12 PASSENGER HANDLING From A to B
Getting the passenger from the arrivals hall to the aircraft seat calls for a multiplicity of applications. Here we examine the progress being made.
oday, at the check-in stage of the journey, increasingly it’s the IT that is making the running. More and
more now the public face of the airport comprises a forest of kiosks, a mute reminder that we inhabit a do-it-yourself world. To enhance that experience requires even more technology and the willingness, to a certain extent, to let go traditional procedures and processes. Fortunately, this presents less of a problem with every passing year.
The rôle of IT
Companies like SITA are very much in the driving seat in this context. According to the specialist, passenger handling is one of the most important areas of an airport’s and airline’s work: it is often the first physical customer touchpoint of their journey. It has to be quick and efficient, to make the passenger’s journey through the airport as smooth as possible. SITA provides PassengerHandler, which enables agents to check in and board passengers on multiple departure control systems using a single graphical user interface on common-use workstations.
It means it is very straightforward
for ground handlers to use many different types of DCS, without needing complicated and expensive training. Also, it reduces the complexity of staff rostering, because there is no need for people to specialise in particular DCSs. By reducing or eliminating this complexity and cost, a handler increases operational efficiency and thereby improves its bottom line. Improvements have been on the agenda at London’s Heathrow, too. There, passengers have become the first in the world to use an innovative technology as part of the airport’s drive to further improve the passenger experience. Terminal 1 passengers were recently invited to take part in a two month self- boarding trial in partnership with South African Airways, which uses biometric data to help them board their flight faster and more efficiently. When passengers reach the self-
boarding gate, they pass through an automatic electronic barrier which takes an infra-red scan of their face.
This information is checked against the biometric data that was taken at the check-in stage. When the two sets of data scans are successfully matched, the barrier opens and the passenger can pass through and board the flight. This technology effectively means that a passenger’s identity needs to be checked by airline staff only once in the whole departure process, thereby reducing the time it takes for a passenger to get to his or her seat and be ready for take-off. It also allows airline staff to spend more time with those passengers who require greater assistance. The personal data is stored securely and is destroyed at the end of the trial. Heathrow’s Terminal 1 Director Ian Hanson was enthusiastic about the scheme. “We are working in partnership with our airlines to trial this technology which should help make our passengers’ journeys smoother and simpler. Since its introduction we have had positive feedback from both airlines and passengers.”
At the time of writing several hundred South African Airways passengers had chosen to use the technology as part of their departure journey. New technology is already being used by passengers throughout the departure process, from checking in via mobile phones and self-service bag drops to automated ticket presentation prior to passenger security. Introduced in November 2012, the self-service bag drop enables passengers to generate and attach their own bag tags before placing their luggage on to the automated bag drop facility. Feedback from this trial has been positive, showing passengers are quick to adopt new technology to help streamline their journey through the airport.
Stairs and buses: the marketplace
Let’s begin with the US. GTA Aviation is something of a specialist in this area, since it only re-sells used buses and air stairs – it does not manufacture. According to the company’s Gary Ogden, in the past 12 months the enterprise has worked on projects to buy and/or sell used buses with
GROUND HANDLING INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2013
Delta Air Lines, Aviam (a government– appointed ground service provider in the Dominican Republic) and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. “On the environmental front, we have been very active in distributing the conversion kits from Corvus Energy in support of retro-fitting TUG tractors and beltloaders with lithium batteries,” he notes.
Manufacturers are more plentiful. At
Stinar, sales were a little slow but the spokesperson puts this down to the cyclical nature of the industry. “The US military sales are up in the air until Congress passes a budget,” says Bob Gregor, “so we expect that part of the industry to open by mid-year. Conversely, requests for quotations are very high, so we feel that the commercial market will be quite good later this year. Sales areas have been varied, but Turkey has been quite good for us. “We are optimistic that there is some pent-up demand, but economic conditions throughout the world have made many customers cautious and we still see hesitancy when it comes to a purchase. But as stated earlier, quotations are up significantly, so we expect sales to follow in the same manner.”
For Diane Tremblay at Accessair,
product sales have been about the same as last year and she has noted that Middle East is stronger than elsewhere. “Our hottest item right now is the airstair with the wheelchair lift, which is our latest addition to the range. One of our strengths is that we can adapt some of our products to accommodate particular needs of customers. We’ve also added a solar panel to our wheelchair lift, giving it green credentials. We feel there is a lot going on worldwide at present with regard to airport improvements, and we believe this should bring some new orders.” Custom build seems to be gaining
ground – at least in Orlando. “Sales of JBT AeroTech’s custom-built chassis passenger steps have been very vibrant in the Middle East and Africa through rapid airline expansion, which has been outpacing the availability of passenger terminal gates and boarding bridges,” declares Jim Cherrett, who is Manager, Marketing Operations. “Customers in those regions are
purchasing the universally designed, custom chassis UDS-2 or SmartStep-2 models, which are capable of servicing a wide range of narrow body and wide body aircraft. Optional canopies have been very popular at those airports susceptible to high temperatures and rainy weather.”
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