How Cubix’s Innovation Reimagines Aviation Experiences?

AWS and Skift performed a comprehensive survey where 95% of travel executives considered digital transformation in the aviation industry a pressing need for better revenue growth, upkeeping legacy systems, and maintenance.

Boarding passes, security queues, crowded lounges, lost luggage – seasoned travelers know air traveling for all its inconveniences, filled with friction at every step. But embracing digital change now promises to overhaul these longstanding pain points and unravel convenient travel experiences by easing passenger journeys.

This change is not only necessary, but also need of the hour, considering that the US is the second highest contributor to worldwide air traffic, according to Statista.

Translating this ambitious vision calls for more intuitive and feature-rich mobile interfaces and designs for aviation systems, empowering intelligent connectivity with steady permeation across airport touchpoints. The ultimate end goal is a fully synchronized and autonomous aviation ecosystem tuned explicitly around travelers’ convenience.

Here’s what Cubix’s CEO and Founder, Salman Lakhani, has to say:

“Being a frequent flyer, I am aware of the struggles of air travel. Passenger expectations today extend far beyond just safe point-to-point transit. That’s why we at Cubix aim to build flexible, digital aviation systems that enable stress-free, personalized, and meaningful end-to-end journeys.”

In this write-up, we’ll be discussing some key innovation frontiers leading airports into driving unparalleled customization, efficiency, and interactivity to shape future passenger experiences!

The Significance of Personalized Passenger Experiences

Personalization is the new norm. Frequent flyers, whether business commuters or first-time travelers, crave more individual, personalized assistance rather than being treated one-size-fits-all during each journey. However, static systems and protocols often restrict airport staff’s ability to recognize passengers’ unique needs.

Thankfully, Cubix has engineered aviation solutions that ease passenger journeys by making valuable information like flight schedules, member statuses, and past trips visible, enabling differentiation through digitally augmented staff interactions. 

Thanks to our AI capabilities, we’ll soon be pivoting beyond insights by utilizing biometrics, image segmentation, recognition, and sentiment analysis to accurately anticipate needs and provide meaningful assistance to first-time flyers.

Here are some advanced use cases that would further personalize traveling:

• Navigation cues through terminals could evolve from generic direction charts to AR-powered guides. 
• Apps can track your location, facilitate wayfinding, and estimate the time it will take to reach the gate based on your walking pace, time buffers, number of checkpoints, and carry-on luggage.
• Travelers awaiting connecting flights can find personalized recommendations for nearby airport lounges, cafes, and stores.

By understanding passenger journeys and their situational and emotional contexts, airports can fuel meaningful personalization through each touchpoint and interface. Small gestures and conveniences can elevate the overall passenger experience. 

Here are some key steps airlines globally can take to achieve sustainable digital transformation:

Building Multi-Sensory, Immersive Environments

Rows of metallic seats beside dreary retail outlets dominate most terminal architectural designs today, focusing primarily on functionality alone. However, digitally infused microenvironments now offer the potential for multi-sensory experiences. 

For instance, while awaiting flights, passengers can browse AR-powered retail platforms, place orders, make payments directly from their mobile devices, and receive the products at their location. 

Also, according to McKinsey, by offering various payment options and channels, airports can achieve over $14 billion in revenue by 2030.

Apart from that, harnessing AR can achieve even deeper immersion, allowing passengers to view 3D airport departure and arrival boards and other valuable insights synced in real time. 

Sensory wayfinding, proactive recommendations, and biometrics collectively lay the framework for more profound human experiences that accelerate beyond mere travel facilitation.

Engineering Seamless Operations

Behind all the exciting prospects, airport functions remain highly complex and rather opaque for passengers, from luggage transportation to air traffic control. Due to being technically underequipped and unprepared, airports often fail to anticipate high demand during peak seasons and manage schedules accordingly. This leads to numerous flight delays and cancellations. 

For instance, on May 24th, 2024, over 6000 flights were delayed on the East Coast alone, considering that airports couldn’t meet demands and underestimated passenger traffic during peak summers. 

Aviation leaders and airports can utilize technologies like automated analytics and IoT-based orchestration to ensure better efficiency and transparency and streamline airline operations. 

Here’s how Cubix’s enterprise-grade airport solutions can allow for better, more transparent airport operations:

• Valuable, real-time insights extracted from various endpoints  – from runway visual trackers to doorway counters to aircraft fuel monitors – help the airport staff seamlessly navigate through complex processes and re-orchestrate operations for better efficiency and fluidity.
• When an incoming flight gets redirected mid-air due to harsh weather, heat-mapping systems can automatically suggest optimal gate rearrangements. Smart rostering algorithms could automatically allocate on-ground crew assignments while ensuring minimal disruption and delays. 
• AI-powered assistants are put in place to promptly notify passengers regarding flight delays, arrivals, or cancellations while offering personalized rebooking assistance or alternative transport recommendations where possible.

Such a digital airport infrastructure anchored with enterprising capabilities, such as AI/ML, AR/VR, simulation, and IoT instrumentation, enables airports to preempt and adapt to situations seamlessly while keeping passengers updated and avoiding avoidable delays, uncertainties, and traveling hardships.

Building Trust Through Transparency

For better passenger satisfaction, airports must not only simplify and catalyze their processes but also ensure data privacy across different touchpoints and build purposeful and value-driven applications that allow passengers to personalize their travel experience and track their luggage.

Essentially, upholding trust requires aviation leaders to transition from stubborn, complex systems to transparent, easily navigable digital platforms that prioritize passengers’ needs and provide unmatched value and convenience. 

Three Innovation Frontiers To Shape Air Travel’s Future

As aviation leaders eye expanding their global footprint, optimizing their processes, reinventing passenger journeys, and revolutionizing air mobility, here are three technology trends that promise to shape the air travel experiences of tomorrow. 

1. Pervasive Biometric Integration

Facial recognition, iris scanning, and other forms of biometric verification will eventually be integrated into airport security checkpoints. Such identification methods may ultimately replace conventional boarding passes and security tokens, allowing passengers to move through gates seamlessly and securely. Combining attributes like age, flight class, and occupancy status facilitates intelligent personalization capabilities.

2. Immersive Entertainment Zones

In-flight entertainment can embrace end-to-end immersion, where passengers can view visual content like movies and flight simulations through XR-powered headsets. Such immersive experiences can also be provided to passengers experiencing long layovers.

3. Predictive Maintenance Analytics

Multi-sensory data can also streamline tracking aircraft health, navigation, running temperatures, fuel level, and flight status. This will further simplify fleet management for the on-ground airport staff and enable them to avoid uncertainties, downtimes, and malfunctions.

60% of airport leaders identified not investing in new technologies that will optimize airport operations – such as SaaS platforms, automation, and AI – as a critical risk over the coming 12 months – AeroCloud Research

As airports continue to embrace these bleeding-edge interfaces, coupling them with intelligent personalization can foster delightful experiences. 

Cubix Reimagines Traveling and Aviation

Our client, Tulsa Airport, sought to modernize operations and enhance passenger experiences through digital transformation. As one of the busiest airports in the US, Tulsa Airport recognized the need to streamline travel processes, improve airport navigation, and offer various other amenities through an app. 

This is why they collaborated with Cubix to develop an integrated digital platform to streamline travel processes & enhance passenger experiences. The key objectives included:

• Offering real-time flight updates and airport information to aid travel planning
• Providing intuitive indoor maps, directions, and amenities access for navigation ease
• Building tailored interfaces with notifications and tools catered specifically to travelers
• Ensuring design reinvention with actionable insights and appealing visual interfaces
• Continually upgrading features based on user feedback for maximum traveler convenience

To fulfill these goals, Cubix implemented a robust digital solution leveraging capabilities such as:

• Flight Tracking Modules: Live flight status dashboards with arrival/departure details including gates, baggage claim, etc.
• Indoor Maps + Navigation: High-definition terminal/garage maps with search and real-time turn-by-turn directions.
• Curated Content on Airport Services: Details on lounge access, transportation rentals, and dining/shopping categorized by terminals.
• Travel Planner Tools: Personalized travel coordination features, including air traffic alerts, travel documentation checklists, booking links, etc.
• Intuitive Design Interfaces: Attractive visual interfaces based on traveler profiles and preferences.

By consolidating these modules within an easy-to-use platform, Cubix helped Tulsa Airport enhance operational coordination and travel experiences. Continuous improvements based on passenger feedback promise to optimize usability and engagement over time.

Pleased with the outcomes, here’s what Tulsa Airport’s CEO, Alexis Higgins, had to say:

“The digital platform integration and modernization of our operations, workflows, and interfaces was long overdue. Thanks to Cubix, we’ve brought transformative changes to the experiences we deliver and have made traveling easier.”

This implementation underscores how strategic digital advancements can upgrade legacy transit infrastructure to deliver simplified, personalized journeys. 

Ready to Lead the Future of Aviation?

Ultimately, digital transformation in the traveling and aviation sector is non-negotiable. Airlines and airports are spending billions to make traveling safer, more convenient, and more comfortable. So, are you willing to take flight and accelerate your digital innovation initiatives? Cubix would love to be your partner in this journey.

As air mobility resumes pace, modernized airports and aviation leaders now have the opportunity to partner with Cubix, a trusted digital transformation partner, to recreate differentiated passenger experiences and drive loyalty.

Got an idea? Contact our representatives to close the gap between your vision and enterprise-grade execution.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can airport experiences be improved?

Airports can elevate experiences by simplifying transit and driving convenience. They can build intuitive digital environments while leveraging data to customize interactions.

What is the impact of automation on the aviation industry?

Automation driven by AI and IoT instrumentation enables aviation ecosystems to coordinate complex operations resiliently. Predictive infrastructure analytics helps avoid delays and mitigate risks. 

How can AI revolutionize travel experiences?

Integrating AI into traveling and aviation applications can drive comprehensive personalization across different traveling use cases, provide access to valuable insights, and offer smart recommendations.

How can airports improve operational coordination?

Robust IoT instrumentation across airport assets, feeding predictive data models, facilitates the dynamic reallocation of staff, luggage tracking, and dynamic demand shifts.