Five airports and five airlines have been nomitated for the FTE Pioneer Awards 2022.
Five airports and five airlines have been nominated for the Future Travel Experience Airline and Airport Pioneer Awards, and the three winners of each category will be unveiled next week in Las Vegas.
FTE Pioneer Awards
The awards are meant for airlines and airports that have made significant efforts to transform the passenger experience through innovation. FTE says that these efforts include new cabin designs, new sustainable energy resources, parallel reality, NFTs, and diving into new areas like the metaverse. The five airports shortlisted are as follows; Miami International Airport, Incheon International Airport Corporation, Edmonton International Airport, Vancouver Airport Authority, and iGA Istanbul Airport.
- Miami International Airport (biometric boarding at all gates) – The Florida airport has made significant efforts to install technology in order to implement biometric boarding at more than 130 gates. Installation of the new systems is expected to be fully completed next year. At its completion, Miami’s project will be the largest implementation of biometric technology by any airport in the United States. The new systems combine SITA’s Smart Path solution and NEC’s Biometric Identity Platform and will allow passengers to board the aircraft by simply stepping up to a camera that will take a photo to confirm the identity of the passenger.
- Incheon International Airport Corporation (metaverse airport) – nominated for developing the first metaverse airport, designed to assist passengers in planning post-COVID-19 travel. The metaverse airport keeps passengers informed on how to check-in efficiently using the airport’s smart check-in processes which include self check-in, self bag drop, off-airport check-in, and OneID Smart Pass.
- Edmonton International Airport (hydrogen infrastructure in Canada) – nominated for its partnership with ZeroAvia to develop the hydrogen infrastructure needed to reach zero-emission flights and to decarbonize ground operations. EIA and ZeroAvia are partnering to develop the infrastructure which will be used and the larger airport and Villeneuve Airport. The airport already has a few very impressive sustainability initiatives such as the construction of the world’s largest solar farm located at an airport.
Construction of the solar farm will begin late this year.
- Vancouver Airport Authority (digital twin platform) – The Vancouver Airport Authority became the first airport to launch a digital twin platform, which “aims to improve the passenger experience and lead innovation outside the airport’s core aviation business.”
- iGA Istanbul Airport (AR and metaverse experience) – nominated for its efforts in the exploration of the metaverse and artificial intelligence (AI). The airport has created a new service that uses augmented reality (AR) technology to provide passengers with shopping information at the airport’s stores. In addition, a virtual character, CiGA accompanies passengers and provides them with information about the stores, deals, and discount codes at member stores.
Future Travel Experience Global will take place September 6 – 9 in Las Vegas – find out more about cutting-edge aviation technology on the website here.
FTE Airline Pioneer Awards nominees
Five airlines have been nominated for the Airline Pioneer Award, Delta Air Lines, Qatar Airways, Alaska Airlines, Air Europa, and Air New Zealand.
- Delta Air Lines (PARALLEL REALITY experience) – Delta has created a PARALLEL REALITY display at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport which allows up to 100 passengers to see personalized flight information on a single-screen, at the same time.
- Qatar Airways (QVerse and world’s first MetaHuman Cabin Crew) – The QVerse is a virtual reality experience available on Qatar’s website, which allows users to tour the Premium check-in area at Hamad International Airport and the interior of the airline’s aircraft. The carrier was also the first to introduce a MetaHuman cabin crew which takes the user on a tour of the business and economy class cabins.
- Alaska Airlines (first U.S. airline to launch electronic bag tag program) – Later this year, Alaska is set to become the first United States airline to launch an electronic bag tag program that will allow guests to skip the step of printing bag tags upon arrival at the airport. Passengers will be able to activate the devices from anywhere, up to 24 hours before the flight using the airline’s app.
- Air Europa (world’s first NFT flight ticket series) – Air Europa “aunched a partnership with block-chain distribution company TravelX to release the world’s first NFT flight ticket series, called NFTickets.” Owners will receive access to special perks such as an Air Europa flight to Miami in November, and other events ahead of the Art Show of the Americas in Miami.
- Air New Zealand (new Boeing 787 Dreamliner cabin innovations) – Air New Zealand is set to take delivery of its new 787 aircraft in 2024. The new aircraft will feature the Skynest concept in economy class, Business Premier Luxe suite, a new business premier seat, and a Sky Pantry in both premium economy and economy cabins. Sustainability is also a focal point of the design process of the new aircraft, which will feature modern fabric reducing one kilogram of weight per seat in the Business Premier and Premium Economy seats.
The winners will be unveiled next Thursday, September 8 at the Future Travel Experience Global event in Las Vegas. Simple Flying will be present at the event and will publish the latest news as it happens.