Skift Take
The airlines and the airports as businesses are going in opposite directions, user experience and design defining the first, while airlines are stuck in optimization mode.
Early Jan we released our first report, “13 Global Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013” outlining the major trends that will define travel in 2013. Below is one of the trends we see as playing out over 2013 and beyond. Download the full report below.
As the airline experience continues to deteriorate and fragment—at least in the Western world— airports are seeing a buzz of activity and are reinventing themselves around user experience and design. The new normal as exemplified by Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Madrid’s Barajas Airport, or Singapore’s Changi Airport, are centered around innovations like airy, light-filled primary spaces, less-intimidating security and baggage claim areas, simple signage, solutions to satiate our need to be connected (free Wi-Fi!), and more shopping and dining options near gates.
The more successful ones have become places where people want to spend time and have experiences and not just pass through. Whether it is Chicago’s O’Hare newly launched farmer’s market inside the terminal, or Munich’s onsite brewery, the airports are becoming more inspirational, aspirational, and nurturing. Imagine that.
Click on the icon below to download the full 15-page report:
13 Trends That Will Define Travel in 2013
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Tags: Travel Trends