New technology has been introduced at Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) to help travelers navigate the airport.
The Digital Concierge program shows two four-sided digital touch screen
directories, one at each end of the airport mall in Terminal
1-Lindbergh; the program may be expanded in the future to include other
locations.
The other new tool is the airport’s mobile application, goHowAirport.
The free download is for iPhone and BlackBerry devices, and for Android
next year.
“These new technologies enable us to personalize each traveler’s airport
experience by presenting information in ways relevant to that person’s
individual interests and needs,” says Jeff Hamiel, executive director of
the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
“The mobile app and touch-screen directories map the way to your gate,
show what shops, restaurants and services are in the vicinity, tell you
how many minutes away each location is, and offer search or filter
functions so you can find food items, merchandise or services of
particular interest to you,” he continues. “Our goal is to provide one
of the best airport experiences in the nation by placing the travel
information you need right at your fingertips.”
Both devices include information on airport shops, restaurants, services
and other amenities; flight information; hotel and ground
transportation options; menus for the airport’s full-service
restaurants; airport maps and walk times to chosen points of interest;
airport news, deals and events; weather information; airline information
for scheduling or rebooking a flight; and search/filtering features.
In addition, the goHowAirport app lets travelers rate airport shops,
restaurants and services, as well as see how others rated them. All
information, including real-time parking data, is provided and managed
by the MAC.
The app also gives travelers information about other airports around
the world. It offers travelers the ability to plan their travels from
their originating airport, through their connecting airport and on to
their destination, along with travel alerts regarding flight or gate
changes and circumstances at the airport that could impact their trip.
MSP’s goHowAirport app is available through an agreement between the MAC
and SH&E, which has partnered with Boston, Mass.-based
SapientNitro, an interactive marketing, creative design and technology
services agency, to create the application.
The airport’s new interactive kiosks were developed with the services of
Alive Promo, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based company focusing on digital
signage solutions.
Subscribe to ARN and get an instant discount on registration to the ARN Conference! Click Here to subscribe!
