Airline Industry News, Trends, Analysis
Schiphol has opened its Departure Lounge 2, designed to satisfy the needs of all who love to fly: young or old, for business and for pleasure.
The dreamy new departure lounge has everything—even a peek at its interior workings, with panels opening up to show luggage going by on the carrousel, and a large “live” clock continually painted by a uniformed attendant to show the time.
The fully autonomous robot can check-in, print bag tags and carry up to two 32kg suitcases. It follows a programmable tracks and has laser guided obstacle avoidance system to navigate high traffic areas.
Leo was named after the Italian Renaissance inventor and engineer Leonardo da Vinci–creator of the world’s first robot.
While only a concept system now, the SITA Lab innovation gives us an idea of how automation might help improve baggage processing—one of the areas of the journey passengers are least happy about.
SITA hopes robots like Leo will reduce the need for trolleys and general congestion at the terminal land-side.
“Leo demonstrates that robotics hold the key to more effective, secure and smarter baggage handling and is major step towards further automating bag handling in airports. Leo also provides some insight into the potential use of robots across the passenger journey in future,” says Dave Bakker, President Europe at SITA.
Leo was put through his first trials at Geneva Airport’s Terminal 1. Stephan Cheikh tells me he was pleasantly surprised to see how well real passengers reacted to the robot.
“In a busy airport such as Geneva Airport, the use of a robot such as Leo limits the number of bags in the airport terminal, helping us accommodate a growing number of passengers without compromising the airport experience inside the terminal. Leo also proves the case for increased use of robotics to make passengers’ journey a little more comfortable, whether it is checking in baggage, providing directions or helping them through the security process,” said Massimo Gentile, Head of IT at Genève Aéroport.
Leo, which was built for SITA by BlueBotics, and is only one of the many innovations SITA Lab has come up with to make airline and airport operations more efficient and pleasant for passengers.
Heathrow Airport has collaborated with SITA to offer passengers new on-demand entertainment before they board their plane.
The two new ‘EntertainMe’ kiosks installed at the gate level of Heathrow’s Terminal 5, feature top film releases, television programs, newspapers and magazines which passengers can pay for and download directly to their iPhones or iPads.
Top film releases, newspapers and magazines available to download from Heathrow ‘EntertainMe’ kiosks
Malta International Airport has signed a deal with SITA which will transfer management of the airport’s day-to-day ICT (Information and Communications Technology) operations to the aviation industry technology company.
With one year to go for the grand opening of a major project to grow Oslo Airport, the airport’s management company, Avinor, reports that the project is running according to plan.
By the time the doors open on 27 April 2017, Norway’s main airport will be almost twice as large with capacity to serve up to 30 million passengers.
Without a doubt, the Rimowa digital check-in luggage is a luggage fiend’s dream come true. But these Red Dot design award winners may not solve your biggest baggage problem.
This beautifully designed luggage is the collaborative project between luxury travel bag manufacturers Rimowa, Airbus, the manufacturers of the super sleek A350 who build other nifty planes too, and ever-stylish Lufthansa.
At the Passenger Terminal Expo in Cologne, I was introduced to NAVYA–the self driving minibus which might make getting from the parking lot to the …
“Concourse D has been designed with the customer at its heart. Shorter walking distances, more comfortable seating areas, more choice in lounges and a world-class retail and F&B offering are sure to impress and delight our passengers and our airline partners.”
Finnair and Helsinki Airport are heating up fashion with a very special runway show, on the heels of its popular Match Made in HEL. This …