After introducing the Twitter hashtag for real-time flight status update, BIAL, partnering with Thoughtworks, launches the BLR Airport mobile app to improve its customer’s digital interaction
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) steps up the game by committing to a futuristic and innovative vision of The Smart Airport - a digitized, seamlessly connected and intuitive airport that is positioned as the ‘Gateway to South India’. BIAL in collaboration with Thoughtworks, a global technology company, today announced the launch of the BLR Airport app, as part of its digital platform offering. Through the digital platform bouquet of services, BIAL aims at revolutionizing the travel experience at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB) through a combination of digital technologies that include the Internet of: things, people, services and data. The airport will build on its existing technological capabilities to engage with its customers and provide integrated services across various touch points. The newly built digital platform’s innovative potential will keep adapting to the Bengaluru airport’s evolving digital needs. Through these efforts BIAL aims to future-proof its airport operations and services by making meaning of the abundant digital data available and create a more personalized, just-in-time travel services.
A first step, as part of this digital transformation was offering passengers everything at a single click on their mobile phone through the BLR Airport app. The airport app includes a number of useful features to help simplify the passenger’s airport experience. Customers will find the BLR Airport app easy, engaging and simple to use. The navigation provides an intimate interface with real-time flight information and commercial offerings. Available on iOS and Android platforms, the app is designed to provide customers with the best of airport navigation powered by Google Indoor Maps (the first Indian Airport to use Google Indoor Maps), context-specific operational and commercial notifications powered by beacon technology deployed by leveraging leading industry standards.
Talking about the new digital introduction, Mr. Sanjay Reddy, MD, BIAL stated, “At BIAL our aim is to transform our customers airport experience. Every new digital introduction will combine innovation and emotion, because we strongly believe that digital is more than just technology. The ‘BLR Airport’ app is an example of how we are leveraging technology to make travel through the airport simple and easy. As we move forward our concerted efforts will be in introducing innovative and interactive digital solutions that will create value for our customers.”
BIAL’s digital partner, Thoughtworks, undertook a detailed study of 14 leading airport apps, to ascertain the most powerful features for the ‘BLR Airport’ app. The key features of the app which is aimed at giving travelers an ‘airport in their pocket’ experience allows flight tracking, provides timely updates related to flights and gates, shares special Retail and F&B offers. For Android users they get an additional feature of one touch WiFi connectivity. The app’s underlying design principle is maintaining an easily navigable user journey through intuitive design and is based on the airport’s philosophy of providing its customers a ‘Naturally, Easy Experience’.
"Thoughtworks is proud to be associated with Bangalore International Airport Limited in delivering on their vision of a Smart Airport using Digital touch points for making the passenger journey a naturally easy experience. Through continuous collaboration with BIAL, we designed and delivered a highly sophisticated and scalable platform, with context aware iOS and Android Apps that enables a high quality experience for passengers. We are truly excited about the next few releases where we would be building some interesting features on the platform that adds more value to the passengers, airport and their partners,” Mr. Sudhir Tiwari, Managing Director, Thoughtworks India.
In the first phase the unique and exclusive features of the app include:
- Flight information and Flight tracking – offers real-time flight status updates
- One-touch WIFI connect – No repeat input of OTP and user-details, the details once shared as a first time user, will connect a passenger to Wi-Fi automatically when at the airport
- Navigation with Google Indoor Maps – Easy navigation through the airport using the Google Indoor Map feature
- Must Try (F&B) and Must Buy (Retail) – Experience the airport retail and F&B
- Contextual notifications, powered by Beacons – Receive relevant notifications based on your location
- Feedback – Allows user to share feedback about their airport experience using the BLR Airport app
In June 2016, BIAL introduced a Twitter hashtag #Flightstatus an automated notification feature that allows passengers to receive flight status on their social channel. The Twitter hashtag was introduced as part of BIAL’s ongoing efforts to engage with its audiences on social platforms.