Innovation - And - Automation The Future of Aviation And Airline Travel

The Future in Aviation And Airline Travel

The Single Passenger Token

There was a Time when every process at the Airport was Manual Documentation

Today airlines want less Human intervention And Look for Innovative idea.

IT Automation has given the Airline industry something to think about and adopt.



The requirement for every passenger to present their boarding pass and identification document at multiple stages of the airport journey is perhaps the biggest obstacle to creating a seamless passenger experience. The creation of a “single passenger token” has been touted as a viable solution and the Aruba Happy Flow project, which involves Schiphol Group, KLM, the Dutch and Aruban governments as well as other stakeholders, and which leverages facial recognition technology as the key passenger identifier, is the standout example of a single token in action to date.
It has recently emerged, though, that Alaska Airlines has been working on its own single token pilot. Work has been going on to test the use of biometric technology, in this case fingerprint recognition technology, as the key identifier to simplify the airport experience. During the trial, select passengers on domestic flights from San Jose International Airport have been able to identify themselves at three checkpoints ­– bag drop, the security area and the boarding gate. Instead of presenting their boarding pass and government issued ID at each of the checkpoints, they could simply place their fingertips on a biometric reader, which identified the passengers by matching their fingerprint with the biometric information provided when they signed up to the scheme.
Speaking to FTE this week, Jerry Tolzman, Manager of Customer Research and Development at Alaska Airlines, explained that the trial was inspired by the introduction of fingerprint-based identification at the entrance of the carrier’s “Board Room” airport lounges. “85% of the people we asked signed up to this,” he said, “so we thought ‘hey, we should take this further’. The idea was to take it curb to seat and to hit the major interaction points.”
Tolzman told FTE that Alaska Airlines decided to pursue the use of fingerprint technology over any other form of biometric because passengers responded most positively to it. “With fingerprint technology, the passenger has to opt in,” he explained, which was a pre-requisite for the airline and its customers.

‘Overwhelmingly positive’ response

To enable the implementation of the fingerprint identification technology at the security checkpoint, Alaska Airlines teamed up with FTE Global 2015 exhibitor CLEAR, which already uses its “Fast Touch Technology” in CLEAR lanes at 12 US airports. CLEAR members can use these lanes to skip the queues at the security checkpoint.
Tolzman revealed that more than 200 passengers took up the offer to participate in the pilot, which ran from mid-April until the end of July, and the response has been “overwhelmingly positive”. In surveys carried out among the participants, 80% said they were “delighted” with how the system worked, he said.
As the initial trial only finished last week, Alaska Airlines will now take time to review the findings before deciding what the next steps may be. “We still have a lot to figure out, but I think there’s something there,” Tolzman said. “There’s definitely room to simplify the airport experience”.
San Jose International was the ideal airport to trial the technology – it is after all known as “Silicon Valley’s Airport” – but given the response of many travellers, demand for such a simplified system is clearly more widespread. “The response has been great. We’ve had people saying to us ‘if you did this at my airport I’d definitely use it’,” Tolzman said.
It’s too early to say whether Alaska Airlines will be pursuing a fingerprint-based single token on a permanent basis, but this trial is certainly a step in the right direction in the context of the industry’s drive to simplify the airport experience for passengers. Travellers around the US will surely be hoping that the end of the trial does not mark the end of Alaska Airlines’ attempt to create a single passenger token.

FTE Global ‘Airport Futures’ session to explore single passenger tokens and biometrics

 

Source - FTE Global

Step-by-Step First Time Traveler Guide - Why and What really happens at Airport Check-In ?

• Airport Check-in - Why do we need a Check-in service and what happens during the process.

Check-in Counters at an Airport Terminal

• The very word Airport and Aeroplane rings a bell in the minds of a first time traveller. He is apprehensive of all the facts including all he has to do at an airport before he gets on to the Aircraft and finally to his destination. There is a saying that goes as " The First impression is the Last impression". As rightly said it is indeed True. The very process starts when a Flight Ticket is bought of Airline, preferably that of airline whose name is taken in high esteem for its overall customer service. It is important for a first time traveller to read through the rules and regulation on the Ticket, besides it is also important that he looks up the airlines website and go through the many need to know information that is mentioned therein.

• At the airport on the check-in you will get to see a smartly dressed check-in staff, he /she will greet you with a smile. He/She then takes you ticket but before the check-in process is initiated there will be a few questions asked. It is important to Listen and understand the questions. As a passenger you need to know your entitlements. You need to be very observant of the activities that the check-in agent. The ticket is checked for details such as Name of passenger, Flt No, Sector of travel, Class of travel and the Fare calculated. Once this formality is done you are check-in and your baggage is added to your name. The bags are then tagged, during the tagging of the bags you need to ensure that the right baggage is being tagged. At the end of this the check-in agent hands over the boarding pass with your baggage tags pasted to it. The bags are then released to the BMA (Baggage Make-up Area). The bags are then reconciled and transported to be loaded into the aircraft. He/she then circles the certain elements on the boarding pass, they are the Boarding time, Seat no and the Gate No. You are briefed about the carriage of permissible and non permissible articles in your hand baggage. In the event of a First time traveller you are guided to the passenger boarding area by a CSA (Customer Service Agent). While you are being escorted there are many instructions given and that needs to be understood well. It is at this place you observe many a behavioral activity of the airline staff while you wait for the boarding of the flight.