Traveling for just about everyone these days is an absolute bear. Having to arrive hours early for a flight, realizing there are very few airline employees in the terminals to help passengers anymore, and the incredibly long security lines can stress out the most patient passenger. Given that much of this is outside of an airport’s control, airport management is continuing to find ways to try to improve passenger experience so that a trip out of town isn’t panic-inducing.
LED displays can be both a tool to help passengers make their traveling experience a little less hectic and also improve passenger experience. Here are four ways digital displays enrich the quality of experience for both the passenger and the airport.
1. Create more visual and compelling shops, restaurants, and boutiques within terminals
LED displays provide airports with a way to create a more compelling passenger experience by upping the visual appeal within the shops, restaurants, and boutiques within terminals. Airports can also increase revenue it earns from restaurants and shops by using LED displays to advertise to them. Airports are going to continue to be more and more like shopping malls, and by using digital displays, airports are able to increase awareness of the array of shopping and dining opportunities available to customers – and even extend to them a marketing offer.
It’s imperative for any airport authority look for an LED display company that isn’t wedded to just a standard sized rectangle for its displays. Rather, in order to heighten customer experience, digital displays should work with a store or restaurant’s architecture and design. The most effective displays can be made in any shape, size or curvature to compliment the interior design of any space.
2. Enhancing passenger experience through messaging
Perhaps nothing is more stressful for an airline passenger than finding his or her way through an unfamiliar airport after getting stuck in an interminably long security line. The fear of missing a flight is real for many air travelers. Digital displays allow airports to help reduce this stress by helping passengers navigate through the airport successfully and as efficiently as possible. Digital displays are the perfect platform to deliver to passengers’ flight information data (FIDS) and way finding information. By helping passengers understand the route they need to travel within the airport through the use of digital displays, airports can help them save valuable time and take away some of the stress of modern day flying. Bright, vibrant digital displays make it easy for passengers to read and process airport information, even when they are far away from the displays.
LED displays also give airports the opportunity to help add flavor to the passenger’s experience. Most airports find it important to represent where they are. For example, Las Vegas might highlight gaming and entertainment, while an airport in Canada might highlight the great outdoors. Miami International Airport has a huge curved display that laces the baggage claim area, and it is decked out in bright tropical colors and themes. That innovative display clearly gives passengers the feeling of being in Miami.
Communicating to passengers through LED displays will become more important to airports in next few years because airlines are eliminating a lot of the people working behind their counters. Instead, airlines are replacing them with self-serve kiosks. So there is an increasing burden on airports and airlines alike to have clear messages, and those messages will likely be on LED displays.
3. Durability of LED Displays
Airports prize technology that is reliable, sustainable, and built to last. They need to work with technology that’s going to work continuously, 24 hours a day, for a long time and can give them much needed technical support. Top flight digital display companies offer LED displays that have a life expectancy of about 100,000 hours, which is about eleven years if they are running 24-hours a day, along with an extensive warranty lasting multiple years. It’s also critical for an airport to work with a digital display company that offers technical support to help manage the displays. This level of durability and reliability gives airports a lot of bang for the buck. They won’t have to worry about constantly changing or upgrading the technology. The average airport has hundreds of screens, so this level of support gives the technical team at an airport peace of mind.
4. Smooth integration with existing hardware and software
The last thing any airport needs is to bring in new technology that doesn’t work with existing technology. Rather, airport authorities would be well-served working with digital displays that are agnostic of any kind of media player and can manage both the new displays, along with existing LED and LCD displays in the airport, remotely at the touch of a button. Users should have a single dashboard for real-time diagnostics and easy management. This feature is critical for airports as they slowly phase out LCDs for LEDs. This software allows them to control both systems. Additionally, a software system that can manage proof of display, instead of just proof of play, will allow airports to actually prove paid advertising is playing. This is an extra layer of confidence for both airports and advertisers.
Travelers will continue to see more and more digital signage at airports, as they continue to help replace the presence of airline employees. Additionally, airports will increasingly look for innovative ways to use LED displays to heighten passenger experience and increase revenue within terminals. The sheer size and complexity of the modern airport means it’s critical that airport authorities work with a premium LED display company that offers unparalleled design, display, sustainability, warranty and support.
Martin Leclerc is the international sales director at Nanolumens.
