Connectivity
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Sensory Connections
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by Terri Potratz | Illustration Martín Azambuja
to wait times, nearby lounges, boarding calls and even directions to your gate from your current location.
Air Messenger
iBeacons were rolled out for personalized marketing within retail settings in 2013, but have since been implemented within airports in Asia, Europe and the United States. In June, SITA introduced the Common-use Beacon Registry – which can manage multiple beacons installed by different airlines or companies within a condensed environment – in over 525 airports globally. BlipTrack is a similar tool that taps into a smartphone’s embedded Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals to analyze passenger movement and alert travelers to accurate wait times for check-in, security and customs lines. BlipTrack differs from the iBeacon in that it doesn’t collect data from the owner’s device or deliver personalized content; it simply uses these signals to monitor and manage passenger flow. At San Francisco International Airport, the indoo.rs/LightHouse Blind and Visually Impaired pilot project has seen the installation of 500 beacon devices that sync with a smartphone app to deliver voice directions to visually impaired travelers.
seat 2b 4:15 pm
Can I buy you a drink? seat 4k 4:15 pm
by Katie Sehl
AeroMexico and China Airlines are two of the most recent airlines to debut in-flight entertainment systems (both opting for Panasonic Avionics’ ex3 IFEC Solution) with an embedded seat chat system that lets passengers send each other seat-toseat messages. These systems may be modernizing “small talk,” but for those who would rather skip idle pleasantry in favor of mingling within more personalized circles, programs like Malaysia Airlines’ MHBuddy, KLM’s Meet & Seat or South African Airways’ more recent Social Check-In allow travelers to integrate their social networks into the booking process with the goal of finding familiar or suitable seatmates.
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october - november 2014
I already have one... Recent initiatives, like Virgin America’s Here On Biz and Delta Air Lines’ Innovation Class, have been geared towards the business traveler, suggesting a stronger demand for customized networking within this particular demographic. Airlines and apps continue to facilitate social connections, but demand and response seems to be ambivalent at best. Dan Gellert, co-founder of the app GateGuru reports that when they surveyed users about potential features, including chat, “the consistent response was very limited interest,” noting that business travelers were the least interested in chatting.
seat 2b 4:16 pm
Next one’s on you.
A recent survey conducted by Hipmunk found that 45 percent of millennials want to connect socially with other passengers, while 36 percent of Generation X travelers share the desire. Perhaps the true verdict on in-flight socializing is out until the next generation fully takes flight.
Airline Passenger Experience Association
photo: getty images
Apple’s iBeacon uses Bluetooth Low Energy and geofencing to deliver up-to-date information to your smartphone, alerting you