FTE: Airport of the Future
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Dean Bouchard at FTE Global 2014
Kiran Merchant, CEO of DY Consultants, introduced the first round of speakers at the opening session for the “On the Ground” event track at FTE Global 2014.
While introducing Dean Bouchard, director of infrastructure for the Halifax International Airport Authority, Merchant noted that the actual space available in most airports has not increased over the years, but the way airports use that space must change to accommodate the future.
Dean Bouchard then introduced Halifax Stanfield International’s fully self-service check-in hall, a new model for all their airlines that uses a two-step process: Passengers print their own boarding pass and bag tags from a kiosk, and drop their bags at one of 16 common-use bag drops. It was the first airport in North America to go fully self-service, so the industry took note and watched the community response unfold when the $45-million, 18-month construction project was completed earlier this year.
Passengers have come to expect difficulty and complications as a natural part of their travel journey, and when things to smoothly, they think they’ve done something wrong.
Bouchard recounted this feedback he received from a passenger shortly after the first self-service kiosks had been implemented – she said, “I liked it, but I’m afraid I did something wrong. It’s too easy.” He noted that passengers have come to expect difficulty and complications as a natural part of their travel journey, and when things to smoothly, they think they’ve done something wrong.
Halifax looked at what their 13 different carriers’ needs would be, and how they could address all of them. The airlines were previously using one of three systems:
- Traditional agent bag and tag
- Self-service kiosks for boarding passes
- Self-service kiosks for boarding pass and baggage tags (which still had to be taken to agent)
Since the changeover, passenger response to the wholly self-service system has seen a 91 percent approval rate. But those 9 percent that didn’t like it, didn’t like it a lot, Bouchard cautioned. This finding reinforced the need to provide passengers with assistance options – no system can be entirely self-sufficient, and customer service and support must remain a part of the infrastructure.