Istanbul Airport aims to be a pioneer of digital transformation and is utilising cutting-edge technologies to take its CX efforts to the next level. In this interview, ahead of their participation at the co-located FTE EMEA and FTE Ancillary & Retailing events (Dublin, 11-13 June 2024), iGA Istanbul Airport’s Ahmet Er, Digital Transformation and Channel Management Deputy Manager, and Dilanur Çetinalp, Digital Transformation and Channel Management Supervisor, share the strategy to become the world’s most guest-centred hub airport.
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Er and Çetinalp are 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’.
“Istanbul Airport has an important location at the intersection of Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and is the first and often the only point where our guests set foot in Turkey,” Er begins. “With this multicultural environment of national and international guests comes differentiating feedback. We have a complex structure and service environment that interconnects a variety of different teams. Our business as Istanbul Airport is defined by ‘hospitality’ first and foremost. ‘Hospitality is our duty’ is not just a concept that we limit to the behaviour patterns of our staff in contact with passengers, but our term of reference, a definition of our job itself. In this vision, our aim is to make our guests feel like they are at home by maintaining our service quality at every point.”
Indeed, with this service mentality prioritising customer satisfaction, Istanbul Airport puts into practice efforts to offer passengers a journey that combines technology with the physical environment. “We pursue a strategy enabling us to adapt ourselves to changes in the fastest manner possible and to become a pioneer of digital transformation,” say Er and Çetinalp.
Digital Companions: “Integrating both physical interactions and digital steps with a rich solution set”
Istanbul Airport is innovating to take its digital transformation and customer experience efforts to the next level. It forecasts that as global trends evolve, and new technologies emerge in the coming years, travel experiences will also change. “In this context, we set out to become the world’s most guest-centred hub airport and we try to design their travel experiences even before they arrive at the airport,” Er and Çetinalp explain. “In this regard, we determined the needs and expectations by combining common pain-points on experience maps. We added complementary technologies and services to meet the needs and expectations of our guests with innovative solutions for individual steps starting from home to boarding. In addition to our point-specific solutions, we have developed digital assistants called ‘Digital Companions’ specifically for differentiated needs.”
Positioning the latest technologies, such as Machine Learning and Virtual Reality at the centre of its digital mindset has made it easier for Istanbul Airport’s guests to access and receive information regardless of time and place. “We use conversational AI technology – in this way we developed a digital assistant system to respond to customer enquiries 24/7,” say Er and Çetinalp. “The innovative and technological functions were determined by combining common pain-points on experience maps and expectations of the guests for individual steps such as car park and transportation, wayfinding in the terminal, travel requirements and boarding. Accessible travel is possible for everyone! Our guests with special needs, whom we support with our ‘Accessible Companion’ on the WhatsApp and Mobile App, experience an independent travel experience with the ‘My Route’ function, along with services for all their needs. The menus, scenarios, and service channels mentioned in the scope with AI supported have been implemented for the first time in the aviation sector. We make use of digital companions designed to encompass almost each and every contact point.”
Istanbul Airport was aware that classical solutions prepared for the car parking, check-in, information process and flight/gate tracking stages, which travellers encounter from the first moment they arrive at the airport, would not be sufficient alone. For example, physical maps of the terminal, information posters, and physical/mobile information points, make guests dependent on a place or human touch. Or a passenger flying for the first time would spend the most enjoyable moments of their journey with the stress of following their flight on FIDS. “In this context, we have created a structure that combines the physical environment, technology and human touch by integrating both physical interactions and digital steps with a rich solution set and embedded it into the journeys,” Er and Çetinalp explain. “One of the digital solutions we’ve added to our service points within the terminal is the ability to easily receive flight information from the ‘Where is my gate?’ information device directly to your WhatsApp. Our guests can access gate information by entering their flight information or scanning their boarding card. They can also transfer this information to their WhatsApp.”
Looking ahead, Er and Çetinalp are keen to participate in the co-located FTE EMEA and FTE Ancillary & Retailing events in Dublin in June. “We are eager to hear about the latest innovations and discussions that come out of the Future Travel Experience event in Dublin! It’s always exciting to see how the industry is evolving to enhance the travel experience for passengers.”
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