The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

St John’s International Airport in Newfoundland has become the first airport in Canada to adopt a Common Use Passenger Processing System.

The installation of CUPPS by St John’s International Airport marks the first such project by a Canadian airport.

St John’s International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada, has adopted Ultra Electronics’ UltraCUSE Enterprise system, making it the first airport in the country to adopt a Common Use Passenger Processing System (CUPPS). The system makes use of VMware technology and it will serve 46 check-in and gate positions at the airport.

Ultra’s technology is integrated with the existing virtualised server environment to enable the flexible provisioning of gates and check-in positions so they can be shared among the airlines. The deployment of the fully virtualised client/server solution will provide a variety of efficiencies and advantages including lower energy costs, improved maintenance and less dependency on traditional PCs.

Dale Kirby, Vice President and General Manager of Ultra Electronics, Airport Systems Americas, said: “We have provided a CUPPS solution that is specifically tailored to the SJIA (St John’s International Airport) environment. Our approach to this project is in complete alignment with other technology initiatives at St John’s, such as a virtualised server infrastructure, deployment of thin-clients and integration with a new VoIP telephone system to provide a unified communications platform.”

More information can be found here.

Article originally published here: Canada’s first CUPPS implementation completed

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

The improvements are part of a 10-year contract between Mumbai Airport and SITA, who will implement state-of-the-art self-service, baggage and 2d boarding pass technology at the airport.

SITA’s self-service technology: SITA AirportConnect Open will be integrated at more than 600 counters at Mumbai Airport, which will also implement 90 CUSS kiosks, an automated barcode boarding pass validation system and SITA’s renowned Baggage Reconciliation Technology.

Passengers at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) can expect a faster and smoother airport experience, with improvements being made throughout passenger handling operations at Mumbai’s main gateway. The upgrades are part of a 10-year contract between India’s second busiest airport and SITA, the world’s leading specialist in air transport IT and communication.

SITA will facilitate the airport with its state-of-the-art passenger processing technology, including the SITA AirportConnect Open common-use passenger processing system, designed to streamline the airport journey through common-use check-in and boarding, as well as self-service kiosks.

In addition, cutting-edge Baggage Reconciliation Technology is being implemented to minimise incidences of lost luggage – 120 hand-held terminals will ensure that the right bag is on the right plane with the right passenger. The airport will also be one of the first airports in the world to benefit from SITA’s Airport iValidate automated barcode boarding pass validation system.

Mr. Rajeev Jain, CEO of CSIA’s operator Mumbai International Airport Ltd, said: “MIAL has always pioneered the implementation of industry leading initiatives for CSIA, currently the second busiest airport in India. As the technological requirements at CSIA have gradually evolved over a period of time, MIAL is pleased to have SITA on board as its long-term technology partner and who has also played a very credible role in the modernisation of CSIA in the past. MIAL is looking forward to strengthening that partnership in the days to come.”

The implementation of the new systems is part of MIAL’s strategy to manage the increase in passenger traffic at CSIA, which had a throughput of almost 31 million in the last year. MIAL plans to increase its handling capacity at the airport from 36 flights per hour to 48, with a total capacity of 40 million passengers annually.

More information can be found here »

Article originally published here: Passenger processing at Mumbai Airport gets upgrade from SITA

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

Five of Egypt’s largest airports are soon to have IATA CUPPS standard common-use passenger systems, courtesy of ARINC.

Sharm El Sheikh Airport will soon carry an overhauled CUPPS standardised system, as recommended by IATA, which will enable integration with other airports and airlines.

ARINC has signed a three-year contract with Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN) to install passenger processing solution vMUSE at five regional Egyptian airports – Sharm El Sheikh, Luxor, Aswan, Borg El Arab and Abu Simbel. The ARINC vMUSE platform is fully compliant with the IATA CUPPS standard for common-use passenger systems.

ARINC will be working in partnership with Aviation Information Technology (AVIT), a subsidiary of the EHCAAN. It will create and install the core common passenger processing systems and handle third-level support, whilst first and second level support are provided by AVIT itself.

“Egyptian Airports Company (EAC) airports have been experiencing strong growth for several years,” said Dr. Ashraf Zaki, Vice President of EHCAAN. “We believe that ARINC is an ideal partner to handle our continued expansion given their industry-leading technology and the tremendous airport experience they bring to the table, both globally and here in the Middle East.”

Article originally published here: Egyptian airports adopt CUPPS technology

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

Modernisation of passenger processing systems will strengthen security and streamline the airport journey at Papua New Guinea’s Port Moresby International.

ARINC will implement a number of cutting-edge IT solutions (including the VeriPax Passenger Reconciliation System, above) at Papua New Guinea’s Port Moresby Airport, as part of the airport’s aim to strengthen security and streamline operations ahead of an expected increase in passenger traffic.

Port Moresby International Airport in Papua New Guinea has appointed ARINC to implement a number of cutting-edge passenger solutions as part of an airport-wide Systems Integration Project.

ARINC, a global leader in communications, engineering and integration solutions, is to deploy its IT solutions in both the International and Domestic terminals of the airport as part of Port Moresby’s aim to modernise its passenger processing procedures for an enhanced passenger experience. Designed to create a more stable and reliable airport infrastructure to support growth in passenger numbers, new technologies to be installed include its AirVue multimedia flight information display system; an AirDB airport database for flight data management; the VeriPax Passenger Reconciliation System and its next generation passenger processing platform vMuse, a CUPPS-compliant shared passenger and flight information system, which also supports technologies such as self-boarding gates and self-service bag drops.

Port Moresby International is managed by the National Airports Corporation (NAC), the state-owned Aviation Enterprise that owns and operates 22 national airports across Papua New Guinea. Joseph Kintau, Managing Director, NAC, said: “ARINC’s proven expertise and depth of experience working with airports of all sizes across Asia was a key factor in our selection decision. We are confident that with the deployment of these solutions, we will be able to improve the passenger experience, streamline the passenger reconciliation processes and strengthen security at the airport. Most importantly, it enables us to provide a consistent model for passenger processing for all airlines that operate at the Port Moresby Airport.”

Michael DiGeorge, Managing Director of ARINC in Asia Pacific added: “We look forward to the collaboration as we support Port Moresby Airport in their efforts to improve the passenger experience, infrastructure and security at the airport. ARINC is committed to delivering and providing best-of-breed airport solutions to meet the end-to-end needs of all its customers, from the world’s largest to the smallest airports.”

Port Moresby International Airport is currently planning the construction of a new International Terminal to handle anticipated growth in passenger traffic. The new terminal is expected to be completed in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting that is to be hosted in Papua New Guinea in 2018.

Article originally published here: ARINC technology to enhance passenger experience at Port Moresby Airport

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

Following the groundbreaking FTE Asia 2013 conference, we take a look at the top 10 concepts, technologies and trends that are transforming the passenger experience as we know it.

This year’s groundbreaking FTE Asia Conference and Exhibition saw a record attendance of 260 international delegates, 20 cutting-edge exhibitors and 30 renowned speakers from the airlines, airports and suppliers that are pioneering the air travel industry across the world.

The event delivered some fascinating insights into how global leaders are developing an out-of-the-ordinary experience for the passenger, and we learned just what the industry’s most creative minds think is possible in air travel’s future. In the next few years we can expect mind blowing transformations that will streamline and personalise the airport journey for a passenger who is more empowered than ever before.

Here’s a glimpse of the 10 most exciting and extraordinary trends that you can expect to see in the not-to-distant future of the travel experience: 

10. More of your time back

The industry is on the very cusp of innovative airport solutions such as drive through self-bag drops, said Airbiz’s Managing Director Greg Fordham. As infrastructures evolve and current technologies meet with outside of the box thinking, airports will develop initiatives to give time back to their passengers.

… and no more queuing. According to Airbiz’s Managing Director Greg Fordham, in five years’ time, there will be no need for a single human agent in the terminal – or rather, a single agent behind a desk. Instead an entirely automated airport journey will see the passenger take complete control, while an optimised team of multilingual and multi-skilled airport staff will concentrate on assisting those who need it.

Automated and self-service processes will virtually eliminate queues too, and with every traveller processing himself in one common-use area, more than just a few minutes will be stripped from the airport journey, giving passengers their time back. Fordham explained that such an experience is a fusion of existing technology with some outside the box thinking, and that the industry is on the very cusp of innovations such as drive through self-bag drops. He also said that permanent bag tags will become universal, as will permanent boarding passes, and that advances in RFID technology and passenger tracking mean that soon you could have your baggage delivered to you in Arrivals.

Every second of the airport journey will be valuable and free of waiting, and without spending their time in queues, passengers will truly be able to embrace ever-more enticing food & beverage and retail offers. Passenger spend will soar, and airport commercial areas will evolve to deliver experiences unmatched anywhere else. Expect to make your duty free purchases from a virtual retail wall for delivery to your door when you return – features like Tesco’s virtual grocery store at Gatwick Airport will become the standard – and airport dining will take on an entirely new form. Passengers will be able to order food for delivery at their gate, so they can eat just what they choose on the plane. In the terminal you will use your mobile phone to select what you want to eat from a diverse range of restaurants; it will be cooked in a common kitchen and delivered to you, wherever you may be, using passenger tracking. All this, Fordham said, is “just a matter of time”.

9. Baggage processes that are all RFID, with none of the waiting

All Nippon Airways’ revolutionary Fast Travel initiative utilises RFID bag tagging in a unique way to deliver an on-time performance for its passengers and reduce CO2 emissions.

It seems All Nippon Airways (ANA) is already in the future when it comes to baggage processing, and the airline has accomplished remarkable things in areas of the passenger experience with the trial of its Fast Travel initiative. ANA’s Manager – Passenger Service, Planning, Airport Operations and Services, Nobutaka Koyanagi, explained that on entering the airport passengers are provided with mobile tablets that enable them to check their own bags, navigate the airport themselves and receive real-time messages informing them of when to proceed to their gate.

To drop off baggage takes travellers just seconds, and the ingenious process is also saving boarded passengers’ time (and reducing CO2 emissions) by all but removing delays to flights caused by no-show passengers. Messages to the tablets that remind passengers of how long they have left to board are minimising the number of passengers that don’t show for their flight, but should a traveller not turn up before the gate closes, ANA’s baggage offloading system will ensure that the flight is not held up.

The intelligent self–bag drop records the size and weight, and takes a photograph, of dropped bags, to which passengers have attached a permanent, traceable RFID bag tag. Should a passenger not arrive at the gate and a bag need to be offloaded, an RFID scanner is used to locate it amongst the others in the cargo hold. The bag can be found in minutes – the photo used to verify that it is the correct one – and once offloaded, it will be returned to the passenger using passenger tracking, for operations that are on time, all the time.

8. An app that does everything you need

Stefan Rust, CEO, Exicon: “Apps are for loyalty, web is for acquisition.” Travel apps have one of the highest user retention rates of any category of app, with 50% of users retaining apps after 90 days, and using them three times a week.

For many travellers, an extensive arsenal of apps is an indispensable part of the airport journey, and we can expect mobile applications to soon become even more ubiquitous, for the passenger of the future is, explained Stefan Rust, Founder & CEO of Exicon, quite literally always connected.

Even now it seems that there is an app for almost anything, from Passbook – the storage platform for all of your boarding passes, coupons and just about everything you need for travel but your passport – to Satisfly – the social seating tool that allows users to choose their inflight seatmates based on their personal preferences and social network profiles. Apps are becoming a travel essential, and, Rust said, by 2015 the mobile revolution will have really transformed the experience.

In the near future it is likely that all-encompassing mobile apps will provide a thorough, end-to-end service – aggregates of airlines, airports, hotels and ground transports will incorporate the tools for every part of the airport experience. Before your flight, an API will enable you to research and book your flight and arrange your local travel; at the airport it will guide you through the terminal, tell you where to check in, track your luggage, exchange your currency and allow you to plan your arrival, book a room and rent a car, as well as providing you with all the information you will need when you get to your destination.

7. Even more reality

Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is a trailblazer of the augmented reality trend, and its compelling developments in airport wayfinding are contributing to an increasingly seamless airport journey for its independent, me-centric passengers.

Rust went on to say that in the future augmented reality will enhance even further the ease with which we travel, predicting that the development of Google Glass will have a massive impact on the experience.

Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is a trailblazer of the trend, and its compelling developments in airport wayfinding are contributing to an increasingly seamless airport journey for its independent, me-centric passengers. Steve Tarbuck, Copenhagen Airport’s Business Development Manager, explained that CPH has adopted an agile approach to meeting the needs of the passenger of the future.

Its 360-degree wayfinding tool is an immersive 3D map that displays photo panoramas of every passenger area in the airport and its grounds, allowing travellers to get an overview of their trip through the terminal from their PC at home, or on the move at the airport on their mobile, where the free CPH Airport app will then position them by triangulation of the hundreds of WiFi access points in the terminals.

Passengers can select their starting point and where they want to get to from a drop down menu of airport locations. A metre-by-metre visualisation of their route then enables them to work out just where Gate A23 is, and quite how they find it from the Caffè Ritazza where they were having a cup of coffee, or how they get from baggage belt #4 where they collected their luggage to a car rental in The Arcade.

Meanwhile, CPH’s navigation app with augmented reality allows passengers to use the camera in their iPhone to photograph (or scan) points of interest in the terminal such as shops, restaurants, information desks, lounges and gates. The app then informs you in which direction and how many metres you must go to get to it – giving an extra layer of reality.

6. The power of mobile and NFC

Japan Airlines (JAL) has achieved a remarkably streamlined passenger experience in its domestic terminals. Andrew Wang, JAL’s Manager Planning – Group Web Sales explained that the state-of-the-art ‘Tap & Go’ NFC boarding pass facility allows travellers to simply touch their smart phone to a reader to enter departures, without even launching an application.

Japan Airlines (JAL)’s Andrew Wang, Manager Planning – Group Web Sales, made clear that mobile is everything in the future of travel, with sales of its domestic flights on smartphones increasing by +357% between 2011 and 2012.

The airline has a clear-cut mobile strategy, with 11 different apps covering every possible part of the end-to-end airport journey – and beyond. The apps boast a number of unique and unprecedented features that set an unmatched standard in mobile usage – live video feeds of planes on the taxiway convey weather conditions, while live streams of security lanes show passengers where there are queues – and where there are not.

In its domestic terminals JAL is doing some astounding things with mobile to improve the passenger experience. The ‘Tap & Go’ mobile tool utilises Near Field Communication (NFC) for automated entry with Integrated Circuit boarding passes, in security areas and at boarding gates. The process is simple as the passenger touching their mobile phone to a scanner that reads the NFC signal, without any need to launch an application.

JAL’s ingenious, new-generation gates can read NFC signals, paper barcode boarding passes and mobile QR codes all at one touch point. They then recognise whether the pass is valid for the time and date of flight, and permit the passenger to enter – a motion sensor recognises when multiple passengers on one booking have entered departures.

Japan Airlines has already eliminated the need for domestic passengers to check-in as their payment for the flight does that for them. In fact, passengers only need to go to a kiosk if they have not yet selected their seat, otherwise kiosks have been all but eradicated from the airport process.

If you are flying with JAL, the airport journey in almost entirely in your hands – and in your mobile – and Wang suggested that, in the future, we can expect NFC to be a part of nearly every aspect of the airport experience, and we expect him to be right.

You can take a look at the top five trends that are transforming air travel in Part two here, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss out on the latest news and stories on the future of the passenger experience.

Article originally published here: The top 10 trends that will change air travel forever as learned at FTE Asia 2013 – Part one

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

Last week we began our countdown of FTE Asia’s 10 trends. Here are five more concepts changing the passenger experience, and not in the ways you might expect.

This year’s groundbreaking FTE Asia Conference and Exhibition saw a record attendance of 260 international delegates, 20 cutting-edge exhibitors and 30 renowned speakers from the airlines, airports and suppliers that are pioneering the air travel industry across the world.

The event delivered some fascinating insights into how global leaders are developing an out-of-the-ordinary experience for the passenger, and we learned just what the industry’s most creative minds think is possible in air travel’s future. Last week we counted down five mind-blowing transformations that will empower the passenger for an effortless – and enjoyable – airport journey, and in part two we take a look at the top five concepts set to change air travel for good… and not in the ways you might expect.

Here’s part two of the 10 most exciting and extraordinary trends that you can expect to see in the not-to-distant future of the travel experience: 

» Missed part one? Read it here.

5. Less of the airport

At FTE Asia 2013, Dragonair CEO Patrick Yeung explained that advances in automated self-service technology could soon see airports enabling passengers to drop their bags while buying a burger at McDonalds, or check-in with their coffee at Starbucks.

That innovative technologies are ever-increasingly playing new and more significant parts in the airport journey is something that cannot be missed. In the near future though, it may be those very technologies that take the airport experience out of the airport, meaning passengers will spend much less of their time there.

Leaps and bounds being made in the automation of passenger processes have instigated a shift in the position of the passenger, the airline and, most significantly, the airport. Patrick Yeung, the inspirational CEO of Dragonair, explained that airlines would provide many more of the processing services, and they won’t all need to take place in the terminal. By 2016 89% of airlines will provide online purchase, while 70% will have enabled online check in. Even more excitingly, new technologies will be blended further and further into the airport to enhance the passenger experience – remote self-service technologies will mean you can drop your bag at McDonalds, or check-in and print your boarding pass at Starbucks – kiosks will disappear and passenger processes will move to unexpected places.

Off airport check-in too, explained Steve Tarbuck, Business Development Manager Airlines Processes & Facilities at Copenhagen Airport, is one of tomorrow’s passengers’ demands, and developments are being made today that will see portable check-in solutions become ubiquitous. Soon passengers will be able not only to check-in and bag drop anywhere in the airport, but downtown too.

In the future, operations will be streamlined to the point where you can step off of your train or ferry and – virtually – on to your plane. Tarbuck explained that the concept of cruise ship check-in is already being implemented. The seamless experience allows passengers to almost literally step from one mode of transport to the other. While onboard, on-ship WiFi enables remote check-in, following which a boarding pass and bag tag are printed. Baggage is accepted on the ship too via remote bag drops, and afterwards passengers are delivered by ground transport to departures, where all they have to do is go through immigration and board.

Already at Hong Kong International Airport a similar experience is being offered to ferry passengers through its SKYpier facility. Upstream check-in is provided by 13 airlines, at five ports: Macao Maritime Ferry Terminal, Macao Taipa, Dongguan Humen, Shenzhen Shekou and Shenzhen Fuyong. HKIA is now in the process of expanding SKYPier into an Intermodal Transfer Terminal to serve cross-boundary passengers via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

4. Personalisation and information – just for you

Jetstar has intelligently tailored its services to its passengers. Having recognised that just 35% of Australians possess a smart phone the innovative airline developed the SMS boarding pass and reader, which allows phones that do not display QR codes or graphics to perform automated entry with a unique text code.

IATA’s ‘We know because we asked’ initiative is a valuable indication of the value of social media as a real and truthful platform for airports to learn what passengers want. As a result increasingly passenger-centric airports and airlines are directing more and more emphasis onto personalising their experience for the traveller – and not just by giving them more power, but also by providing flexible and specific options for different segments of passenger with different sorts of needs.

The investigative scheme uncovered that one of passengers’ most prominent priorities is information. 98% of passengers want to receive personalised notifications of any disruption to their flight and 68% of those want it to be in the form of an SMS from their airline. Meanwhile 14% want the news to come email, and 9% want a push message from the airline’s app – though this number is expected to increase very soon. However they it comes, it is clear that passengers want to receive the information without actively having to do anything themselves. In the future its likely that we’ll see not only this, but all sorts of information, sent directly to your mobile to make the airport journey easier – Greg Fordham, Managing Director of Airbiz, said that soon texts telling you when to board will soon become the norm. The key, of course, is for airlines to learn just what information passengers want, and, crucially, what they don’t.

Clearly personalisation matters to passengers. And tailored services are already being offered at the industry’s most forward-thinking airports and airlines, where passenger processes are regionally customised. Dragonair’s Yeung said that in China – where there will be 1 billion outbound passengers in China by 2020 –, passenger value is huge, and with 33 regions, looking at China as one whole country means airlines will miss opportunities. Instead they need to respond to different region’s cultural demands and needs, which is why Dragonair has made its infrastructure more flexible by providing multiple ways to pay, ground staff that speak in Mandarin, mobile applications, online check-in and CUSS machines to suit every category of customer.

Meanwhile in Australia, Jetstar has made a massive commitment to its passengers’ needs with the implementation of unique technologies. Tarik Kiki, Jetstar’s Manager Ground Product, explained that flexibility is the secret to adapting to suit the passenger, and since only 35% of Australians have smart phones (meaning a traditional mobile QR code boarding pass could only be used by a third of passengers) the airline has instead generated an SMS boarding pass, in which an individual, scannable code based on seat allocation is sent by text message to the passenger.

3. The complete self-service airport

FTE Asia 2013 hosted the largest exhibition of passenger processing solutions in Asia, and among the diverse array of industry-leading concepts and technologies demonstrated by the 20 cutting-edge exhibitors were state-of-the-art innovations in self-service and automation, as well as IT, baggage processing and scanning solutons. Type 22’s Co-founder & Commercial Director Bart Houlleberghs demonstrates self-service bag drop technology to Mike DiGeorge, Managing Director, ARINC Asia Pacific Division.

If you are a frequent flyer it is likely that on one of your recent airport journeys you will have used at least an element of self-service. But, the omnipresence of self-service is set to erupt beyond what we can imagine, and in the not-to-distant future.

Incheon Airport is widely recognised as one of the most advanced and passenger-centric airports in the world – it has taken the title of ACI’s ASQ Survey Best Airport Worldwide for 8 Consecutive Years – and its reputation accurately precedes it. The airport is pioneering an overall self-service experience, which will see passengers serving themselves in every aspect of the airport journey. The Manager of Incheon International Airport Corporation, Ms Sun Mi-Kyoung, explained that its smart ‘u-Airport’ concept is Incheon’s vision of the future, and the unique, passenger-operated ‘cyber airport’ aims to set a global standard in fast and convenient processes, safety and security, and convenience for the passenger, all wrapped up in one sought-after package of unique and extraordinary experience.

The u-Airport concept utilises cutting-edge Information Technology to simplify every single aspect of the passenger process, and put it right into travellers’ hands. u-Self Check-in Common Use kiosks allow passengers to check-in with eight major airlines in an average of three minutes – a quarter of the time it takes to do it at a manned desk – and as little as 30 seconds; the biometric u-Immigration system will eventually allow all passengers with e-Passports to enter departures automatically with facial recognition; then there’s automatic also the biometric u-Boarding Gate; the boarding pass-free u-Departure Gate for machine readable passports; the u-Board kiosk, which provides customised airport information to passengers; and u-Signage, dynamic wayfinding tools. The entire system is unified by the u-Cyber Airport online Integrated Airport Travel Service, which is an all encompassing database of the information and facilities that travellers might need in South Korea’s capital city and beyond, including web check-in, car rental, international taxi booking and hotel reservation, as well as everything you need to know about departures, arrivals and airport info. The passenger’s every need has been considered, and covered.

2. Common Use and an end-to-end passenger process

“Air travel is a global industry and it needs one global standard.” Thomas Jeske, Senior Service Manager IT Product Management, Lufthansa, on Common Use facilities for airlines.

“Air travel is a global industry and it needs one global standard,” was Senior Service Manager IT Product Management, Lufthansa, Thomas Jeske’s apt way of describing the importance of Common Use services in the air travel industry’s future. Emerging technologies, such as use of mobile and CUPPS, will eventually see passenger processes operate on one common standard across all airlines.

Integrated processes and Common Use facilities will become universal throughout the airport, from Airbiz’s Fordham’s Common Use Food & Beverage kitchens, to Common Use lounges for all airlines and flights, with a central ground transport interchange, and instead of separate gates, a text message that instructs you when it is your time to board.

IATA’s Paul Behan explained that Common Use makes common sense, and that in the future every airline will use a standardised interface, making passengers’ airport journey much easier. In years to come it could mean that we come to expect a one-stop airport journey, in which you drop your bag and are scanned by security at one touch point, and boarding becomes gateless.

In fact, according to British Airways’ Senior Service Manager – Airport IT Systems, Barry Woolnough, paper tokens and physical obstacles could be removed all together. He clarified though that while the future of Common Use will be lean, agile and flexible, it will also have to be predictable, so passengers know what to expect. We rarely need to ask questions when we take a train – we know where to get our ticket, how to get through the boarding gates, how to find out where our platform is, where to look for times and delays and how to board, and, as we learned at FTE Asia 2013, a the airport journey could eventually become this simple too.

1. And a little bit more heart

Changi’s Instant Feedback System allows passengers to let the airport know where improvements need to be made or assistance is needed, via a touchscreen ‘smilies’ ratings system that immediately alerts airport staff for an instantaneous reaction.

Singapore Changi Airport is undeniably recognised as one of the most technically advanced airports in the world, and integrated processes are in Changi’s future, where a high speed, secure and common use network is centralising operations and linking airport systems for a simplified passenger experience that takes much less time.

Changi Airport Group’s Vice President Technology, Yuh Khee Leong, explained though, that as well as its hardware, the airport’s emphasis is on ‘heartware’ – courteous and knowledgeable staff and tools that give independent passengers the right sort of assistance, when and where they need it (though not without an injection of innovation, of course).

Changi’s Instant Feedback System allows passengers to let the airport know where improvements need to be made or assistance is needed, via a touchscreen ‘smilies’ ratings system, which alerts airport staff for an instantaneous reaction. The airport’s eInspection system ensures a timely response to faults, and enhances the productivity airport service providers such as toilet cleaners, estate management officers and other airport staff.

Chi-Kee Ng, Executive Director, Airport Operations, Hong Kong International Airport, explained that true excellence in service means a people-to-people experience. As one of the world’s most innovative airports, HKIA has achieved a globally-leading standard in technological innovation, but this year its focus is to go back to basics, and for its staff to deliver a service from the heart. HKIA’s goal is to attain a passenger-centred airport culture in the right operating environment, with automation in the right places and staff where they are needed. “It is the dawn of a new era, where we start from the individual,” he said.

Be it through cutting-edge hardware or passenger-tailored ‘heartware’, it was made clear at FTE Asia 2013 that unsurpassable service is at the centre of the vision for a truly extraordinary passenger experience of the future.

Missed the first half of our countdown of the trends transforming air travel experience as we know it? Catch up on Part one here, and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss out on the latest news and stories on the future of the passenger experience.

Article originally published here: The top 10 trends that will change air travel forever, as learned at FTE Asia 2013 – Part two

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

SITA’s partnership for innovation with Changi Airport was an exciting development on Asia Pacific’s air transport landscape. Following the announcement of the partnership in May, Amy Hanna spoke to SITA’s President Asia Pacific Ilya Gutlin about what the collaboration means for the two organisations. 

Changi Airport has equipped more than 450 of its check-in counters and 111 boarding gates with SITA’s AirportConnect Open, the industry’s leading Common Use operating system. Airlines across the three terminals have migrated to the new platform, which uniquely supports both agent-assisted and self-service passenger processing.

Global IT and communications provider SITA has developed a partnership for innovation with Changi Airport Group (CAG), which manages Singapore’s Changi Airport. The project was implemented in a record five months, in which the organisations collaborated to introduce the latest in passenger processing and self-service technology to one of Asia’s major airport hubs.

Speaking in an interview at FTE Asia 2013, Ilya Gutlin, SITA’s President Asia Pacific, explained: “We’ve implemented a Common Use infrastructure across three terminals at Changi, and have also implemented a number of kiosks as well. With regards to kiosks, Changi is approaching self-service very seriously at present, and we have recently completed a consulting study for the airport, to explore potential future deployments, including where additional kiosks may go, how self-service bag drops be operating, and – something that may come in the future – the possibility of self boarding.”

The partnership saw Changi Airport equip more than 450 of its check-in counters and 111 boarding gates with SITA’s AirportConnect Open, the industry’s leading Common Use operating system. Airlines across the three terminals have migrated to the new platform, which uniquely supports both agent-assisted and self-service passenger processing.

Gutlin said: “Information Technology actually represents around 4% of airport revenues – a fairly negligible amount – but its impact on the other 96% is strategic, because the effect of IT on air travel passengers, on their baggage, on operations overall is incredible. And as a passenger you can see the difference between airports that are IT savvy and those that aren’t.”

SITA has developed an ‘Innovation Governance’ with the airport, in which SITA Lab is working with Changi’s Operations team to develop new concepts and test new technologies to improve customer service and develop Changi’s already world-renowned passenger experience into something even more extraordinary.

“When you’re working with an airport that has been named SkyTrax’s ‘World Best Airport 2013’, amongst a number of accolades, your job is not to run the exisiting infrastructure, but instead to develop for the future, an to move both companies forward, using each other’s strengths to develop new ideas. Changi is a company full of specialists, we are working with some real experts there in the field of passenger experience, so for us to have access to that knowledge is something that isn’t easy to come by.”

SITA is continuing its successful expansion in the Asia Pacific region. The IT specialist recently instigated a seven-airport implementation of Common Use technology for Japan Airlines, following a number of large wins is now operating Common Use systems across over 40 airports in India. “We looking forward to announcing a number of further developments in the region in coming months,” Gutlin concluded.

Article originally published here: SITA partners with Changi Airport for state-of-the-art innovation – FTE interview: Ilya Gutlin, SITA’s President Asia Pacific, on the partnership.

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

Miami International Airport is implementing new self-service technologies and virtualisation as part of its US$6.4 billion capital improvement programme.

Miami International Airport is transforming the passenger experience with the implementation of SITA’s self-service technologies and virtualisation as part of its US$6.4 billion capital improvement programme.

Miami International Airport is implementing SITA’s self-service technologies and virtualisation as part of its US$6.4 billion capital improvement programme. Under the seven-year deal, the passenger experience will be transformed for the 40 million travellers using the airport each year.

Miami International will be the first airport in North America to have the passenger processing platform, SITA AirportConnect Open, deployed in a virtual environment across the entire airport. The implementation will also meet the industry’s latest common-use passenger processing system (CUPPS) standards. Virtualisation allows the airport to run the latest technologies and incorporate upgrades to its system efficiently and cost-effectively, while allowing airlines to seamlessly operate at any desk, gate or work station throughout the airport.

SITA will also pilot cutting-edge passenger technologies with the airport, which could include self-boarding gates and exploring new technology such as near field communication (NFC).

Maurice Jenkins, Director Information Systems and Telecommunications, Miami International Airport, said: “This is a significant move for Miami Airport. We are making this seven-year commitment to SITA because of its unique combination of advanced technology, round-the-clock service, on-site support and total dedication to the air transport industry.”

Along with the virtualised common-use service, which allows efficient use of the airport infrastructure by all airlines, SITA will expand its BagMessage services at the airport for improved baggage processing.

Article originally published here: Miami Airport implements self-service technologies and virtualisation

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Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport in Texas has implemented SITA’s AirportConnect Open common-use platform, and installed sophisticated FIDS.

Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport has implemented SITA’s AirportConnect Open. It has also installed sophisticated FIDS, providing real-time information to passengers.

Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport in Texas has implemented SITA’s AirportConnect Open common-use platform. This allows airlines to process passengers at any workstation or boarding gate at the airport, providing greater flexibility for the airport in terms of managing its infrastructure.

The five-year agreement includes sophisticated flight information display (FIDS) technology; AirportVision gives passengers real-time information on displays throughout the airport. In total, SITA is supplying 25 large LCD displays, 14 common-use passenger processing workstations, five FIDS workstations and 18 printers across the airport.

Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport, together with American, United and Delta Airlines, serves just over 300,000 passengers a year.

Diane Watt, Airport Technology, Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport, said: “We have been a Com-Net Software customer since 2004. Throughout that time, and since SITA acquired Com-Net Software in December 2010, their dedication to service has been outstanding. When it came to reviewing our common-use passenger processing system we knew that SITA’s proven technology combined with the team’s commitment would be a success. The switch is now complete and we are very pleased with our decision.”

Article originally published here: Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport implements common-use technology

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ARINC has completed the implementation of a variety of passenger processing solutions at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, including common use passenger processing technology.

H.H. Engr. Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairman of RAK International Airport, shakes hands with Tony Lynch, ARINC’s Regional Director, Middle East & Africa.

ARINC has completed the implementation of a variety of passenger processing solutions at Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) International Airport, including the vMUSE Common Use Passenger Processing Solution (CUPPS).

The AirVue Flight Information Display System (FIDS) and latest generation Airport Operational Database (AODB) AirDB 7 system has also been installed. The adoption of the new technology is an important step in the airport’s plans to offer remote check-in and bag drop facilities.

H.H. Engr. Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairman of RAK International Airport, said: “We have continuously delivered on all of our promises for this year, including the current expansion phase which is already seeing the airport receive a steadily increasing number of passengers. We are confident that the ARINC systems will make us a hi-tech, efficient and integrated airport.

“We are already pioneering several firsts and ARINC is the right partner who has embraced the concept of taking the airport out into the wider Ras Al Khaimah, the resorts, hotels and the city.”

Article originally published here: RAK Airport embraces virtualisation technology

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Kuwait International Airport is installing 12 self-service check-in kiosks – the first kiosks of their kind at the airport – as part of an eight-year contract renewal with SITA.  

The installation of 12 self-service check-in kiosks is part of an eight-year deal signed between Kuwait International Airport and SITA.

Kuwait International Airport is installing 12 self-service check-in kiosks as part of an eight-year contract renewal for SITA’s AirportConnect Open passenger processing platform. The kiosks are currently undergoing testing and are the first to be installed in the airport.

Fawaz El Farah, President of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Kuwait, said: “Kuwait International Airport is growing at a rate of 5% annually. SITA’s self-service technology provides an efficient way to help manage these extra passengers, while enhancing their experience in the airport.”

The AirportConnect Open platform enables airports, airlines and their handling agents to access their respective IT applications in real-time on shared equipment. It also allows any airline to use any agent desk, gate or self-service kiosk.

Mohammed Hariri, Chairman of the Airline Operating Committee, Kuwait International Airport, said: “SITA’s passenger processing platform gives us more flexibility and enhances our operational efficiency as passenger numbers continue to rise. We’re excited to take this technology one step further and offer self-service kiosks in the airport for the first time.”

Article originally published here: Kuwait Airport installs first self-service check-in kiosks

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FTE spoke to AirAsia’s Steven Dickson about the self-service facilities that will be available in klia2 and why airports should treat LCCs and full-service airlines differently.  

AirAsia’s Steven Dickson, Group Head, Ground and Inflight Operations; Aireen Omar, CEO of AirAsia Malaysia; and Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO, AirAsia, helped passengers get to grips with the new self-tagging kiosks at KLIA’s Low-cost Carrier Terminal in October. The self-tagging facilities will be rolled out more widely once klia2 opens in May 2014.

On 2 May 2014, the world’s largest purpose-built airport terminal for low-cost carriers, klia2, is scheduled to open its doors and as the flagship airline customer, AirAsia will go live with the most comprehensive self-service offer ever seen in an Asian airport. Passengers flying from the facility – which will replace the existing Low-cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) – will be able to check-in using self-service kiosks, tag their own bags, and – towards the end of this year – deposit them at a self-service bag drop without the assistance of an airline agent. While this kind of all-encompassing self-service process is becoming commonplace in Europe, it will be a groundbreaking experience for many Asian travellers.

“One thing we’ve been mindful of is the way the Asian consumer market reacts to self-service,” explained Steven Dickson, Group Head, Ground and Inflight Operations, AirAsia. “What we didn’t want to do at the beginning was go in and say: ‘we’re 100% self-service’ with a Qantas-type model. So, what we’ve got is components of existing technology and new stuff as well.”

klia2 is the largest purpose-built terminal for low-cost carriers anywhere in the world and will be the new home of AirAsia.

Among the new solutions are the latest self-service kiosks, which can be used to verify documents, check-in and print bag tags. These are in addition to the bag drop units that will be introduced in the second half of the year that will provide the second stage of the two-step bag drop process that AirAsia has opted for. While the airline’s self-tagging service was launched in October 2013 in the LCCT, it will be rolled out more widely across the new terminal.

At present, 65-70% of AirAsia’s passengers make use of self-service check-in, but Dickson is confident that with the current growth rate standing at between 1-2% per month, the airline will eventually be able to push self-service uptake “upwards of 95%”.

Permanent and home-printed bag tags?

Steven Dickson, AirAsia’s Group Head, Ground and Inflight Operations, pictured here alongside AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes, explained that he would like to see upwards of 95% of the low-cost carrier’s customers using the self-service facilities.

When questioned by FTE about going even further with the use of new technology and adopting permanent and home-printed bag tags, Dickson explained that he will wait for other airlines to put in the legwork, rather than try to be seen as a pioneer.

He said: “It’s all very well being the first to market, but I’d rather get it right. Let the others have the pain-points. We’ve always been innovators at AirAsia and will often be first to market, but with this, I’m more than happy to come in down the line and scoop it up, taking away the learnings from others.”

Low-cost no longer means low-quality

In a time when customer service and the overall experience of travel matters more to flyers than ever before, AirAsia – which has been voted World’s Best Low-Cost Carrier for five years running by SkyTrax – is open to the idea of responding to passenger demands to ensure its offer stands out from the crowd. That is, in Dickson’s own words, “as long as it doesn’t pollute the rest of the business”.

He continued: “Five years ago, we would have said: ‘Connectivity? No. Lounge access? No way. Priority baggage? I don’t think so.’ But if there’s a smart way to do it and deliver it in a high quality way to a consumer that’s willing to pay while still maintaining our core principles as a low-cost carrier then that’s the way to go. I think there’s a trade-off to be had.

“It’s a bit of a cliché, but low-cost may have meant low-quality in the past and with many imitators, that’s exactly the experience you got. Of the 40-plus million customers who flew with us in 2013, the vast majority of them will have had a great experience and will come back again.”

Low-cost carrier, full-service experience?

Steven Dickson, Group Head, Ground and Inflight Operations, AirAsia: “One thing we’ve been mindful of is the way the Asian consumer market reacts to self-service.”

However, rising customer service levels should not lead airports to treat LCCs in the same manner as full-service airlines, Dickson explained. In fact, this issue, he revealed, will “turn off” AirAsia in terms of dealing with these airports and growing its presence.

“The expectation all too often is that as an airline customer, you’re going to deliver the same customer service as all other airlines,” he stated. “In particular, some airports expect full-service passengers to be processed in exactly the same way in exactly the same times as a passenger flying with us, with the same queuing times and bag delivery times.

“Yes, I’m paying the airport to use that footprint, but they’re our customer! For us, it’s all about managing cost, which allows us to really grow the market exponentially. Our customers don’t expect to queue forever, but neither do they expect to be processed in the same time as a Business Class passenger.

“Service levels are important, but if we can offer fares half that of the nearest full-service operator, what’s an extra few minutes? The beauty of technology, of course, is that queues will become a thing of the past, providing our airports embrace what’s coming at them!”

An airline-designed airport of the future

While AirAsia will soon be settling into its new home in klia2, Dickson continues to look further ahead. Setting his sights on the airport of the future, he envisages an airport where the first airline agent the passenger meets is at the door of the aircraft. Building on this vision, he even explained that future airport terminals could be designed and owned by the airlines themselves, admitting, however, that such a model is some way off.

For now, though, AirAsia’s focus is on agreeing the final details of its move into klia2 with Malaysia Airports and to make its first real attempt to push self-service as the predominant means of processing in Asia memorable for all the right reasons.

Read the first part of our interview with Steven Dickson, Group Head, Ground and Inflight Operations, AirAsia – ‘AirAsia reveals onboard connectivity, IFE streaming and CRM plans for short-haul flights’.

Article originally published here: AirAsia: klia2′s self-tagging, bag drop and next-gen kiosks will redefine the airport experience in Asia

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FTE spoke to Amadeus’ Head of Airport IT about ACUS – the new cloud-based system that Amadeus says could redefine the airport common use market.  

Amadeus’ Airport Common Use Service (ACUS) marks the company’s first venture into the competitive airport common use space.

The entry of Amadeus into the common use space has got people asking what impact cloud-based solutions will have on traditional common use systems that tend to rely on onsite infrastructure.

The specific product currently in the spotlight is the Airport Common Use Service (ACUS), a next-generation, cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that allows airlines and ground handlers to share the physical space and IT resources of the airport, and which Amadeus says helps to eliminate the burdens of hosting and development.

“Most other common use solutions make use of virtualisation, which runs off local servers at the airport, so this is different in that it’s a cloud-based solution that is centrally hosted in a single date centre,” John Jarrell, Head of Airport IT at Amadeus, told FTE.

“If you centrally host everything in the cloud, you can make one change centrally and that change is then made across all airports in the network, so you don’t have to make the change at each of the airports individually. It fixes the problem that airlines have complained about for years.”

CUPPS compliant solution

Jarrell explained that ACUS’ ability to connect to all airline Departure Control Systems – which is particularly useful for Amadeus given that it “provides DCS services to 25% of passengers checked in globally” – as well as airport applications makes it easier and more cost-effective for airlines that are expanding their network. It is also fully compatible with the CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing Systems) industry standard.

“If you’re American Airlines running on Sabre, for instance, you have connections from Dallas to Airport A, B, C and so on – you may have hundreds of airport connections.” Jarrell continued. “With ACUS, Sabre connects to a single network connection and I can then run all of the network connections from there.

John Jarrell, Head of Airport IT at Amadeus, told FTE Editor Ryan Ghee that live tests of ACUS have already been successfully completed in Germany and South Africa.

“This takes away a networking business that some of the other providers might not be too happy about, but it definitely benefits the airlines. One of the things the airlines haven’t liked, and the thing that CUPPS was supposed to fix in the past, was that everyone would prefer to use their own native application but couldn’t. With ACUS though, they can still run their native application hosted in our data centre and provide access to all of their staff around the world.”

ACUS trials in Germany and South Africa

It all sounds good in theory, but what about in practice? Jarrell told FTE that live tests have already been successfully undertaken. “Some people have said it’s not a good idea to host everything centrally as it takes up a lot of bandwidth and the network costs will be high,” he stated. “We don’t have this problem though, as we can scale the solution and the bandwidth use is actually low.

“People also mention latency issues. Well, we’ve tested this in a German airport and the airlines said it is faster than the existing system. You might think it performed well at a German airport because the system is hosted in Germany, but we’ve also tested it in South Africa, running it from the German data centre, and it was still a lot faster.”

Will airports embrace the cloud?

Over the years, airlines have been at the core of Amadeus’ business and having witnessed the shift among carriers towards cloud technology, Jarrell said he expects airports to follow suit.

“The airport industry has advanced tremendously from the days of dedicated airline check-in desks towards a much more flexible and shared environment. It is now ready to embrace more change in order to maximise commercial and operational performance, and it can derive huge efficiencies from moving towards a common use service,” he said.

“Our platform will enable the airport ecosystem to use its resources much more intelligently, ultimately improving the passenger experience and taking the next step towards becoming the airport of the future.”

There can be no doubting the confidence from Jarrell and Amadeus that ACUS could be true game-changer in the common use field, which has traditionally been dominated by the likes of SITA, ARINC, Air IT and the like. Now it will be interesting to see whether the airports agree that cloud computing is the future, and what impact it will have on this competitive sector of the industry.

Article originally published here:
Amadeus makes surprise move into airport common use – should the competition be worried?

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Finavia’s Joni Sundelin tells FTE about the 2020 development plan for Helsinki Airport and explains why he expects mobile technology to revolutionise passenger processing.

Joni Sundelin, Senior Vice President, Finavia, outlined Helsinki Airport’s 2014-2020 plan to FTE Editor Ryan Ghee, explaining that increasing capacity at check-in and security are the central elements of Phase 1.

Helsinki Airport’s motto is “for smooth travelling”, and as passenger numbers continue to increase and the point of saturation nears, Finavia ­– the Finnish airport operator – is exploring its options to ensure the capital city airport is well positioned to continue to live up to this tagline in the years ahead.

The current annual passenger throughput at Helsinki Airport is almost three-times higher than the 5.4 million population of the entire country, but the ongoing passenger growth hasn’t yet impacted the highly regarded passenger experience on offer. However, to ensure this remains the case, a 2014-2020 development plan is being deployed, and the passenger is at the centre of it.

In recent months, FTE has reported on a number of eye-catching projects that have been implemented at Helsinki Airport – ranging from the introduction of free Wi-Fi and a Relaxation Area, to the Quality Hunters programme and the recent decision to install self-service bag drop units.

Increasing capacity at check-in and security

Finavia has embraced self-service and now check-in kiosks and do-it-yourself tagging and bag drops are commonplace at Helsinki Airport.

When FTE met with Joni Sundelin, Senior Vice President at Finavia, he explained that a number of other initiatives are being considered – including a dedicated digital room for passengers who like to make use of their smartphones and tablets while travelling – but the most pressing task is to establish how the smooth travelling experience can be protected.

“There are three phases in the 2020 project,” he explained. “Phase 1 is ongoing and focuses on increasing capacity at security and the check-in areas. For example, in Terminal 2 operations are very much focused on oneworld and Norwegian. We know we have security bottlenecks at peak times, so we’re going to increase the capacity.” As for the check-in upgrades, this is something Finavia is focusing on at a number of the airports under its operation, not just Helsinki.

“Then in Phase 2 we will evaluate how best to increase terminal capacity, so we’re now evaluating whether to build a new terminal or to extend T2. It’s very much a balancing act between capital investment, cost and product. Being a small airport gives us our competitive edge, but a new terminal would make the connection times longer, so it’s a big decision.” Either way, Sundelin explained that Finavia is hopeful of coming to a decision by September or October this year.

Phase 3, meanwhile, focuses on developing the airport city model, which will gather pace once the passenger- and capacity-related projects have been addressed.

Mobile vs CUPPS

Finavia already offers a high-end smartphone app, but the airport operator is planning to make further use of the technology. Joni Sundelin, Senior Vice President, Finavia, said: “We’re one step away from the next generation, which is mobile”.

Of course, a terminal extension, or even construction of a new terminal, would mean investment in new passenger and baggage processing systems and technologies. However, Sundelin explained that he is not yet prepared to commit to any more major investments in this area as he feels the mobile revolution will have a major impact in the near future.

“Self-service will become even more important,” he said, “but we’re struggling with the CUPPS/CUSS debate. We’re one step away from the next generation, which is mobile, which will mean we won’t have a lot of the physical machines at the airport.

“So, you have to ask: ‘Does this investment pay back over just one or two years?’ I would say everything will change a lot within three to five years, or even sooner. We have to look at how this development will impact the whole infrastructure, how travellers will connect with the infrastructure in the future. I for one truly believe in mobile and digital.”

So, while Finavia itself is still deciding how it will address the unavoidable capacity constraints at Helsinki Airport, whether Terminal 2 is extended or a brand new terminal is constructed, it seems passengers can be sure of an experience driven by remote, self-service processing and mobile technology.

Article originally published here:
Finavia preparing for mobile revolution as it develops 2020 plan

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FTE explores what role CUPPS, the cloud, virtualisation and native airline applications will play in the future, and assesses the thoughts of a number of industry experts.

Lufthansa is a big advocate of Common Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS), and Thomas Jeske, the airline’s Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure, told FTE that the airline is “determined to retire its CUTE legacy application portfolio” and move to a “CUPPS-only solution”. (Photo credit: © Jens Görlich)

CUPPS or native airline applications? Standardised common use or virtualised shared use platforms? On-site servers or cloud-based solutions? These are just a few of the many questions airports and airlines must consider when searching for the ideal common use set-up, and with more new solutions coming to market and contradictory opinions and recommendations being made across the board, how do you know which option is best for your business? To help get to the bottom of the debate, FTE spoke to a number of experts from airports, low-cost carriers, legacy airlines and industry suppliers to explore the future of airport common use.

Of course, at the heart of the common use debate is the Common Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS) standard, which was introduced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2009 and was developed to simplify common use implementation by promoting a model whereby airlines would have a single application that could run on any CUPPS certified platform. The aim was for CUPPS to replace the Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) standard, which has been in place since the 1980s. However, CUPPS needed to work with CUTE legacy applications to support the airlines that had not yet developed CUPPS applications.

Over the last five years there has been uptake among major players, with the likes of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and Lufthansa among the most prominent supporters of CUPPS, but widespread rollout has failed to materialise, with many airlines preferring to continue working with their own CUTE-compliant and native applications.

Despite the slower than anticipated adoption rate, Thomas Jeske, Senior Manager, IT Infrastructure and Co-chair of IATA’s Common Use Working Group, told FTE the benefits of CUPPS “should not be ignored”. “The industry should continue to embrace CUPPS as it is the only (agent facing) common use standard that allows us to run one and the same application suite on multiple provider platforms.” He also explained that Lufthansa is “determined to retire its CUTE legacy application portfolio with all legacy CUTE providers and move to a CUPPS-only suite solution resulting in huge savings”.

CUPPS continues to be a ‘chicken and egg scenario’

The CUPPS-compliant “Green Build” Terminal 2 West at San Diego International Airport includes 10 new common use departure gates.

Such support is evident elsewhere. For instance, San Diego International Airport has recently embraced CUPPS in the “Green Build” Terminal 2 West expansion. However, while he is a strong supporter of CUPPS, Rick Bellioti, the airport’s Director of Information Services, accepts that it is still a “chicken and egg scenario”.

“Across the industry, the airlines often don’t want to invest in another new application unless there’s enough critical mass to justify it,” he told FTE. “So, airlines back-develop their applications to meet the CUTE standard. We’re in a situation where there will either have to be a mandate for CUPPS, or we’ll have to wait for enough sites to adopt it to reach that critical mass where it makes more financial sense.”

Gatwick CIO: Fundamental shift is needed

Not every major airport is as complimentary about CUPPS, though. Michael Ibbitson, Chief Information Officer at Gatwick Airport – which runs a traditional common use model – is not as willing to wait for this critical mass to be reached.

“The aviation industry has tried to address the problem with the development of CUTE and CUPPS standards but in doing so seems to have reinforced the existing infrastructure rather than instigate change,” he said, adding that a “fundamental shift in aviation IT” is needed.

Common use for low-cost carriers

The new klia2 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport opened in May 2014, but anchor airline tenant AirAsia was not keen to have to use common use infrastructure.

Clearly, all airports are not in agreement, and nor are all airlines. As for common use in general, San Diego’s Bellioti explained that “anecdotal evidence suggests lower cost airlines are more sceptical”, adding another layer to the somewhat complex debate. So, rather than simply asking if CUPPS is the right approach, some carriers are still not convinced that common use per se is the best option in every scenario.

AirAsia is a case in point. In May this year, the low-cost carrier transferred operations from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the new klia2 – the largest terminal dedicated to low-cost airlines ever built. With a number of carriers operating from the terminal, Malaysia Airports opted for a common use infrastructure – a decision that was not fully supported by the new terminal’s anchor tenant.

Steven Dickson, AirAsia Group’s Head of Ground and Inflight Operations, told FTE that since the move, having to use common use systems has forced the airline to increase manpower and has led to a higher cost base. “We’d spent the best part of three to four years educating the consumer on how to self-serve, how they should be doing it and what the benefits are. We introduced self-tagging last year, which was supposed to be the catalyst for moving to a fully outsourced operation with the consumer. Then we would have introduced automated bag drop and moved the staff to the places where they’re most needed.”

According to Steven Dickson, Group Head of Ground and Inflight Operations at Air Asia (far right), self-service uptake has suffered as a result of switching over to common use equipment.

However, Dickson explained that in the early days after the move to the common use klia2, the proportion of passengers tagging their own bags dropped from 35% to zero, while self-service kiosk usage dropped from 35% to just 10%. Last month, the carrier decided to stop using the self-service kiosks altogether – “not a move made lightly”, according to Dickson.

At the heart of this decision was the carrier’s dismay with the charging structure attached to the common use ecosystem. “The lowest cost solution is our own solution. With common use, we now have to pay 35 cents for each departing customer whether or not they use any of this infrastructure. They might be travelling with hand luggage and using a mobile boarding pass, so they don’t need to use the infrastructure, but we’re still charged 35 cents. How is that fair?”

Malaysia Airports, however, remains resolute in its position on common use. Dato’ Azmi Murad, General Manager, Operations Services, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad, recently said the SITA-supplied common use infrastructure is helping klia2 to process “large numbers of passengers and their bags quickly and efficiently, for great on-time performance”. He added: “We are also delighted that all airlines – AirAsia, Malindo, Cebu and Tiger – are already onboard and using the new system.”

Dickson, however, suggests otherwise: “Don’t get me wrong, common use is worth it in a terminal with a multitude of carriers fighting for infrastructure, but in your home base where you have 92% of traffic on day one, it doesn’t make sense. We’re relatively small fry in the likes of Australia and Macau, so we’re happy to use common user there, but when you’ve got more than 90% of volume and 35,000 passengers per day, you start to think ‘is the tail wagging the dog?’”

There could be cause for optimism, though, as AirAsia has vowed to work collaboratively with newly appointed Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad Managing Director, Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, to try to find a solution.

Waiting for the tipping point

Unsurprisingly, SITA is also clear in its support for common use and the CUPPS standard. “I firmly believe CUPPS is a good thing,” Andrew O’Connor, the company’s Portfolio Director, told FTE at a recent meeting in Brussels. “It’s a good thing for the industry. I think the challenge has been that when you try to set a standard where there are other de facto standards out there, it’s quite difficult to accelerate adoption, but we’ve seen it really come along in the last year or so, and there are some big airlines really starting to push it.

“It has been a question of tipping point for sure, but that tipping point will come. It has seemed drawn out, it has seemed to take too long, but within the last year I think interest has really picked up.”

When questioned about whether common use is the right approach for low-cost carriers, he said: “Low-cost carriers, in a way, can be the most forward-thinking about automating the process…and optimising the end-to-end passenger flow. These guys are really measuring the flow times and measuring the cost of handling passengers more than anyone else, and you can’t do that unless you have some kind of standards around that whole end-to-end passenger process, and common use standards is the way to do that.”

Shared use vs Common use

AirIT’s EASE (Extended Airline System Environment) is a virtualised shared use passenger processing technology solution that enables airlines to share infrastructure while still using their own native applications.

However, the choice is not simply between common use systems (CUPPS-enabled or not), or simply operating as a silo using native applications. Virtualised shared use platforms that allow airlines to share infrastructure while still using their own proprietary applications are also an option.

“We believe that virtualised shared use platforms represent the best common use solution for all airports regardless of size, because it preserves the airlines’ business processes by allowing them to operate in their own native environment,” says Betros Wakim, CEO and Chief Technology Officer of AirIT, a company that has implemented shared use infrastructure platform technology at the likes of San Jose International Airport.

Wakim – who incidentally believes that the CUPPS standard is already “outdated” – says the “functionality, cost of deployment, passenger experience and ease of use for the airlines” are all benefits of virtualised shared use platforms over legacy common use alternatives. “In addition, the virtualised shared use passenger processing solution has been proven to be scalable, as it currently operates successfully in airports of varying size and scope.”

Cloud-based common use systems

Another benefit of virtualised shared use systems is that it reduces the need to have multiple servers located on-airport, but traditional common use suppliers say cloud-based common use is now starting to gain traction, and could become the option of choice in the future.

Amadeus hit the headlines back in April when it announced the launch of its own Airport Common Use Service (ACUS), billed as a next-generation, cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that allows airlines and ground handlers to share the physical space and IT resources of the airport, and which helps to eliminate the burdens of on-site hosting and development.

When John Jarrell, Amadeus’ Head of Airport IT, met FTE Editor Ryan Ghee, he made a strong case for cloud-based common use solutions, saying it solves the problems airlines have been complaining about for years.

Upon the launch of the product, John Jarrell, Head of Airport IT at Amadeus, told FTE: “If you centrally host everything in the cloud, you can make one change centrally and that change is then made across all airports in the network, so you don’t have to make the change at each of the airport individually. It fixes the problem that airlines have complained about for years.”

The likes of SITA and ARINC, however, say this concept is not necessarily revolutionary. SITA’s O’Connor explained that “we’ve actually been pushing the cloud-hosted solution for a while now” and that “about 15” smaller airports are currently using SITA’s cloud-hosted pay-as-you-go model. While he doesn’t expect every airport to opt for cloud-hosted common use in the near future, he does expect to see a “migration towards this” in the coming years.

ARINC’s Tony Chapman also explained that “at least five” of the company’s customer airports in the EMEA region are already making use of a cloud-based common use solution. However, he says there’s an important “balancing point” that airports should take into account when weighing up cloud-hosting versus on-site servers. “We think that balancing point is around 65 workstations,” he said. So, according to this theory, if an airport has more than 65 workstations, it will be cheaper to host the common use system on-site than it will to make use of a cloud-based system that runs entirely on an Internet connection. A cloud solution coupled with hard connections is another story again, though.

No end in sight to the CUPPS debate

The CUPPS standard was introduced by IATA in 2009 but has so far failed to gain traction throughout the entire industry.

But this is where the common use debate goes full circle once again. While Lufthansa’s Jeske accepts that cloud-based common use models are “obviously on the horizon” and that it makes sense for airlines to “engage in trials with potential providers to verify that such solutions work as expected”, he says it is “critical for the success of a cloud-based common use solution that the platform follows the IATA CUPPS standard”.

So, even if there is agreement among many (not all) airports and airlines that cloud-based common use is the future, the CUPPS debate will continue to dominate. Not only will the industry have to wait for the aforementioned “tipping point” if CUPPS is ever to gain the traction is was initially designed to achieve, but cloud-based common use could become the next “chicken and egg” as major airports wait for one another to take the plunge and trial the systems before they make an investment themselves.

Traditional common use, cloud-based solutions and shared use virtualisation platforms all have their own benefits, but finding a single solution that is widely recognised as suitable for smaller and larger airports, legacy airlines and low-cost carriers alike is a seemingly impossible task.

If CUPPS was designed to be a “one-size-fits-all” solution, it’s now clear that it does not fit this bill, but the support from major carriers and airports is evidence that it still has lots of potential and is by no means dead and buried. However, imposing it upon those that don’t support it is unlikely to pay off, but ignoring the challenges will get the industry nowhere. As Jeske rightly said, there will always have to be “compromise”, but establishing who should compromise and by how much is another debate entirely.

Article originally published here:
The future of airport common use – will a one-size-fits-all solution ever be feasible?

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

David Kershaw explores the future of airport common use and the potential impact of the Cloud, self-service processing technologies and a differentiated charging model.

Given the clear benefits of common use – whether it’s the ability to seamlessly switch on or off airlines as schedules change, to move carriers around airport campuses as demands with regards to alliances and partnerships evolve, or sharing the cost of hardware, consumables and maintenance to name just a few – it is hardly surprising that a major airport recently described their latest common use platforms as “strategically important assets”. That said, it is remarkable that there continues to be debate about the future of common use in general, and CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing Systems) in particular – why?

Speaking from experience, almost all major common use tenders in recent years have specified delivery of a CUPPS compliant solution. Despite this, only a handful of airlines have certified true CUPPS applications and fewer still are committed to rolling them out across their global networks.

This may of course be the result of the view that in the short- to medium-term, a CUPPS application is simply another variant on top of each of the vendor specific legacy CUTE (Common Use Terminal Equipment) applications they already maintain, but this hiatus has provided time to consider alternatives, and allowed consideration of differing shared system solutions: the partitioning of locally deployed workstations allowing multiple dedicated applications to run sequentially; of ‘hybrid’ solutions which seemingly aspire for platforms to run legacy CUTE, CUPPS, web-based or CUSS (Common Use Self Service) applications; or latterly, of wrapping dedicated airline applications, hosting them in data centres; arguably pseudo-common use, non-standard solutions.

The industry is searching for a ‘killer reason’ to justify change

As FTE recently reported, San Diego International Airport’s CUPPS compliant “Green Build” Terminal 2 includes 10 common use departure gates. However, could the introduction of new processing solutions be delaying wider uptake of common use, and CUPPS, elsewhere in the industry?

Compounding the industry’s indecisiveness, there remains a lack of a killer reason to change – PCI-DSS compliance was thought to be such a driver for change, but a full solution remains elusive, and COTS component updates have not yet generated enough significant forward momentum.

Some might point to their own internal business case not stacking up – there are always other seemingly more important projects for airline/airport IT spend. In a heavily regulated, somewhat conservative industry, with significant constraints on many aspects of the operational environment – in the air, and on the ground – changing a dated, yet robust, mission-critical system in is not necessarily seen as a vital priority.

Is the rise of self-service delaying CUPPS uptake?

The CUPPS standard was introduced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2009 with the aim of simplifying common use implementation.

Whilst some or maybe all of the above apply in specific cases, it must also be considered that alternative processing solutions bear some responsibility for the slow airline take-up of CUPPS to date. Agent check-in is decreasing and self-service around mobile boarding passes with home-printed or permanent bag tags seem to offer a tantalising alternative. In the short-term, self-service airside access, self-tagging from CUSS kiosks offers a way to move to automated bag drops, whilst self-boarding completes the outbound self-service passenger journey.

That said, until biometrics, with secure identity assurance/management systems are introduced, together with any necessary regulatory approvals, such an end-to-end self-service solution may well by limited to domestic, or perhaps regional travel where immigration checks are no longer required (think Schengen, or at best isolated test/trial cases such as the Aruba Happy Flow).

A differentiated common use charging model now appears inevitable

The impact of the traditional common use business models – firm, fixed pricing over multiple years, paid for on a fair and equitable basis by all users – must also be considered. Is this a model that restricts, or at least puts the brake on rapid adoption of new airport/airline solutions?

It is often suggested that different types of airline ‘need’ common use more than others – generalisations are dangerous, but in a hub airport, a dedicated solution may be attractive, but in an outstation, common use may win the day.

Interestingly however, the airline doesn’t always make the decision, which then leads to tension between airport and airline customers. The entire debate about charging mechanisms causes uncertainty in the procurement and financial departments of the organisations that purchase and pay for common use platforms. Yet the introduction of differentiated charging is almost certainly inevitable as airlines and airports adopt new technologies.

The reality is that despite all of the reasons not to move to a new business model, the drive to change is very strong, not least because capacity constraints require speedier processing capabilities, or more investment in costly infrastructure.

The future of common use is secure, but maybe not as we know it

It is this complex technology versus regulatory dilemma with a business case overlay that is currently holding the industry back. Safety and security trump incremental, never mind dynamic, technology shifts, and this reality means many airports, and airlines, are stuck.

Everyone knows technology is changing, and everyone accepts that their customers and consumers want a different approach. But how can they leap without a clear consensus? It seems certain that common use platforms cannot be completely removed until the final (last two in each case!) carriers have moved off it. On this basis, the future of common use is surely secure, albeit in a different paradigm to the one we know now, where it stands accused of only providing for the lowest common denominator in terms of airline applications.

The future mission for any common use solution must be to provide a robust, flexible and standardised basis for airlines and airports that want to use leading edge technologies to do so, but bring the remainder with them on a stable basis. Consensus (albeit with freedom to innovate) is critical in delivering platforms which enable the future from a technology, customer service and airline-airport charging mechanism.

Article originally published here:
The future of airport common use – ‘The drive to change is very strong’

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

IATA’s Common Use Working Group has released its five-year Common Use Strategy, which is based on a clear vision up to the year 2020.

IATA’s Common Use Working Group has launched a new Common Use Strategy, a key part of which is the following vision: “By 2020, common use will provide flexibility of choice to deploy services based on interfaces adhering to industry standards”.

The topic of common use has continued to be a key point of focus for the industry throughout 2014, with discussions relating to the benefits, obstacles and the impact of new developments engaging stakeholders from across the air transport sector. Now, to outline its vision and plans in this space, IATA’s Common Use Working Group (CUWG) has launched a new Common Use Strategy.

The purpose of the document is to provide a clear strategy to drive the activities of the CUWG over the next five years and the final version is the result of discussions among the CUWG, two strategy meetings held in London with participation from IATA Member Airlines and IATA Strategic Partners, and follow-up meetings and calls with targeted airlines, airports and common use vendors.

“There is an opportunity,” the document states, “to challenge all aspects of common use from technical requirements through to business models at a time where the need to manage an efficient operation without the high costs of dedicated facilities has evolved with the shift to self-service passenger processing, in addition to a general progression in technology and further work on the passenger process.”

Having read the new strategy, FTE sought the views of Samuel Ingalls, Assistant Director of Aviation, Information Systems at McCarran International Airport and past chair of IATA’s CUWG, who succinctly highlighted the relevance of this new document.

“Common use,” he explained, “has been in place at airports around the world for three decades, driving both operational efficiency and cost savings for the industry. During that time period, both technology and process evolved significantly. Both the CUSS (Common Use Self Service) and CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing Systems) development efforts by industry stakeholders were always intended to be “living standards”, with modification and updates as needed by the industry. At this point, the roadmap developed should effectively guide further evolution in the important area of passenger processing.”

The five-year common use vision

At the heart of the Common Use Strategy is the following vision: “By 2020, common use will provide flexibility of choice to deploy services based on interfaces adhering to industry standards”. These interfaces will range from web services, cloud computing and mobile devices through to standard desktop offerings.

Offering his thoughts on this vision, Ingalls stated: “Airports have billions of dollars invested in their terminal facilities, and those facilities need to be efficiently used in order to realise the full benefit of that investment. Standard interfaces speed overall deployment and facilitate the development of new processes against those known interfaces. For the air carriers, the ability to have a clear understanding of the environment helps minimise development difficulty and maximise deployment efficiency.”

Samuel Ingalls, Assistant Director of Aviation, Information Systems at McCarran International Airport: “At this point, the roadmap developed should effectively guide further evolution in the important area of passenger processing.”

Additional core principles are highlighted in the document, including: facilitation of business processes; minimum, defined functionality; transparency including predictability, serviceability and affordability; and compliance to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) for common use infrastructure.

Also of note is the Common Use Mission: “The Common Use Mission is to provide on-demand operationally flexible and resilient passenger processing services using interfaces adhering to industry standards that leverage contemporary technology to enable the integration of services from multiple owners.”

Case for change

So, what exactly is the case for change for airlines, airports and passengers? One of the points highlighted is the fact that airlines are no longer a homogeneous group; nowadays there is huge diversity in airline business needs and models. Airlines and airports are both “frustrated by the slow pace of change and the inability to implement changes in a timely fashion” and the aviation industry is “very much moving to the pace of the lowest common denominator” at present.

In reference specifically to airlines, many would like to be able to differentiate their service offering based on the way they process their passengers, they would like to be able to choose different ways of delivering services to their customers (e.g. mobile/traditional methods), they require a card payment solution that is PCI compliant for self-service and agent-facing touch-points that use shared infrastructure, and cloud technology “will become the prevailing technology allowing airlines more flexibility to deliver their services directly or via a third party”.

Speaking to FTE, Magali Collot, IATA representative of the Common Use Working Group, explained that IATA supports the Common Use Strategy that represents the views of airlines, airports and IATA Strategic Partners involved in the CUWG, adding: “From an airline point of view, standard interfaces are definitely the way forward. The flexibility allows an airline to choose the standard interfaces (e.g. web services, cloud computing, mobile devices and/or desktop offerings) that would be presented to its application so that the concept of certify on one platform, run on many remains a core principle. It is also paramount that the standards in the realm of common use evolve based on both business needs and technology.”

Airport and passenger requirements

In terms of airports, the strategy highlights the fact that they need to maximise the current investments in terminal facilities and avoid unnecessary capital expenditure to build additional facilities, while also ensuring terminal space is utilised effectively and efficiently, creating an intuitive environment for passengers. It states: “Airports have a growing need to understand the requirements of their airline tenants, and to create a flexible IT environment, where this makes sense.”

A number of airport requirements relating to shared infrastructure are also highlighted, including the fact that airports would like to provide a portfolio of common use services including self-service and other options, from which airlines can choose in order to provide a seamless passenger journey to and through the airport.

Another important point is that airports want to be able to choose between on-site and off-site IT services, which means Wi-Fi access will become one of the most important enablers and a great facilitator of the common use environment. PCI DSS compliance is also equally applicable to airports.

In addition to the requirements and expectations of the airlines and airports, the Common Use Strategy takes into consideration the passengers’ viewpoint. Recognising the fact that passengers have completely different profiles and needs, and that the same passenger could even have different needs depending on the purpose of their trip and the airport location, it recognises that passengers now like to use their own devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, for processing. As well as needing access to the relevant infrastructure to complete all of the key steps in the air travel chain (e.g. check-in, bag drop, boarding), they require real-time information, which would ideally be delivered to their mobile devices.

Implementing the strategy

Illustration of the cycle to build adequate technical solutions based on standard interfaces and the efforts needed during the two-year implementation phase for each new technical solution. (Click to enlarge)

The aim of the new Common Use Strategy is to continue to build on these benefits for the industry. However, drafting a document is one thing, but implementing it is where the real benefits lie, and IATA’s CUWG says realistic key milestones should be agreed in order to achieve the latest five-year common use vision. The above illustration shows the cycle to build adequate technical solutions based on standard interfaces and the efforts needed during the two-year implementation phase for each new technical solution.

This approach should be followed on an ongoing basis when new business requirements emerge and technologies need to be applied to these new requirements in order to produce new common use industry solutions.

Achieving this five-year vision requires buy-in from a variety of industry stakeholders, but as a starting point, we recommend that you take a closer look at the Common Use Strategy.

Article originally published here:
Exploring IATA’s new five-year Common Use Strategy

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

Having secured Avinor as a customer for its Airport Common Use Service (ACUS), Amadeus will soon bring the solution to North America and Asia Pacific.

The Avinor Group, which operates 46 airports in Norway, says the Airport Common Use Service (ACUS) implementation will bring about a “25% cost reduction”.

Five months after announcing the first customer for its cloud-based Airport Common Use Service (ACUS), Amadeus has secured a deal with Norwegian airport operator Avinor, which will install the solution in a number of its 46 airports. Speaking to FTE upon the announcement of the deal, John Jarrell, Amadeus’ Head of Airport IT, also revealed that further contracts with airports in North America and Asia Pacific will soon be made public, taking ACUS outside of Europe for the first time.

Avinor’s deployment of ACUS – a cloud-based, CUPPS-compliant Software as a Service (SaaS) platform – will initially cover eight of the 46 airports, namely Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Tromso, Bodo, Alesund and Kristiansand airports. Jarrell explained that a rollout to all 46 airports within the nine-year contract timeframe is unlikely, but he would expect the total number of Avinor airports coming online during this period to “certainly get into the twenties”.

He added: “We believe ACUS is appropriate for all airports – we don’t have the network bandwidth limitations that some of the other companies have. We know that we can support big airports and we can also support, very cost effectively, the smaller airports as well.”

Having revealed that “we are in operations with a large number of airlines at another big airport that we haven’t announced yet”, Jarrell said Amadeus should soon be able to officially announce ACUS implementations in both North America and Asia Pacific.

“The airports that are looking for the future of common use are the ones that we’re more focused on,” he continued. “They recognise that the environment is changing and they see Amadeus’ solutions as more forward thinking.”

Long-term savings

Interestingly, Jarrell admitted that ACUS was not the lowest cost solution presented to Avinor – “we are often lowest on cost, but not on this occasion” – but the longer-term savings were one of the appeals for the airport operator.

This was confirmed by Brede Nielsen, Chief Information Officer, The Avinor Group: “(We) will be able to provide our airports with an innovative technology solution at a 25% cost reduction to the previous CUTE/CUPPS service whilst increasing customer satisfaction.”

With airport common use contracts traditionally around five years in length, it will be intriguing to see how many other airports adopt a cloud-based solution – whether provided by Amadeus or another of the vendors in this space – as existing contracts gradually come to an end.

Article originally published here:
Avinor adopts cloud-based common use as Amadeus eyes global ACUS growth

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport in Texas has implemented SITA’s AirportConnect Open common-use platform, and installed sophisticated FIDS.

Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport in Texas has implemented SITA’s AirportConnect Open common-use platform. This allows airlines to process passengers at any workstation or boarding gate at the airport, providing greater flexibility for the airport in terms of managing its infrastructure.

The five-year agreement includes sophisticated flight information display (FIDS) technology; AirportVision gives passengers real-time information on displays throughout the airport. In total, SITA is supplying 25 large LCD displays, 14 common-use passenger processing workstations, five FIDS workstations and 18 printers across the airport.

Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport, together with American, United and Delta Airlines, serves just over 300,000 passengers a year.

Diane Watt, Airport Technology, Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport, said: “We have been a Com-Net Software customer since 2004. Throughout that time, and since SITA acquired Com-Net Software in December 2010, their dedication to service has been outstanding. When it came to reviewing our common-use passenger processing system we knew that SITA’s proven technology combined with the team’s commitment would be a success. The switch is now complete and we are very pleased with our decision.”

Article originally published here:
Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport implements common-use technology

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

ARINC has completed the implementation of a variety of passenger processing solutions at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, including common use passenger processing technology.

ARINC has completed the implementation of a variety of passenger processing solutions at Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) International Airport, including the vMUSE Common Use Passenger Processing Solution (CUPPS).

The AirVue Flight Information Display System (FIDS) and latest generation Airport Operational Database (AODB) AirDB 7 system has also been installed. The adoption of the new technology is an important step in the airport’s plans to offer remote check-in and bag drop facilities.

H.H. Engr. Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairman of RAK International Airport, said: “We have continuously delivered on all of our promises for this year, including the current expansion phase which is already seeing the airport receive a steadily increasing number of passengers. We are confident that the ARINC systems will make us a hi-tech, efficient and integrated airport.

“We are already pioneering several firsts and ARINC is the right partner who has embraced the concept of taking the airport out into the wider Ras Al Khaimah, the resorts, hotels and the city.”

Article originally published here:
RAK Airport embraces virtualisation technology