A solution for digitising COVID-19 test results, actionable customer experience insights, autonomous vehicle testing, and enhanced assistance services, are among the progressive developments transforming the passenger experience at Europe’s airports. Report by Ross Falconer
Avinor partners with HappyOrNot to boost customer experience at security
The customer experience improvement solution HappyOrNot has announced a partnership with Avinor, the state-owned company that operates most of Norway’s airports. HappyOrNot’s Smiley Touch touchscreen terminals will help Avinor collect substantial amounts of customer feedback at security checkpoints within eight of its biggest airports. With this in-moment, actionable customer experience feedback data, Avinor’s management and staff will be able to identify, and immediately rectify, issues that are affecting passenger satisfaction, and make improvements based on data, rather than unscientific hunches.
Smiley Touch terminals will be located at the exit of security areas, helping to gauge customer sentiment 24/7 and speed up access to actionable data, via an online dashboard, app and email reports.
“We want our customers to enjoy the time they spend in our airports, and by utilising the feedback data collected via HappyOrNot terminals, we have a great opportunity to transform and improve the airport experience of our customers,” says Terje Orskaug, Manager of Passenger Experience, Avinor. “This level of contextualised insight will enable us to better understand our customers, and also cater to their changing attitudes in light of the pandemic.”
Groupe ADP and Air France extend ICC AOKpass solution test to Paris-CDG, San Francisco and Los Angeles flights
Air France and Groupe ADP have launched a new test programme of the ICC AOKpass solution for digitising COVID-19 test results, developed by MedAire/International SOS. The trial focuses on outbound and return Air France flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Customers travelling on these flights can test the ICC AOKpass mobile app free of charge, available on smartphones, which allows them to securely record the results of COVID tests carried out in a partner laboratory.
Through this test in real conditions, the partners involved wish to improve the customer experience by streamlining the checking of test result documents, which has become mandatory since the COVID-19 crisis.
“We are convinced that the ICC AOKpass solution that we are testing with our partners at the departure and arrival points of the Paris airports will facilitate passenger channels through our terminals, by guaranteeing both greater fluidity and better control of health checks,” says Marc Houalla, Executive Director, Groupe ADP and Managing Director, Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. “The sustainable recovery of traffic firstly requires the restoration of air links between countries, and this pass has every chance of contributing to this by establishing itself as a new standard.”
Munich Airport’s LabCampus innovation centre to test autonomous vehicles
The LabCampus innovation centre being built at Munich Airport has reached its next major milestone: Argo AI, one of the world’s leading technology companies in the autonomous driving sector, will be using the potential at and around LabCampus for testing and development of its vehicles.
Under the contractual agreement that now, with the agency and consulting services of CBRE GmbH, has been signed, Argo AI will build a test track at Munich Airport and lease space at the first LabCampus office building LAB 48, which is planned to open in 2022. The autonomously driven vehicles are to be tested under realistic conditions in various traffic situations on the test track, which will be built near the aircraft maintenance hangars in the southwestern part of the airport site.
“This deal illustrates the vast potential of the LabCampus as a think tank and test laboratory for forward-looking mobility concepts. Argo AI’s commitment is therefore an important signal to all other firms that can benefit from the vast opportunities of this innovation centre,” explains Jost Lammers, Chief Executive Officer, Flughafen München GmbH.
Plaza Premium Group extends airport hospitality services to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport
Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, which is owned by Malaysia Airports, has handed over operation of the lounge areas in the terminal, as well as all premium services, including fast track and meet & assist services to Plaza Premium Group.
Plaza Premium Group will invest in a series of enhancements and upgrades to both service and facilities, with the aim of creating an elevated lounge experience and promoting a seamless airport journey.
“Our partnership with Plaza Premium Group goes back to as far as 1998 when they opened their first lounge at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia and we have seen them grow to become a leading provider of airport hospitality services all over the world,” says Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh, Malaysia Airports Group Chief Executive Officer. “We are confident they will bring the same high service standards to SAW. The presence of Plaza Premium Group at the airport is a manifestation of our continued commitment to ensure world-class service culture and hospitality is practised at all our airports.”
Prague Airport assumes management of passenger assistance services
Effective March 2021, Václav Havel Airport Prague has assumed under its management the operations of assistance services for passengers with reduced mobility and orientation (PRM) and oversize baggage check-in counters. Until now, these services were provided by an external supplier, the MaidPro Service company. All services will be provided to passengers under the same regime as before. It is Prague Airport’s goal to increase their quality and gain the opportunity to respond to potential changes in a more flexible manner.
“We have maintained the established processes of all services,” says David Prošek, the manager responsible for assistance services and check-in of oversize baggage. “For example, in the case of assistance points, their location, signage, contacts and services offered remain the same. Passengers will not notice the difference. We will not move the oversize baggage counter, either. We place high demands on the quality of customer experience. That is why it is essential for us to have these important services under our control with a direct impact on their quality, along with the ability to change and improve them flexibly as needed.”