Highlighting the fact that improving the passenger experience remains a priority, a number of Europe’s airports and airlines are investing in new services, facilities and technologies to help make the journey through the airport as seamless and enjoyable as possible. Ryan Ghee reports.
Gatwick Airport and easyJet collaborate on Mobile Host
Mobile Host provides passengers with real-time, location-specific messages to assist them during their journey through Gatwick Airport.
easyJet has teamed up with Gatwick Airport on the latest update to its app, Mobile Host, which now combines live data from the airport’s information systems with the passengers’ booking details, location and flight time to deliver bespoke updates and notifications while the passenger is at the airport.
Check-in reminders, directions to bag drop desks and departure gates, and real-time gate and baggage notifications are among the key features, with the bespoke directions enabled by integration with Google indoor maps.
James Millett, easyJet’s Head of Digital, said the Mobile Host update is the “result of true collaboration” between the airline and Gatwick Airport. He added: “Passengers can now relax in the airport without the need to keep checking screens waiting for flight and gate information to appear.”
Gatwick Airport Chief Information Officer Michael Ibbitson said: “For the last couple of years Gatwick has been investing heavily in its integration and data platforms to be able to provide key passenger information in real time to our airlines.
“The time and effort put into mapping the whole airport with indoor maps and streetview is really starting to pay off. easyJet is our biggest airline and it is great to come to market with such innovative solutions for our passengers with them.”
Digital smart screens installed in Heathrow T2
The so-called ‘journey comparison generator’ leverages real-time information from TomTom, Heathrow Express, Google, the Highways Agency, and the Met Office.
Passengers arriving in Terminal 2 at London Heathrow Airport can now start to plan their onward journey while waiting to collect their bags, thanks to the installation of digital smart screens.
The screens display a so-called ‘journey comparison generator’, which combines real-time traffic, weather and rail service information to generate live travel times and costs for taxis and the Heathrow Express rail service to Central London.
The initiative is the result of collaboration between Heathrow Express, JCDecaux Airport UK and DOOH.com, and leverages live information from TomTom, Heathrow Express, Google, the Highways Agency, and the Met Office.
Initially available in English, the smart screens will soon display the information in multiple languages, with the screens updating to show the information in the language of the majority of passengers on the arriving flight.
Eight European airports considered for US Preclearance expansion
Confirmation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the United States is exploring the expansion of the US Preclearance programme could, in theory, lead to the introduction of preclearance facilities at up to eight more European airports. At present, US Preclearance, which allows US-bound travellers to clear US customs and immigration ahead of departure so they are treated as domestic passengers upon arrival in the US, is offered at two airports in Europe: Dublin and Shannon.
The eight European airports that have been identified as possible preclearance locations are: Brussels Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Oslo Airport, Madrid-Barajas Airport, Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Istanbul Atatürk Airport, London Heathrow Airport and Manchester Airport. Outside Europe, Narita International Airport, Japan and Punta Cana International Airport, Dominican Republic have also been identified as potential preclearance locations.
Visit the cinema at Vilnius Airport
Vilnius Airport has partnered with the Lithuanian Film Centre to open the free to access FilmBox LT cinema, which is located near gate A2.
Vilnius Airport has come up with a novel way of keeping passengers entertained while they wait for their flight by teaming up with the Lithuanian Film Centre to open the FilmBox LT cinema.
The cinema, which is located near gate A2, is free to access and travellers can watch Lithuanian short feature films, documentaries and cartoons while they wait for their departure gate to open.
Gediminas Almantas, CEO, SE Lithuanian Airports, said: “Vilnius Airport is not just an infrastructure, it is also the space where passengers spend a lot of time. We care about our passengers and their good mood, therefore we have established the cinema, where passengers will have an opportunity to relax before the flight, as well as to become familiar with the Lithuanian cinema.”
Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson, Head of Film Distribution, Information and Heritage Division of the Lithuanian Film Centre, praised the partnership and the opening of the cinema, lauding it as “one of the finest examples in Lithuania and elsewhere of how business and cultural institutions can cooperate by focusing on feelings and experiences of people rather than profit”.
Finavia continues self-service bag drop rollout
Finavia has now installed Scan&Fly self-service bag drop units at three Finnish airports: Helsinki, Oulu and Turku airports.
Finnish airport operator Finavia has introduced self-service bag drop at Turku Airport, making it the country’s third airport to offer the service, after Helsinki and Oulu airports.
The two-step self-service bag drop system – which allows passengers to print their bag tags at a self-service kiosk before proceeding to a dedicated bag drop counter where they can deposit their bag into the baggage handling system – is initially available to Finnair passengers and will soon also be available to those flying with SAS.
Joni Sundelin, Finavia Senior Vice President and Director of Airport Network, Sales and Marketing, commented: “Finavia invests in smoother air travel by adding more self-service functions to its airports. Scan&Fly from Type22 smoothens the travel experience in peak hours and shortens the processing time. To us, it means a lot to improve the airport experience and to make the travellers happy.”
£16m investment to improve departures experience at LCY
The £16 million investment will include the installation of electronic boarding gates, charging points and 600 additional seats.
London City Airport has started work on a £16 million (€21.8m) upgrade to the Western Pier, which includes a number of passenger-focused upgrades. The Western Pier, which houses 70% of the airport’s departure gates, will be expanded by 1,780sqm, and electronic boarding gates, charging points and an additional 600 seats will be installed. New retail and F&B outlets will also be introduced. The project, which is scheduled to be complete by summer 2016, is separate to the City Airport Development Programme, for which planning permission was rejected in March 2015 by the Mayor of London.
Declan Collier, CEO of London City Airport, said: “We are creating more space, more seating and more comfort for our passengers.” He added that without development, London City Airport’s reputation of offering speed and convenience “was at risk of being compromised, but this multi-million pound investment will make the new Western Pier a cutting-edge extension of the departure lounge, with a business class feel throughout, that is accessible to all.”
