Fast tracking service

Written by Jim Martin Monday, 28 March 2011 10:40

Jim Martin, managing director of ARINC’s Asia-Pacific Division, considers the impact emerging technologies are having on operational efficiency and customer service levels at airports.

In recent times, we have witnessed many key drivers of technology in the aviation industry, amongst them new regulatory requirements, competition and innovation.

The airline and airport industries have successfully leveraged on the latest technologies to create new passenger friendly systems and enhance operational efficiencies.

From a regulatory standpoint, initiatives such as IATA’s Fast Travel has taken a broad view of the aviation landscape and proposed a series of technologies that will help enhance the passenger travel experience.

These measures include self-service check-in and efficient baggage handling systems.

Innovation has also brought about new technologies such as Passenger Reconciliation Systems (PRS), and hand-held portable devices with the ability to issue boarding passes and meal coupons.

Self-service platforms such as mobile phones and the Internet have had some of the biggest impact on passenger processing methods since Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) was introduced.

A mobile phone and, in recent times the smart phone, have become a passenger’s must have device even while travelling and has created new services for travel bookings and remote check-in.

And the impact on airports has been, and continues to be enormous, as it has allowed them to save floor space that could be used for other services such as generating ancillary revenues.

The environment also stands to benefit, as mobile passenger processing will create a paperless environment, saving costs and reducing pollution.

Ultimately, passenger flow through airport terminals will become smoother as mobile phones enable passengers to keep track of their flight status and airlines can potentially locate delayed passengers.

And mobile and Internet check-in processes will be supported by a suite of remote check-in technologies and products, that can extend to hotels, convention centres and ferry terminals.

For example, multi-channel check-in offers airports several options for passenger and baggage processing, such as web check-in, remote check-in and common bag drops.

Another emerging technology that airports can consider is ‘roving agents’. These portable, hand-held devices enable airline staff to issue boarding passes to passengers standing in long queues at check-in counters.

The ‘roving agent’ has the ability to speed up the check-in process for passengers, and potentially save costs by reducing the number of check-in counters at the airport. These devices are also able to issue meal or hotel coupons for passengers if they need to be re-accommodated due to a flight delay.

As passengers become more accustomed to self-service check-in, a natural progression will be to introduce self-service baggage checks to complete the experience. In time, self-service kiosks and common bag drop counters will become standard features at hotels, resorts and convention centres, providing greater convenience for passengers.

With the implementation of 2D barcode boarding passes and the rise of remote check-in capabilities, security measures have to be taken to ensure that duplicate or fake boarding passes are identified in real time.

Passenger Reconciliation Systems (PRS) enable airline and security officials to read and verify information from a boarding pass against an airline’s Departure Control Systems (DCS) for real time validation.

One of its biggest advantages is that it simplifies the security procedures that are also conducted manually by the airport security staff.

The growing concern about aviation security has opened debates on how the aviation community can address the needs of facilitating safer travel for passengers.

Countries such as the US and parts of Asia-Pacific have taken a series of measures to implement key components of Electronic Borders, such as Advanced Passenger Information Systems (APIS) and Passenger Name Recording (PNR) to potentially eliminate terrorism threats, drug traffickers and other ‘wanted’ passengers from departing on an aircraft.

The APIS works on the basis of an airline sending messages to government security agencies to assess the eligibility of passengers before they can board an aircraft. The APIS dedicated message would comprise of a passenger’s flight information, their names and passport numbers among others.

The format of the message would be in either the UN/EDIFACT or any other user defined format. Meanwhile, the PNR specialised application is a front end collection and correlation system used to obtain passenger information from airlines and transmit it in a standard format for a customs department. There are no requirements for a standardised message from an airline host system.

Apart from Electronic Borders, the PRS has become an added dimension to the security portfolio within an airport environment.

IATA’s study in 2008 on the adoption of 2D barcodes revealed the importance of scrutinising a passenger’s boarding pass from landside to airside in an airport. This was important to filter duplicate boarding passes, validate barcodes on boarding passes and verify a passenger’s status.

The beginning of this article identified how regulatory initiatives, evolving industry requirements and innovation have been driving some of the new emerging technologies while supplementing it with different examples. However, while new technologies can be adopted, the aviation community would need to have a thorough understanding of passenger requirements and how these technologies can realise them.

The industry has done a successful job of harnessing Internet and mobile technologies into their operations, and the next steps are to assess what other new and innovative services can be introduced to enhance the passenger experience.

While technology has been adopted at a furious pace in the industry, it is also important for airline and airport staff to learn how to use them effectively. This is imperative as airports and airlines have become commercial entities, and are competing with themselves for the passenger dollars.

IT systems have become mission critical components that need to be monitored and maintained regularly. In conclusion, the aviation community needs to be constantly and acutely aware of evolving passenger requirements to ensure effective implementation of emerging technologies.

Operationally, airports need to work with their IT vendors and business partners to understand what the new technologies are and how best to leverage on them.

It is also important to ensure that there is a long-term plan in place to ensure the optimal adoption of such technologies in enhancing passenger satisfaction and profitability.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2011 Issue 1