industry, had finally paid off. Turkey's pride - a new generation supersonic hybrid aircrafts working on biofuels and cellular batteries, have dramatically shortened the travel time and increases productivity. With the addition of Hitit's artificial intelligence-based tariff planning, inventory, price management solutions, and blockchain technology's removal of intermediaries such as the Global Distribution System (GDS), costs have drastically decreased, and travel has now become accessible to all.
“Okay then, you go ahead and make our reservations." Denis continued, “I'm going back to work now, let's talk in the evening about adding romantic touches to the program... Oh, another thing. Don't you ever tell Selin, it'll be a surprise.”
Necessary permits have been obtained, last minute adjustments have been made, and the day of the trip came around at last. Denis was more than excited. Selin, who thought she would go to work when she woke up in the morning, joyfully screamed when she couldn't see the suitcases on top of the wardrobe. "Denis, really…?”.
The suitcases have already been prepared and were picked up a night before by the airline’s company "Door-to-Door Baggage Service".
The car-ride to the airport was short. Since the autonomous vehicle was a part of the artificial intelligence-based platform created for cars to share live location, traffic, speed and road information with each other through IoT, it selected the most efficient route, and after dropping the couple off at the entrance, returned home by itself where it would return to idle position.
Since parking and vehicle stand-by problems have ceased to exist, airports have been the scene of radical architectural changes. Especially when you mention the largest airport in the world in Istanbul... As a global leader in the field, Istanbul's new airport has turned into a showcase of the most advanced airport and ground service technologies.
The only control at the gigantic airport was at the entrance. The moment Denis and Selin stepped in, a biometric identification system was activated. Their identities were analyzed and checked with their profiles on the e-Government platform. The system opened the door after confirming personal information, citizenship score, travel permit, health-vaccination status, reservation information. Body scan has determined that there were no dangerous belongings on the couple.
Hand baggage has been banned for a long time for safety reasons, and airlines have imposed the obligation of bringing main suitcases to the airport in advance. In this way, scanning at the transit point has become easier and faster, and the security within the airport has been maximized.
Airlines were no longer limited to providing only ancillary services such as airline tickets, seat and meal selection, baggage or complementary elements of travel such as hotel, transfer and tours, but were able to market all the products and services that could be needed during a journey, such as robot assistant, eating and drinking, duty-free shopping, and even entertainment at the airport.
The autonomous robot, reserved by Bibo, greeted the couple at the door, "Hello, I am IGA3. I will be at your service until the boarding, please follow me".
While IGA3 offered suggestions on what could be done at the airport before the departure, it was also explaining details about the Paris airport, the weather in Paris and the experiences that they should not miss.Denis and Selin preferred to go straight to the boarding gate as there was very little time before takeoff. Meanwhile, the message from Bibo came, and Denis learned that the video, composed of the most wonderful moments of their nine years marriage and had been prepared for viewing during the flight, was downloaded into their virtual reality glasses.
Nanomaterials have alleviated aircraft much more than imagined, tiny glass panels covered almost the entire airplane, the interior of the cabin has been enlarged and has been incredibly refreshed. Flying has become an extraordinarily fun experience.
The new age plane engineers have established the concept of "dynamic architecture". Tickets were now sold on a m2 basis, not according to the seats. Passengers with relatively small budgets were choosing their plans to fit as low as possible into a square meter, where those who were more financially comfortable preferred larger spaces. Guests chose one of the personal cabin design examples based on the area they were renting, and thanks to the nanomaterial and dynamic architecture, the in-cabin plan of each trip has been redesigned just before the flight according to personal preferences.
The planes were now managed by artificial intelligence-based autonomous software. Air traffic, climate and airspace information were instantly processed, traffic was dynamically determined accordingly, and the journey was more quiet and comfortable.
The 3D printers on each plane were not only able to print critical spare parts of the plane on board when needed, but also quickly responded to the various guest requests.
The Capitan of the aircraft greeted Denis and Selin at the gate of the plane and congratulated them with the anniversary, wishing them an unforgettable journey. The young hostess smiled slightly as she took them to their private cabins, dreaming of a similar surprise for herself one day. Despite all the technological, user experience researchers concluded that the human factor had to remain active during the flight experience, and so pilots and hostesses have retained their jobs.
As soon as Selin stepped into their private cabin, saw dark red roses, felled the smell of fresh strawberries, chocolate and champagne, she could no longer hold herself and while hugging Denis said, “I love you very much, I'm so glad I have you”.
Do you think we went too far in the future? We almost hear you thinking “Can Turkish companies handle all of this?” If that is the case, let's take a brief look at today's aviation industry in Turkey.
Especially over the past 15 years, the Turkish aviation industry has grown a few times more than the world average in terms of both numbers of local and transit passengers, number of airports and their capacities. Undoubtedly, Turkey’s advantageous geographical position, as well as the recent period of stable investment and privatization strategies have played a big role in this. With the 3rd Istanbul Airport construction being close to completion, it seems inevitable for Turkey to become an essential hub in transcontinental air travel especially, and to establish itself as one of the key players in the aerospace industry by continuing its phenomenal growth over the coming decades.
Turkey’s airline companies, the numbers and service qualities of which are increasing day by day, are keen to modernize their fleets, increase capacities, diversify and strengthen passenger services and amenities, adjust to new travel trends and technological developments, and finally, increase passenger numbers and profitability…
When even renovation projects take decades to be completed in some other countries, in the construction of a new airport, Turkey’s public and private institutions, organizations and consortia, have shown tremendous effort in completing one of the largest airports in the world in record time, having extended their services from the construction stage to its operation…
In parallel to these tremendous developments in the aviation sector, Turkish aviation and space industries have shown incredible mobility...
We are watching the satellite, unmanned aerial vehicle, jet and helicopter projects with enthusiasm, and feel rightful pride in exporting to neighboring countries.
Ultimately, Hitit, Turkey's first and only aviation and travel software company, is present across this entire ecosystem and will be a candidate in future projects as an integral part of it... Hitit is the company behind world’s number one Loyalty system, the company to provide the product ecosystem to cover the daily operational life-cycle of an airline, the company which is ranked one of the Top 5 in its field. The solutions produced by 100% Turkish engineering talent is used not only for the Turkish aviation industry, but also for 60 million passengers boarding planes of the dozens of airlines in Europe, Africa, Middle East, and even Latin America. Hitit is the company, that has a strong vision and does not stop developing new solutions to contribute to the aviation industry transformation and get closer to the time Denis and Selin live in...