Airport Business

APR 2013

The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.

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special report Making Connections Smartphones and digital devices are giving airports a run for their money as they vie for passenger attention in today's increasingly digital world. To penetrate passengers' technology cocoons, airports need to forge a few virtual connections c By David W. Saleme, A.A.E. onnecting with passengers in a busy airport environment is critical to facility owners---not only to provide directional and flight information, but also to maximize non-aviation revenue generation through advertising and marketing opportunities, communicate safety and regulatory messages, and provide information about the community beyond the four AT&T; 8 airportbusiness April 2013 corners of the airport. Making these connections is not as easy as it seems, however. Competing messages from a variety of digital platforms, and even the behavior patterns of the travelers' themselves, complicate this task. Many passengers travel within a "technology cocoon" that began to develop years ago with laptops, and is now virtually complete with smartphones and tablets. Within this cocoon, passengers tend to focus on these devices and less on their surrounding environment. This technology cocoon represents an imaginary surface that is different than airports are traditionally accustomed to addressing. There are two options to help airports penetrate this technology cocoon. The first strategy addresses utilizing mobile platforms to engage passengers within their cocoons. The second focuses on developing facility kiosks to help draw passengers out of them. Both methods directly engage passengers, and provide information, marketing, and even entertainment, as passengers move through the terminal.

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