[Presentation] How airports can track passengers, throughout the Evolving Traveler Life Cycle

The theme of the panel session was on Passenger Tracking and how new technologies are providing benefits to airport operators, concessions operators and passengers. I shared the panel with Kristin Shaw of SITA, Inc. and Faith Varwig, of the Faith Group, LLC, who spoke of some of the ways in which technology is being used to implement passenger “flow management” in airports.

Beyond these emerging technologies, I shared in the presentation that it is also important to remember that there are many (free) ways that airports can also begin to track passengers through social media tools and airport website booking engines. By working these tools into a strategy and using what we have at our “social fingertips” airports can begin to get a feel for passenger behaviors and patterns. Pairing these social tools with the mobile and GPS/Bluetooth technologies that are up and coming can help airports to get the most out of new technologies.

A question came up during the session, which we hear often from airport clients: “Do I need a mobile app if I have a mobile friendly website?” The answer really comes down to, “what are you going to DO with that mobile app? What do you want it to do for you….” A mobile app that is used to communicate with the passenger while also rewarding them for repeat visits and for shared content can help an airport to take emerging technologies (GPS and Bluetooth tracking) and integrate them into an existing marketing and social strategy. Social loyalty programs, like the one we’ve helped Estonian Air build, can be a great way to really tap into their audiences and maximize the addition of tracking technologies and the use of mobile apps.

These ideas and more, discussed in the presentation below (click here if you can’t see it).