Airports of the Future - new perspectives

Heathrow's hub airport of the future design concept by Grimshaw

How will the airport of the future differ from today's leading edge airport? In what ways can airport leaders look at the passenger experience (PaxEx) they provide to meet the needs of tomorrow's traveller? Here are some fresh new perspectives:

5 things air transport stakeholders must do now to avoid missing out on huge industry transformation opportunities

At Future Travel Experience Europe 2016 in Amsterdam, hundreds of the most pioneering passenger experience-focused minds came together to share their plans and visions for the end-to-end travel experience of 2025. As part of FTE’s strategy to drive positive industry change, here we highlight five of the key conclusions from the event and suggest potential ways forward... [read the full article on Future Travel Experience].

 

The Future of Airports - Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports

When I think of my own personal journey, it began while talking with someone who ran an airport. I was working for an airline and asked how they viewed customer relationships. He said: “We see airlines as suppliers of our customers.” That was when I personally realized that attitudes and approaches had to change; and I decided to move into airports [read the full interview on Air Transport IT Review].

Preparing for the airport terminal of the future - Future Travel Experience

"Driven by an increase in automation, commercialisation and the importance of ‘sense of place’, in addition to evolving passenger demands, airport terminal design has been changing. It will continue to do so as technology developments, especially in relation to passenger processing, shape how terminals look now and how they will differ in the future. To provide insight into the key factors impacting terminal design and to explore the latest developments in this space, FTE spoke to American Airlines’ Managing Director of Real Estate, Katherine Goudreau; LaGuardia Gateway Partners’ CEO, Stewart Steeves; SOM Director, Derek Moore; UNStudio Founder and Principal Architect, Ben van Berkel; and Merchant Aviation’s CEO, Kiran Merchant... [read the full article on Future Travel Experience].



Related resources
From Robots to Augmented Reality: Envisioning YVR of the Future - Apex
The Airport of the Future Is Coming, But It’s Still Not Here - Skift
Heathrow selects Grimshaw to design ‘hub airport of the future’ concept - Future Travel Experience
The Airport Of The Future Isn’t An Airport: It’s A City (and you don't need to be a passenger to visit) - Popular Science


Resources from IHateTaxis
What is a data driven airport? - IHateTaxis blog
Heathrow's sleek new transport screens - IHateTaxis blog
A few thoughts on Frankfurt Airport - IHateTaxis blog
Mamava lactation pods - LayoverIdeas blog

Heathrow's slick new transport screens

Real time traffic, weather and transportation options come to Heathrow T2 baggage claim, in the traveller's language

A new innovation has been unveiled in the Baggage Claim area at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2.

Conveniently located where most arriving passengers will do most of their waiting - for their luggage to arrive at the carousels - the new digital smart screens will display all transportation options. Information on the Heathrow Express airport train, Heathrow airport bus service and London taxi service is now available for the traveller to browse.

What's innovative is the way the screens integrate real-time weather and traffic information, as well as updates on rail service. With this data, the screens can generate relatively accurate travel times for each transport method. They will even estimate taxi fares, allowing the traveller to compare with other options.

Equally innovative is the way the screens will adapt the displayed language translations to those of most passengers arriving on each flight. For example, Japanese translations will be displayed when All Nippon Airways flights arrive, and Egyptian for flights arriving from Cairo or Luxor.

We laud the innovation, as this is the kind of relevant, just-in-time up-to-date information consumers are coming to expect from their portable devices, and from the institutions they frequent. By pulling all this data together and displaying it in baggage claim, when arriving passengers may not have connected their devices, and are most in need of it, Heathrow is setting the standard.

Expect to see the initiative rolled out to Heathrow's other terminals in the not so distant future. Expect to see a mix of adoption of the technologies in the industry as a whole: we wonder who the early adopters will be (a favourite airport near you, you hope!), and fully anticipate those airports that are still charging for WiFi to remain in the PaxEx dark for some time to come.

Related resources:

Heathrow’s new transport screens are such a cool and useful airport amenity
Journey comparison screens simplify onward travel options for Heathrow passengers
Heathrow announces Microsoft as the launch partner on the Towers@T5
Heathrow clinches ACI EUROPE Best Airport 2015 Award
London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) transportation guide
London Heathrow Private Car Transfer - BOOK NOW

London: Closest Airports to LHR Heathrow Airport

Headed to London? Check out our Closest Airports to LHR Heathrow Airport page.

Headed to London?

We`ve got a great page on our website that we think you`ll really like.

Our Closest Airports to LHR Heathrow Airport page provides alternatives to flying into busy - and often overwhelming - Heathrow Airport.

By flying into a different London area airport, you may:

• Have more flight options to choose from
• Get an airport closer to your destination
• Possibly even save money

Airports Closest to LHR Heathrow

Alternative London airports are listed along with their distance from Heathrow and how many airlines fly there.

Click on any of the airports for:

• General airport information
• A list of airlines that serve the airport 
• Ground transportation options: taxi, train, shuttle, bus, limo or car hire.

If you are headed to London, lucky you! We hope you find our airport planning tool helpful, and say hi to Big Ben for us!