The future of travel is contactless with most Filipino passengers preferring to conduct boarding and booking via digital means, according to a survey conducted by AirAsia Philippines.

About 62 percent of those surveyed who are traveling in the next 180 days, have contactless travel touchpoints as among their prime concerns, followed by value for money and better flight timing.

The AirAsia-commissioned December 2021 nationwide poll, which covered 1,605 respondents aged 18 to 60 years old, noted that the pivot to contactless solutions is in agreement with current traveling behavior as 31 percent of the travellers use mobile e-wallets in purchasing their tickets. Another 29 percent use their credit cards, while 18 percent use other forms of mobile and internet banking.

“AirAsia was among the first airlines in the Philippines to embrace digitalization," says its Chief Executive Officer, Ricky Isla. “Contactless solution is the new and better way to travel," he stressed.

"AirAsia will never stop finding ways to simplify air travel during these times. We will continue with our digitization and move forward with it while continuing to promote health and safety in all of our flights,” Isla added.

The carrier said it has rid of long queues in counters and face-to-face interactions via digitization. Processes such as document verification and flight check-ins, for instance, can be done at least 24 hours prior to departure through the airasia Super App.

Since the onset of the global pandemic, AirAsia has fortified its partnership with the country’s top e-wallet solutions, GCash and PayMaya, to broaden secure payment options and limit face-to-face transactions.

Only six percent of the survey respondents said they will pay cash while two percent still preferred over the counter payments.

Based on the survey, guests who book their tickets online also preferred to access the airline's website via their mobile phones or 43 percent, and their laptop or computer or 37 percent .

Another 27 percent said they will also use the airline’s mobile app if available.

AirAsia offers flexibility for all guests traveling during the pandemic, providing unlimited move flight options until March 26 and waiving charge fees for those affected with flight disruptions.

Guests with uncertain travel plans may also opt to convert bookings into credit accounts which can all be done through the Super App.

The airline is expected to launch the world’s first facial recognition technology for contactless check-in procedure FACES in Q2 or Q3 2022.

This facial recognition service, available via the Super App, adds another layer of health and safety protection for guests.

The app would only require them to take a selfie, upload a copy of their passport or national ID and go through a 1-time verification process at the check-in counter.