The first-of-its-kind FTE Communities Live Days event took place on 10-12 February 2025, hosted by Orlando International Airport (MCO). Over 200 members of our FTE Communities – the Baggage Innovation Working Group, Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub, and World Ancillary & Retailing Working Group – engaged in inspiration-filled sessions, collaborative discussions, valuable networking, and exclusive airport tours. Among the many highlights, Space Florida delivered an inspirational opening keynote; high-level speakers participated from MCO, Spirit Airlines and more; Oceaneering hosted an open house tour of its pioneering autonomous vehicles and mobile robotics, and much more.
Find out more about the FTE Communities and how to participate >>The Emerging Company Showcase hosted by BlackPath
Three days of innovation began at Orlando International Airport with the Emerging Company Showcase, hosted by BlackPath – an innovation advisory firm specialising in guiding emerging companies to thrive through partnerships with large enterprises. High-potential, innovative companies, including Trackonomy, Glydways, Worlds.io, Beltways, Cardinal Robotics, SoundHound AI, and IonDynamics Energy, were highlighted that are gaining traction with large organisations. During the showcase, the companies presented 10-minute presentations, offering an inside look at the challenges they tackle and the innovative solutions they provide. The showcase sparked meaningful discussions around real-world use cases, scalability, and testing, serving as a bridge between groundbreaking startups and established industry leaders. Following the presentations, attendees had the opportunity to network with the startups, fostering collaboration and driving innovation.
Open House Tour hosted by Oceaneering
Day 1 continued with FTE Communities members invited to Oceaneering’s production campus in Orlando for a sneak peek into the future of autonomous transportation and mobile robotics. At this Open House Tour, members experienced live demonstrations of autonomous vehicles designed for real-world applications. Indeed, this pioneering technology is already being leveraged at world-famous theme parks, offshore oilfields and airports. It was a fantastic opportunity to see cutting-edge technology in action while networking with peers.
Inspirational keynote from Space Florida
After welcomes and introductions from Daniel Coleman, Founder & CEO, Future Travel Experience, and Tony Davit, Chief Operating Officer, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Mike Miller, Vice President of External Affairs & Workforce Integration, Space Florida, delivered a truly inspirational keynote on the state’s leadership in space innovation and how it connects to broader advancements across Central Florida – from SpaceX and NASA to Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL), Brightline High-Speed Rail, and MCO’s expansion.
Miller explained that Space Florida’s mission is to build the world’s leading interplanetary aerospace commerce hub, highlighting three key objectives: to increase investment and economic growth in Florida’s aerospace economy, maximise the capacity of Florida’s space infrastructure, and sustained efficient business operations. He explained that aviation is among future growth areas for Space Florida, including Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), with the global AAM market forecast to be worth $68 billion by 2032.
FTE World Ancillary & Retailing Working Group meeting – MCO, Enklu / Verse, Innovate Orlando, Spirit Airlines, GrayMatter and more share compelling insights
There was a packed agenda and fantastic level of interaction in the FTE World Ancillary & Retailing Working Group (WARWG) members’ meeting, with a theme of ‘Driving CX & Revenue Enhancement Through Digital & Immersive Approaches’. The WARWG is a powerful platform for sharing ideas and learnings, accelerating collective progress. By working collaboratively as a sector and leveraging technology, innovative approaches, and new business models, we can create a significantly larger revenue pie for everyone to share, and the WARWG members’ meeting in Orlando featured compelling insights in a series of presentations, followed by an interactive discussion on digital and immersive ideas and possibilities, as well as an introduction to new WARWG Captain Albert Jan Prevoo, Director Aviation Innovation, nlmtd (Unlimited).
Among the many highlights:
- Tracy Harris, Vice President Concessions, discussed retail innovation at Orlando International Airport, sharing the key objective to provide exciting, innovative, modern, and visually appealing concessions that exceed expectations and position MCO as a lively, exceptional, and memorable destination between destinations.
- Eric Wanger, Chief Financial Officer, Enklu / Verse, provided insights from an experiential retailer. He shared how Verse Immersive transforms location-based experiential retail into dynamic, revenue-generating destinations leveraging a continuous, high-throughput operation, with content appealing to ages 7 to 87, and experience lengths varying from quick multi-player games to feature length immersive adventures, culminating in engaging, memorable experiences.
- Sheena Fowler, Chief Executive Officer, Innovate Orlando, focused on leveraging technology to benefit travellers, guests, and community.
- Rana Ghosh, Chief Transformation Officer, presented insights on the latest digital efforts by Spirit Airlines to drive commercial success. He highlighted new travel options, guest experience enhancements, and a reimagined brand identity, as well as the airline’s focus on digitally driving commercial success.
- Vikas Gupta, Founder & CEO, GrayMatter Software Services, shared how the new Servy/GrayMatter tie-up can help airports and airlines create a bigger revenue pie for all to share in while making passengers happier. He discussed a full digital platform covering all airport marketing content across web, app and kiosk with e-commerce for all airport services including F&B, retail, duty free, parking, ground transportation, meet & greet, and even flight bookings.
MCO retail innovation tour and exclusive preview of new concession concept
A guided tour of retail innovation at MCO offered a unique Orlando experience, including a ‘Taste of Terminal C’ in which WARWG members were captivated by imaginative, animated, interactive environments. MCO CEO Kevin Thibault was in attendance as the airport showcased theme park retail spaces, the Moment Vault, and a new concept from HMSHost, featuring a golf simulator, that was previewed for the very first time ahead of its opening. Enklu / Verse, who spoke in the WARWG members’ meeting, also provided demos of its Virtual Reality technology as part of the tour for a truly immersive experience.
FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub meeting featuring insights from MCO, Spirit Airlines and more
There was a fantastic level of insight and engagement in the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub members’ meeting, led by Kevin Kleist, Head of Emerging Trends, Southwest Airlines, and Head of Innovation, Digitalisation & Startup Engagement, Future Travel Experience.
The meeting began with a compelling presentation from Richard Clarke, Chief Creative Officer, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, on ‘The Orlando Experience’. He emphasised the importance of technology in delivering a world-class customer experience and shared how MCO is “aspiring to the stars”.
Clarke then led an engaging and interactive Fireside Chat with Rana Ghosh, Chief Transformation Officer, Spirit Airlines. Ghosh provided valuable insights into Spirit’s strategic repositioning for future growth, as well as the tech that will transform the traveller journey, with Artificial Intelligence and immersive experiences increasingly central to this.
Kevin Thompson, AVP Planning, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, then delivered a fascinating presentation on ‘Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Planning at MCO’. In a detailed address, he discussed potential vertiport locations at the airport and how the primary goal is to be independent and minimise any impact to legacy MCO operations.
The presentations were followed by an interactive discussion focused on ‘Digital Engagement and Experience Platforms (AI Enabled Immersive Experiences)’.
Find out more about the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub >>A digital-centric tour of MCO’s Terminal C
Members of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub experienced some truly impressive digital-centric innovations that are enhancing and differentiating the MCO experience during a guided tour of the impressive Terminal C.
FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group meeting and tour of MCO’s new ICS system
The FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group (BIWG) members’ meeting was a truly interactive session, led by Darin Juby, Head of Transformation, Future Travel Experience.
Two compelling presentations were shared by Scott Goodwin, Assistant Vice President, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, who focused on ‘Accommodating Growth Challenges and Leveraging Innovation’, and Reeg Allen, Journey Robotics’ Founder & CEO, who provided an update on the latest developments with the startup’s loading/unloading aid.
Goodwin emphasised the uniqueness of MCO’s origin & destination traffic, the proportion of leisure passengers, the baggage demographics that include strollers and golf clubs, and the amount of larger bags for longer stays. He also explained how MCO wants to support future technologies, everything from autonomous tech to robotics, and use that to complement human resources. A key new concept is ‘from anywhere to anywhere’, which envisions a totally integrated baggage system with common use bag drops.
Meanwhile, Allen discussed current progress with Journey Robotics’ baggage unloading product and the development timeline, which includes testing with Pittsburgh International Airport’s XBridge. Indeed, it is planned that the product will be debuted at the FTE World Innovation Summit, hosted by PIT on 13-15 May 2025.
Continuing the focus on collaborative innovation, BIWG members then formed smaller break-out groups to discuss how Orlando and similar airports can accommodate growth using innovative solutions which will then be presented back to the larger group. These were led by BIWG Captains Jason Odey, Director Global Baggage Excellence, Air Canada, and Samuel Ingalls, Principal, Barich, Inc., with support from Darin Juby, Head of Transformation, Future Travel Experience, and Scott Goodwin, Assistant Vice President, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. Insights from virtual participants were also shared by BIWG Captain Idar Sørgjerd, Department Manager, BHS, Tech & Op. Excellence, Avinor.
BIWG members also had the opportunity to experience guided tours of MCO’s baggage innovation, including a visit to the new ICS system with inbound sortation and EBS, as well as a tour of the remote screening facility and the original baggage system. These tours offered a comprehensive look at the airport’s innovative baggage handling solutions.
Find out more about the FTE Baggage Innovation Working Group >>First in-person meeting of pioneering FTE Accelerating Collaboration & Engagement (ACE) Smart Ramp members
The final day of the first-of-its-kind FTE Communities Live Days event featured a fantastic first in-person meeting of the pioneering FTE Accelerating Collaboration & Engagement (ACE) Smart Ramp members. International Airlines Group, Schiphol Group, Miami International Airport and All Nippon Airways are first-movers in this truly global collaborative innovation initiative, with a fifth member to be announced soon. Smart Ramp is the latest initiative as part of the ACE platform launched in partnership with innovation consultancy nlmtd. The focus on Smart Ramp operations has the ultimate goal that aircraft turnaround can be achieved autonomously and more efficiently. The Orlando meeting was filled with incredible collaboration, ideas and sharing, with discussions on the Proof of Concepts each member will be undertaking.
Find out more about the FTE Accelerating Collaboration & Engagement (ACE) platform >>Unparalleled networking opportunities
Members of all three of FTE’s innovation communities – the Baggage Innovation Working Group, Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub, and World Ancillary & Retailing Working Group – had the opportunity to come together, network and unwind at the social events. The Unofficial Networking Event at Uncle Julio’s, ICON Park, was the perfect way to conclude Day 1 by reconnecting in a relaxed setting. Meanwhile, the Evening Networking Event at Pat O’Brien’s, Universal CityWalk, on Day 2 was hosted by Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and sponsored by BEUMER Group, Brock Solutions, SITA, and Vanderlande. The event offered great networking and even duelling pianos. The FTE Communities Live Days concluded with a golf event at ChampionsGate Golf Course – hosted by FTE and sponsored by Vanderlande. In addition to enjoying a round of golf, it provided another great opportunity to network with industry peers in a relaxed environment.
Mark your diary for FTE’s upcoming events
- FTE Communities Live Day, Madrid, 7 April 2025
- FTE World Innovation Summit, Pittsburgh, 13-15 May 2025
- APEX FTE EMEA / Ancillary & Retailing, Dublin, 10-12 June 2025
- FTE Global, co-located with APEX/IFSA Global EXPO, Long Beach, 9-11 September 2025
- APEX FTE Asia Expo, Singapore, 11-12 November 2025
