Amadeus is once again proud to sponsor the ACI World-Amadeus Technology Innovation Awards. This year’s winning submissions demonstrate how the application of new technology can improve both the airport passenger experience and operational performance.
It’s important to take a moment and acknowledge the continued progress that technology is driving across our industry. Based on my own travels, here are a few observations:
- Agents are increasingly able to move beyond the check-in desk, using mobile devices to serve passengers throughout the terminal.
- Self-service technology is more popular than ever, with innovations like compact, user-friendly auto bag drop machines making the process easier for passengers.
- And in many parts of the world, biometrics is gaining traction, streamlining check-in, bag drop, boarding, and border control processes.
The future is bright: transforming airport and airline operations
However, the best is still to come as updates to underlying airline systems open a host of opportunities for airport partners.
As airlines transition from Departure Control Systems to new technology focused ‘Delivery’ in the coming years, many constraints will be eliminated.
Passenger Name Records (PNRs), Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMDs), tickets, and even boarding passes — the documents we’ve relied on for decades—will be replaced with ‘Offers’ and a single ‘Order’. This change removes the silos that have historically hindered unified customer service across the entire traveller journey, creating a more connected aviation ecosystem.
In the airport of the future, passengers will be recognized at every touchpoint, allowing airlines to present relevant and helpful offers. This enhanced retailing capability will also extend to airport services like parking, fast-track security, and food and beverage, opening up significant non-aeronautical revenue opportunities and providing a re-vamped shop window for airport commercial teams to engage passengers.
These same system changes will enable airports and airlines to manage disruptions more systematically and predictively, allowing them to re-accommodate passengers before they even arrive at the terminal.
On the operational front, we foresee a future where airlines and airports can access a unified view of each flight, helping airlines monitor flight’s operational performance while enabling airports to allocate resources more efficiently.
A new era for passenger check-in
And last but certainly not least, passengers may no longer need to check-in at all. Airlines plan to shift to a system where a passenger simply accepts an offer, creates a single order, and receives a receipt—eliminating the need for traditional check-in processes up to 24 hours before departure
The implications for airports are significant. We may soon be able to wave goodbye to check-in desks, and re-think how valuable terminal space can be repurposed to better serve passengers.
It’s an exciting time in aviation technology, as travel experiences are poised for a major upgrade.
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