There’s a certain level of excitement that comes with travelling, no matter how often you fly. Stepping foot into an airport and going through the motions of checking your luggage, waiting forever in the security line, and finding your terminal can be a bit of a hassle, but you get over it because of the thrill of flying somewhere new. Travelling will always be one of the greatest joys we can experience, but that feeling may be rivaled by just going to the airport in the near future. That’s right, soon enough the best part of travelling may be the experience inside the airport, and not the actual travel.
A recent Bloomberg article noted all the ways airports will change in the near future to provide an experience that will rival all the fun things you do on your long-awaited and well-deserved tropical vacation. It points out that many of the “smart” innovations that cities and businesses have adopted will be at the forefront of the pre-flight routine,
“Many of us will be driven to the terminal by autonomous cars; our eyes, faces, and fingers will be scanned; and our bags will have a permanent ID that allows them to be whisked from our homes before we even set out. Some of these airports will no longer be relegated to the outskirts of town—they will merge with city centers, becoming new destination “cities” within a city for people without travel plans. Shall we get dinner, watch a movie, see a concert, shop? People will choose to go to the airport. Your employer may even relocate there.”
These new innovations will likely eradicate the time spent waiting in lines, forcing airports to provide new ways to better entertain travelers. We often forget that in an airport, travelers are consumers in addition to tourists. Some like to shop at premium fashion outlets, some like to enjoy a luxurious meal, and others just enjoy walking around and taking in the scene. Whatever their fancy, they are nonetheless customers in the modern economy that places high value on customized experience, rather than product quality or brand recognition. Experts predict airlines will lose a significant amount of business to autonomous vehicles and high-speed trains, so the experience of the airport will be at the forefront of the travel experience to make up for the loss of revenue. Airports across the globe have already made major investments in the entertainment options for their customers, including “movies, bowling, butterfly gardens, virtual reality golf” to prevent customers from switching to alternative methods of transportation that can’t provide the same experience.
Aside from an improved customer experience, much of this technology will have practical applications that will benefit the airport as well (and we’ve previously covered how Air Traffic Control is using 3D and Augmented Reality technologies for safer, more efficient flight traffic). Another significant benefits for the airport will be advanced security. The data collected from the comings and goings of travelers will provide sufficient data for security experts to analyze patterns and trends in order to anticipate possible security threats or optimize evacuation routes and procedures. Moreover, these enhanced security features will essentially allow airports to know everything about the people inside the airport. They will know who we are, where we are from, where we are going, etc. At first blush it is a bit Orwellian in nature, but the improved security and lack of the glacier-paced security lines, are well worth it. The shrinking of security lines will help travelers with more than just safety and efficiency, it will make them feel much better before traveling. Research suggests the greatest cause of anxiety at airports is the security checkpoint. Reducing the stress related to the security checkpoint may be the best way to improve customer experience and potentially increase the amount of money travelers will spend in a relaxed environment with a plethora of ways to entertain themselves.
Airports and airlines in the United States are a little behind their European counterparts in terms of technical innovation, however many are in the early stages of implementing some of the futuristic technologies. Delta and JetBlue are utilizing “biometric data,” in order to improve the speeds of baggage and security checks. At Boston-Logan airport, JetBlue is using facial recognition software to match visa and passport photos to customers. Delta is experimenting with fingerprint scanning as a possible alternative to boarding passes as well as an app that shows the location of your checked luggage.
The future is smart. Soon enough our cities will be able to fix all of our traffic problems, our cars will drive themselves, and our planes will fly at supersonic speeds. It is only fitting that the experiences we sell to customers become smart, as well. This is only the first step in a series of great leaps in innovation and technology. With the myriad of data available to these new smart airports, they will be able to improve efficiency, and most importantly, provide a truly customized, once in a lifetime experience that is just as worthwhile as the actual travel.
