YOURSpace: Bear with Holiday Travel This Year – A Better Airport Experience is Nearly Here

By Chris Smith, Founder and CEO, Area360

Today’s typical airport experience is at the very best, hit or miss. Travelers may be prepared and get to the airport on time, have a great meal while enjoying a book in a hushed terminal, and board a flight with no delays. But that’s a rare day, and the typical airport journey involves at least one complication that throws everything off.

This year, Airlines for America projects that 38 million Americans will take to the skies over the 2015 holiday season, equaling 2.2 million travelers every day between December 18th and January 3rd. That many people flowing through the nation’s airports truly puts their efficiency and customer experience to the test, and showcases their biggest problem spots – curbside congestion, snakingly-long lines to check in and get through security, and many more.

I am a geek and a frequent flier, so as I traverse through herds of people resembling The Walking Dead, I can’t help but get excited about the way passengers will experience and flow through airports in the very near future. Here’s a glimpse.

It’s 5:30 AM in the morning when your alarm sounds. You roll over and in a gurgle manage to muster a somewhat coherent sentence: “Alexa, what are my flight details this morning?”. My Amazon Echo replies, “Your Alaska Airlines flight to LA is currently scheduled to board at 11:25 AM, 15 minutes delayed. Traffic will be moderate to heavy. Would you like me to set you a reminder when it’s time to leave or order you an Uber to get you there 1hr prior to departure?” You respond, “Thanks Alexa, please order me an Uber Lux, I like to roll in style”.

As your Uber drops you at the departure door, your phone lights up with a message: “Welcome to Sea-Tac. I see you have checked in and do not have luggage, would you like to head to security?” (A few airlines already do this.) You select yes and the next screen says, “Currently, the fastest security line is 1500 feet away, would you like directions?”. Why yes, yes you would. As you walk to the security line, your phone is navigating you with turn by turn directions as accurate as Google Maps, and also happens to show you the time delta between where you’re currently waiting, and how long it will take to get to your gate on time.

Approaching the security line, an overhead screen shows your name with a green arrow under it pointing you into the TSA Pre line, as it knows you’re already approved. Upon approaching the agent stand, your boarding pass pops onto your mobile screen without your having to dig for it, and you simply tap your phone on a waist high pedestal and it reads the information. To double check, you’re required to hold your phone up to your face so that a quick facial recognition scan can be beamed via Bluetooth to the pedestal to confirm your identity.

The gate opens and allows you through to a conveyor belt that scans your bag without your having to take a single thing out, and you walk across a scale-like platform that does a quick scan to make sure nothing’s out of the ordinary, and in less than two seconds you’re done.

Next, your phone buzzes and up pops another welcome message: “Congratulations, you are through security. You have 55 minutes before your flight starts boarding – would you like to go to to the coffee shop (2 min walk), get a sandwich (6 min walk), buy something at the newsstand (1 min walk) or go to your gate (10 min walk)?”. Naturally, you select the coffee shop and lo and behold, a free drink is waiting as it’s your 10th time, this month.

After you enjoy your coffee, your phone buzzes and tells you: “Your flight is boarding in 15 minutes and you are currently 10 minutes away from your gate, would you like directions?”. You take your phone up on the offer and get there in exactly 10 minutes – no more, no less.

As you stroll up to the gate, your boarding pass pops up again and as you near the agent, you see that she’s already rolled up your favorite newspaper along with headphones for the trip.

You say “thank you” and you’re on our way.

Chris Smith is the founder and CEO of Area360, a location technology company, building products that enhance the way people engage with physical locations through the use of mobile applications and location-aware technology.