One of the most significant changes in the so-called passenger experience in aviation in recent years has been the transfer of some elements to mobile devices and self-service.
Bag-tagging at airports, mobile check-in and boarding passes, and airport apps with retail services triggered by location-based technology - three examples that are moving in varying degrees to being part of the mainstream way in which consumers fly.
The use of biometric technology is another area that has started to see some traction in the travel industry, perhaps most significantly in how passports are gradually being overhauled so that a passenger's information in the physical, paper-based book is backed with additional data such as iris, fingerprint and facial recognition.
Given the regulatory frameworks (and hurdles) that airlines, airports and governments went through to establish something such as the biometric passport, clearly the introduction of similar services to other parts of the passenger experience may be some way off.
Still, there's nothing to lose from trying to figure out now where biometric technology could be added in the years to come.
Silicon Valley, US-based Tascent has been asking some of its brainiacs to come up with some examples.
The company claims some of the ideas will require a sizeable effort from various organisations to seem them come to fruition, but others are feasible and can be implemented once issues around security, usability, process and integration are ironed out.
No small task, then...
Here are some of the ideas:
Self-service, ID recognition drop-off and check-in
Personalised meet-and-greet at VIP lounge
Boarding recognition
Cabin entry recognition and personalisation
In-flight entertainment units
On-board immigration