The Federal Aviation Administration forecasts that air travel in the U.S. will increase by about 50% in the next 20 years. Are airports ready for that surge? More important, can airports provide the kind of frictionless experience that passengers will expect and demand?
To explore these questions, last February engineering giant Arup conducted a “salon” in San Francisco on the future of aviation. Invitees were a diverse mix of 22 experts representing airport operators, planners, developers, engineers, and manufacturers, including some—like representatives from Autodesk, Intel, and Visa—who offered a broader context.
Arup let BD+C take a peek at a draft of its report on the salon’s key points. The report identifies core themes for three primary stakeholders—the airlines, passengers, and airports—that revolve around “choreographed seamlessness,” “connected and predictable” service, and productive systems. Design can drive airport efficiency, but only when there’s positive cooperation among stakeholders.
Passenger satisfaction often begins with “technological convergence” that facilitates easier mobility and processing. “Touchless screening, automated check-in, tailored retail services, and real-time operational information could stimulate the seamless experience,” the draft stated.
However, technology is developing faster than the aviation industry can devise purposes for it. On the other hand, “no tech trumps high tech,” meaning that passengers still prefer a humanistic, natural environment. “The future of technology will always be about the people who use it.”
Other lessons learned:
• Technology shrinks future airport concrete. Huge spaces once allocated for check-in and security should be reconsidered as passengers adapt to self-service options.
• Collaboration frees technology. Barriers between airlines, airports, regulators, and technology providers will only thwart process enhancements.
• Your bag will have its own identity. Renovation and new construction of airport terminals often focuses on streamlining baggage-handling systems. While paper bag tags aren’t going away, it’s only a matter of time before luggage that’s traceable via bar codes or RFID chips becomes available for purchase in stores.
• The future of retail is at the airport. Retail, food, and beverage are big revenue streams for airports. That might explain why some large hubs have turned their terminals into shopping malls.
• Your journey will be branded. Airlines currently control the traveler’s experience, but the salon’s participants see opportunities for other entities—including airports themselves—“to occupy the passenger’s cognitive space.”
Another theme from the salon: the need for “intelligent” ground transportation that “allows riders comfort in knowing their entire journey is accounted for before boarding.” Technology could help passengers pre-plan and customize their trip along all journey touch points, like scheduling and predicting arrival times for door-to-hotel transport, or tracking luggage in real time.
Many of the salon’s attendees highlighted the need to ensure that regulatory actions—especially those relating to security, customs, and immigration—are enforced in ways that minimize passenger delays.
Related Stories
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Heathrow Airport could become a city of 190,000 inhabitants
New plans have been introduced to turn London's Heathrow Airport into a city. If those plans ever come to fruition, "Heathrow City" could support 90,000 jobs and 190,000 people. It could also add almost $13 billion to the UK economy.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Engineering firms look to bolster growth through new services, technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following solid revenue growth in 2013, the majority of U.S.-based engineering and engineering/architecture firms expect more of the same this year, according to BD+C’s 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.