When did you last book an air ticket with a travel agent? Can’t remember? Neither does anyone else. Using mobiles to book air tickets, make hotel reservations and schedule airport rides is just part of the dramatic way travel is changing. There is more: Australia is enabling document-less travel to New Zealand using passports stored in Cloud. And some airports, central to world travel, aren’t too far behind. They are busy reshaping guest experiences by leveraging digital technologies such as biometrics, computer vision, artificial intelligence, 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mobility and data analytics.
Airport operators know that travel is demanding. If they can use technology to turn passenger stress into satisfaction, they will become the travel hubs of choice. Technology is creating fresh opportunities to address guests (passengers), retail (non-aero revenues) and airport operations — the three key areas that differentiate the leaders from the laggards in the highly competitive airport business.
Reshaping the Traveling Experience
For decades, airports looked at passengers as walking from the curb to the gate. Throughout this journey, passengers must deal with irritants like security controls, navigating to gates, interpreting signage and hunting down simple facilities like charging points. Airports must improve the passenger journey but face competitive landing charges, tightening regulations, increasing costs and alternative modes of transport competing for passengers. But leveraging technology and data will help airports improve all aspects of the passenger journey and reduce operating costs.
Guest experience transformation
Airports can begin by partnering with airlines that have traditionally held vital passenger information. For example, Toronto Pearson Airport and WestJet Airlines partnered with Wipro, Limited and AWS to develop a cloud-based passenger queue system (PQS) designed to improve the boarding experience, reducing congestion at boarding gates resulting in free time for passengers to spend indulging in retail and service experiences in the airport rather than waiting at the gate.
With enhanced collaboration and passenger data, airports can offer ‘home2home’ guest experiences, including mobile apps for flight information, transportation services, parking, curb-side assistance, automated check-ins, language translation, etc. Pointing passengers to relevant services like business lounges, shopping, entertainment and restaurants based on their personal needs will increase non-aero revenue. With real-time data, airports can offer never-before services like identifying and locating passengers’ friends and colleagues at the same airport (enabling social interaction). Leveraging data can boost overall customer experience, enhance the non-aeronautical share of wallet, improve retail revenues and make it a preferred airport.
Retail transformation
Airports are in the enviable position of having captive passengers (customers). If the airport journey is simple, short and stress-free, passengers will be willing to pay for services (such as advance luggage pick-up, security scanning and loading). And they will have time to spend in retail stores, spas, business lounges and restaurants. Studies indicate that a 1% increase in the passenger satisfaction index, as defined by the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey, generates, on average, 1.5% growth in non-aeronautical revenue. Airports can use passenger data from shopping history, past interactions and partner channels (airlines, ticketing services, logistics partners, etc.) to send contextualized advertising offers over a mobile phone, guiding passengers to buy products (clothes, books, electronics, cosmetics, souvenirs) or opting for entertainment.
Changi Airport in Singapore, for example, keeps strengthening its position as a competitive air hub by constantly innovating and creating fresh concepts to inject vitality into its airport retail environment, delivering a revolutionary retail experience to passengers and the airport community by introducing programs such as Changi First, You Shop, We Absorb and Changi First. Given the rising cost of real estate, retailers can use VR to offer highly realistic shopping experiences in small retail spaces without compromising the experience. And mobile/digital payments simplify the payments process.
Operational transformation
Airport operations are asset and equipment intensive, and the increase in ownership and maintenance costs are pushing airports to create new management solutions. Digital technologies like IoT, analytics, cloud and mobility can improve utilization, productivity and asset longevity. For example, baggage flow, aircraft turnaround time, and fleet tracking can ensure efficient utilization of airport passenger buses, tugs, toes, refueling trucks, etc. Digital technology can reduce miles traveled by service vehicles, reduce their carbon footprint, and shrink fleet size and lifecycle costs. Intelligent facilities monitoring, digital technology, and analytics reduce energy and water consumption, two of the main costs that usually go unaddressed at most airports.
For example, Schipol and Tokyo Airports are experimenting with battery-operated taxi bots to guide aircraft to parking bays for more efficient, safe and sustainable operations. Real-time data, analytics, information management and advanced technologies like AR, VR and machine vision, can empower passengers and the workforce to deliver a differentiated customer experience. For example, leveraging existing cameras augmented with AI improves passenger flow by reducing wait time for luggage trolleys, identifying availability by location and collecting luggage condition/damage. These improvements are in use in Toronto, Delhi and Oslo Airports.
The Runway to Opportunity
Airports have large captive customers (passengers) without investing in marketing. But today, many options compete with traditional air travel. Airport operators must find ways to provide memorable experiences for passengers while reducing operational costs.
New technologies (including mobility, AI, AR and VR) can help shape better passenger-centric experiences that can, in turn, build non-aeronautical revenue. And airports can leverage emerging technology (IoT, machine vision, data discovery and analytics) to extract insights and foresight about airport assets to improve every aspect of airport facility management.
Manish Kumar
Head of Consulting, EC&O and Airports
Manish leads Wipro’s Engineering, Construction, and Operations (EC&O) industry practice, which focuses on built environment and infrastructure sectors such as the construction, airports, real estate, facilities management, and smart cities. He is a seasoned professional with 25 years of diverse experience in evangelizing and delivering successful digital solutions. Manish has led business transformations across the globe aimed at achieving smart 21st century infrastructure. He has been recognized by Wipro as a Best People Manager. Manish is active in key industry forums and speaks at premier academic institutes across India.
