Airport managers who want to increase profitability while improving customer satisfaction are seeking innovative ways to streamline the many difficulties faced by travelers while offering sought-after services and amenities. The field’s top leaders recognize that providing an exceptional passenger experience is the best competitive advantage – one that ultimately generates an increasing income for the airport.
Providing end-to-end services – from the parking garage, to checking in and boarding the plane quickly, to helping find the car upon return and making payments easy – all improve the travel experience while creating customer loyalty.
For many airports, working with the right aviation facility services firm who can both streamline operations, often through world-class technology, and provide all these services means increased net profitability, and perhaps most important, improved customer satisfaction.
How the Market Has Changed
Once upon a time, airports themselves had little competition, with fewer major hubs and, essentially, a sole emphasis on aviation-related revenue. But economic downturns, unpredictable prices, lower airfares, increased unemployment, frugal leisure travelers and reduced corporate travel budgets have combined to mean fewer flights, shrinking operating budgets and reduced profits.
At the same time, as travelers have become more technologically adept, they are demanding better, faster and more personalized services. With choices at their fingertips, they seek the options and airports that best meet their needs.
Facing fierce competition and a huge dent in aeronautical revenue, airport operators are pressured to make up for lost income and regain their competitive edge.
Parking: Innovative Ways to Leverage Parking for More Revenue
Technology and the push to offer additional benefits for consumers has produced many new and creative ways for airports to leverage parking and transportation. Some of the most innovative ways airports are improving the customer experience are through:
Mobile Apps: Modern travelers are on the fast track, and it's all about ease, speed, and convenience for them. Their main concerns include:
- Making travel arrangements
- Getting to the airport quickly and efficiently
- Having an exceptional experience while at the airport
- Returning home as quickly as possible
Mobile apps for smart phones and devices can address all these concerns and help make dealing with the misperception of parking chaos a lot easier. Whether they are a frequent flyer or a first-time visitor, mobile apps connect the dots for travelers and put the parking and travel information they need right at their fingertips.
The next wave of new parking applications for smart phones and mobile devices will allow drivers to quickly and easily make reservations, find the airport, pinpoint available spaces, and park their cars. The faster and easier we make it for consumers to park and get inside the airport, the more time they will have to indulge in other non-aeronautical transactions.
Parking Automation
As mentioned, modern airport travelers are all about convenience. They expect the latest and greatest technologies and innovations to help them get in and out of the airport as quickly as possible.
Parking Analytics: Automated toll-booths, online reservations and parking guidance systems result in a highly efficient operation. Additionally, these capabilities also help airport operators reduce payroll related costs and capitalize upon displaced resources in the form of customer service ambassadors. Automation also supports green initiatives with less paper, provides better visibility into transactions, and improves reporting accuracy and timeliness.
GPS in Shuttles: Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation technology is one way airports are making sure shuttle drivers are where they need to be and moving passengers from their cars to the gate. Airport shuttles, hard-wired with GPS trackers that transmit locational data at regular intervals, can provide information on airport shuttle drivers’ speed, productivity and arrival and departure locations. This assures travelers a more efficient shuttle experience.
Lighting Retrofits and EV Charging Stations: Most lighting is outdated, inefficient and requires frequent maintenance. Through a lighting retrofit, airports can take advantage of the latest in high-efficiency lighting and advanced controls to significantly reduce energy use and maintenance costs – while ensuring travelers enjoy a brighter more vibrant atmosphere.
Also, lighting upgrades can reduce the overall electrical load of a parking facility, often allowing for electric vehicle charging stations to be installed without having to upgrade existing infrastructure. With more drivers using EVs than ever before, this is a major value-add at most airports.
The ‘Aerotropolis’ - Retail Services
Today's airports are no longer restricted to the food courts, magazine stands, and duty free stores of old. Around the world we are seeing passenger terminals morph into luxury shopping malls and gallerias featuring brand name boutiques and specialty retail; gourmet dining restaurants with regional cuisine, entertainment venues complete with live music and art and cultural attractions, as well as centers for knowledge exchange and booming business. Concierge-staffed business lounges and trade facilities are also sprouting up in the terminals, as well as concourse-connected convention centers and high-end hotels.
Remaining Competitive: The aerotropolis is fully expected to play a huge role in American aviation going forward. It is poised to become the standard among large airports. With that in mind, competition among these major players is destined to increase. Airports seeking to differentiate themselves will have to continue to raise the bar in other ways as well:
Operational Excellence: It is essential for airport operations, infrastructure, processes, and service offerings are all on point. Operationally, airports must run as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible all the time. Those that excel at customer service, and orchestrate and facilitate all facets of the airport value chain will maintain a competitive edge.
Destination Retail Targeting: Global airports such as Heathrow are offering high-end retail experiences, personalized concierge services, and other targeted services and campaigns to appeal to the many nationalities that pass through the terminal. This creates an expectation of excellent service that establishes brand loyalty and maximizes a traveler’s spend while in the terminal.
Technology at your Service – Leading the Way for an Exceptional Travel Experience
Perhaps most importantly, the most competitive airports stay at the leading edge of technology in order to reduce congestion, optimize operations, improve customer service and maximize overall net profit.
One key area technology is helping airports enhance the services they are required to provide is to wheelchair clients under the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA). Airlines are facing challenges to remain in compliance and typically contract wheelchair services to outside providers to effectively provide wheelchair clients with prompt service, which is required under the act. Using integrated flight and passenger data feeds, along with innovative tracking technology, such as near field communication (NFC), contracted attendants can be optimally dispatched quickly to assist wheelchair clients when needed.
Another service area, which can make or break the passenger experience, is airport cleanliness. Now advanced far beyond mop and bucket, some commercial cleaning management services contractors are using historical and real time flight history data to track large influxes of passengers, building janitorial staffing schedules to ensure staff are always on call and dispatched accordingly to keep all areas within the airport terminal clean.
Finally, certain aviation service providers are deploying ambassadors throughout certain airports around the globe. In ABM’s case, ambassadors at London’s Heathrow Airport are equipped with tablet devices across all terminals at key arrival, departure and connection locations. The ambassadors, many of whom are multi-lingual, provide various operation support including informational hosting, check-in assistance, compliance handling, flight connections assistance and e-passport support. The tablets carried by the ambassadors enable real-time reporting of what is happening across the airport’s terminals – from queue times to frequently asked traveler questions – providing a wealth of information with passenger satisfaction top of mind.
