Articles tagged “airports”

Airports are starting to pay closer attention to customer experience, designing intelligent environments that are more connected, immersive and multi-sensory than ever before.

Abu Dhabi is preparing for dramatic growth ahead of demand by modernizing IT systems and introducing more automation to the passenger process. This is a general trend at major international hubs, which serve as convenient transfer terminals for extra long-haul flights, and want to have passengers spending more time shopping or dining and less time standing in line.

Looking back on a year’s worth of news in aviation paints a picture of an industry that is eager to innovate for the future. Now that airlines are more profitable, they can afford to be more ambitious with their passenger experience improvement programs. Let’s hope the industry continues rising, and moving closer to a better future of flight in 2016 and beyond.

Baggage drop systems complement today's self-serve travel process. Passengers increasingly using early check-in via the airline app, or avoiding the queue at the check-in desk. But having your electronic boarding pass ready on your smartphone when you get to the terminal loses its convenience if you have to wait in line for the check-in desk, just to drop off your bag.

Airlines and airports need to leverage data assets and embrace technological improvements with greater speed, if they are to keep up with other digital consumer services. The word "silos" came up again in discussions on managing airline and airport data exchange, and that word comes up too often.

The days of confused passengers in the Precheck line are finally coming to a close.

Technology promises to improve the passenger experience around the world, with projects ongoing in every region, but dramatic growth in Asia makes it the perfect testing ground for cutting-edge programs.

As the use of beacons to connect with customers becomes commonplace in other areas of life, such as retail, aviation will have an easier time making passengers comfortable with these exchanges. The trick is data exchange with airports, and between airlines. The commercial and strategic value of the Big Data airlines gather about us at various stages of the journey makes them loathe to share too much.

With the advanced biometric and baggage scanning technologies available, someone should look into fully automating the security screening process. It could prove more reliable than some of today’s people-based systems. We’re thinking of you, TSA.

As airport cities get bigger, the activities available to air travelers become more diverse. This is a natural extension of that growing trend.