Real-time flight information provider FlightView has partnered with Tampa International Airport as the inaugural location for Flight-In-Sight!, a gate information display that shows travelers where their plane is en-route to the gate.
Lack of clarity can be one of the most taxing parts of the air travel experience, and this product gets straight to the point - get the information out to as many people as possible as quickly as possible so travelers have a clear perspective on their travel plans.
The Flight-In-Sight! product shows travelers exactly where their plane is, which means that they have more information available to them in real-time rather than relying on gate agents.
The product follows the trend towards using self-service technology as a means to boost customer satisfaction and control labor expenses related to customer service.
Most importantly, it frees up already existing resources (in this case, gate agents) to focus on more vital customer experience tasks like re-bookings, seat changes and other tasks directly related to travel. Rather than constantly repeating the same answer to a snaking line of questioners, the agents will be deployed doing what they (hopefully) do best - helping customers have better travel experiences.
By providing the technology that makes already-existing travel information readily available, both the airport and the airline are able to reduce friction and increase satisfaction.
It also makes this plane location/flight path information much more freely available than it is in a similar smartphone app. A recent survey of FlightView customers, which was covered on Tnooz earlier this year, showed that 69% of surveyed travelers do value the ability to know their incoming aircraft's exact location.
Doug Wycoff, Manager of Innovation & Infrastructure Support at Tampa International Airport:
When travelers are at the gate waiting to board, and they see that their aircraft hasn't yet arrived, they sometimes become uneasy. FlightView helped us solve this problem.
Our travelers are constantly turning to gate displays for information, and they are now more informed than ever before. Every addition we make is singularly focused on improving the airport experience for our customers, and simplifying operations for the airlines and businesses that use our airport.
Another benefit for airports in these sorts of situations is that it liberates travelers from being anchored to the gate.
If travelers have the live view of their incoming aircraft, and it's one hour out, that gives them peace-of-mind to go grab a bite to eat, shop or otherwise engage in business around other parts of the airport.
Tampa went one step further on the weather-front, and also deployed FlightView's Destination Weather Live, a weather module that shows up-to-date radar weather for information on how weather may be impacting travels, in addition to other details such as the departure/arrival times, speed, altitude and remaining distance of the aircraft.
Mike Benjamin, CEO of FlightView, spoke to Tnooz about the development:
Tampa is at the forefront of providing its customers with the information, services and amenities they crave.
We provide actionable data about the day-of-travel, and ultimately it's all about improving customer satisfaction. Operational efficiency is also important, as people see the answer right in front of them (rather than having to go ask).
It also gives the level of transparency that the folks running the airports and the airlines are always in favor of, but it doesn't always get implemented down to the last person. The gate agent might take it in their own hands, and keep people in the dark to keep people in the gate area.
In general, a well informed traveler tends to be a happier traveler.