Istanbul Airport aims to be a pioneer in digital transformation, leveraging cutting-edge technology to take its CX efforts to the next level. In this interview, we speak with Ahmet El, Deputy Manager Digital Transformation and Channel Management at iGA Istanbul Airport, ahead of their participation in the concurrent FTE EMEA and FTE Ancillary & Retailing events (Dublin, June 11-13, 2024). , we spoke to Dilanur Chetinarp, Head of Digital. Transformation and channel management supervisor shares strategy to become the world's most guest-centric hub airport.
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Er and Chetinarp will be speaking at the co-located FTE EMEA and FTE Ancillary & Retailing events in a session titled “Unleashing innovative airport strategies for customer and commercial excellence.” To do.
“Istanbul Airport is located at a key intersection of Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and is the first, and often only, point where customers enter Turkey,” El began. “A multicultural environment with domestic and international guests creates differentiated feedback. We have a complex structure and service environment that interconnects different teams. Our business as Istanbul Airport , defined first and foremost by 'hospitality'. “Hospitality is our duty'' is not a concept limited to the behavior patterns of our staff who interact with customers, but rather our job code, the definition of our work itself. Our goal in this vision is to make our guests feel at home by maintaining the quality of service in every respect. ”
In fact, Istanbul Airport is committed to providing passengers with a journey that combines technology and the physical environment in line with this service ethos, which prioritizes customer satisfaction. “We are pursuing a strategy that allows us to adapt to change as quickly as possible and become a pioneer in digital transformation,” he says.
“Augmented reality has the potential to revolutionize the way passengers move through airports, access information and engage with their surroundings.”
Istanbul Airport is innovating to take its digital transformation and customer experience efforts to the next level. As global trends evolve and new technologies emerge in the coming years, we predict that the travel experience will also change. “One technology we are particularly excited about to transform the passenger experience is augmented reality (AR). It has the potential to be revolutionary,” explains Chetinarp. “By putting the latest technologies such as augmented reality, machine learning and virtual reality at the heart of our digital thinking, we have made it easy for our customers to access and receive information anytime and anywhere. Using AI technology, we have developed a digital assistant system that responds to customer inquiries 24/7.
In this context, Istanbul Airport aims to become the world's most guest-centric hub airport. As part of this strategy, the aim is to design the travel experience for passengers even before they arrive at the airport. “Experience combined common pain points on his map to determine needs and expectations,” he says. “We have added complementary technologies and services to meet the needs and expectations of our guests by providing innovative solutions for each individual step from home to stay. In addition to our solutions, we have developed digital assistants (called “digital companions”) specific to differentiated needs. ”
Digital Companion: “Integrating both physical interactions and digital steps with a rich solution set”
The innovative and technological features of the “Digital Companion” cover almost all contact points, including individual steps such as parking and transportation, wayfinding within the terminal, travel requirements and boarding.
“AI-supported menus, scenarios and service channels were introduced for the first time in the aviation industry,” says Chetinarp. “We recognized that traditional solutions for parking, check-in, information processing, and flight/gate tracking that guests encounter from the moment they arrive at the airport are no longer sufficient. Physical terminal maps, information posters, and physical/mobile information points make guests dependent on location and human contact. Alternatively, guests flying for the first time avoid the stress of tracking their flight with FIDS. In this context, we integrate both physical interaction and digital steps with a rich set of solutions to incorporate them into your journey. We created a structure that combines the physical environment, technology and the human touch.”
One of the digital solutions that Istanbul Airport has added to its service points within the terminal is the ability to easily receive flight information from “Where is my gate?” Connect your information devices directly to WhatsApp. A traveler can access gate information by entering flight information or scanning his boarding card and can also transfer this information to his WhatsApp.
Looking ahead, Elle and Chetinarp hope to attend the FTE EMEA and FTE Ancillary & Retailing events, which will be held simultaneously in Dublin in June. “We look forward to seeing the latest innovations and discussions coming out of the Future Travel Experience event in Dublin. It’s always great to see how the industry is evolving to improve the travel experience for passengers. I’m looking forward to it.”
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