Passenger familiarity and intuitive navigation within airport environments

Passengers navigating through airports can experience confusion or become lost, resulting in dissatisfaction, missed flights and flight delays. Passengers moving through airports are required to make many navigation decisions, for example to find the correct check-in desk or find the correct boarding gate. Prior experience of using the airports is likely to enable intuitive navigation, however limited research on this topic currently exists. In this paper we investigate passenger navigation by observing 30 participants at one international airport as they moved from check-in to a departure gate. The results indicate that passengers do spend time navigating intuitively through the airport, and that there is a positive correlation between intuitive navigation and airport familiarity. It was also found that participants with lower airport familiarity spend a greater percentage of overall navigation time searching and assessing/acquiring information than high familiarity participants. These findings provide evidence that passengers with higher airport familiarity have a greater understanding of the process, have a better understanding of what information to look for and use this familiarity to navigate intuitively. Findings from this research will have design implications for both current, and future airport terminals and other large spaces that people navigate through.

A Kansei approach to passenger terminal design

Current approaches to passenger terminal design are based on a direct relationship between the number of travelers and the size of the passenger terminal building: as one increases, so does the other. Over the next several decades, it is believed that the number of travelers worldwide will increase significantly. It follows, therefore, that in order to process these additional passengers, airports will need to build larger terminal facilities. Unfortunately, this is not a viable option for many airports due to financial, economic, operational and general space constraints. In this paper, we explore a new way of approaching terminal design based on a passenger oriented perspective. In doing so, we extend an interpretation of the Kansei design concept and show how it may be applicable towards the creation of new design paradigms in aviation. Our results are based on data collected in-situ at a major international terminal during 2012.

Co-production of actions and activities at airport security screening

In this paper we will examine passenger actions and activities at the security screening points of Australian domestic and international airports. Our findings and analysis provide a more complete understanding of the current airport passenger security screening experience. Data in this paper is comprised of field studies conducted at two Australian airports, one domestic and one international. Video data was collected by cameras situated either side of the security screening point. A total of one hundred and ninety-six passengers were observed. Two methods of analysis are used. First, the activities of passengers are coded and analysed to reveal the common activities at domestic and international security regimes and between quiet and busy periods. Second, observation of passenger activities is used to reveal uncommon aspects. The results show that passengers do more at security screening that being passively scanned. Passengers queue, unpack the required items from their bags and from their pockets, walk through the metal-detector, re-pack and occasionally return to be re-screened. For each of these activities, passengers must understand the procedures at the security screening point and must co-ordinate various actions and objects in time and space. Through this coordination passengers are active participants in making the security checkpoint function – they are co-producers of the security screening process.

Impact of passenger group dynamics on an airport evacuation process using an agent-based model

The safety of passengers is a major concern to airports. In the event of crises, having an effective and efficient evacuation process in place can significantly aid in enhancing passenger safety. Hence, it is necessary for airport operators to have an in-depth understanding of the evacuation process of their airport terminal. Although evacuation models have been used in studying pedestrian behaviour for decades, little research has been done in considering the evacuees’ group dynamics and the complexity of the environment. In this paper, an agent-based model is presented to simulate passenger evacuation process. Different exits were allocated to passengers based on their location and security level. The simulation results show that the evacuation time can be influenced by passenger group dynamics. This model also provides a convenient way to design airport evacuation strategy and examine its efficiency. The model was created using AnyLogic software and its parameters were initialised using recent research data published in the literature.

Passenger experience and their implications for airports retail environment design

This project develops new knowledge on the full range of activities and interactions that make up airport passengers' retail experiences. The practical application of this new knowledge will improve the design of airport retail environments and will, in turn, improve passenger experiences, leading to further growth in the airport retail market. The novel methodological approach developed allowed for a new and deeper understanding of how passengers actually experience airport retail environments. Four significant outcomes were discovered: (i) the categorisation of the full range of retail activities and interactions passengers actually undertake, (ii) a new understanding of how passengers use and experience their free airport time, (iii) two new passenger market segments, and (iv) two passenger retail experience tools, with these identifying the broad range of airport-specific factors which influence passengers retail experiences.

Modelling airport passenger group dynamics using an agent-based method

This thesis investigates the influence of passenger group dynamics on passengers' behaviour in an international airport. A simulation model is built to analyse passengers' behaviour during airport departure processes and during an emergency event. Results from the model showed that passengers' group dynamics have significant influences on the performance and utilisation of airport services. The agent-based model also provides a convenient way to investigate the effectiveness of space design and service allocations, which may contribute to the enhancement of passenger airport experiences.

Design research for the real world : a design-led innovation model for action research

The aim of this paper is to aid researchers in undertaking action research within industry with a particular focus on the study of design-led innovation. This paper presents the research design of a case study shaped to solve real world problems concerning a major Australian Airport Corporation by bridging the chasm between academia and industry. The researcher’s role is one of design-innovation catalyst, facilitating the integration of design as a new strategic capability and innovation approach within an organisation’s fabric. A discussion of the researcher experience within industry will provide evidence on the challenges facing such a research role, with strategies for overcoming these barriers presented. Based on the authors’ experience as a researcher within industry and reflection within practice, a project progression model for action research is presented to enable the improved management of industry based research.

Value management in design planning : a systems-based framework for multi-disciplinary team involvement

This thesis investigates the Value Management processes used by construction project clients that effects project team involvement in VM workshops during the design stage of the projects. It is based on five case studies of the Malaysian international airport construction project packages. The focus of the research is on how issues related to infrastructure design that can improve construction processes on-site are being identified, analysed and resolved through multi-disciplinary team participation. The degrees of interaction, diversity of visualisation aids, certain cultural dimensions and the system thinking approach are found to have significant influence in maximizing participation among project team members during the entire VM workshop process.

A new model for airport passenger segmentation

Recent changes in the aviation industry and in the expectations of travellers have begun to alter the way we approach our understanding, and thus the segmentation, of airport passengers. The key to successful segmentation of any population lies in the selection of the criteria on which the partitions are based. Increasingly, the basic criteria used to segment passengers (purpose of trip and frequency of travel) no longer provide adequate insights into the passenger experience. In this paper, we propose a new model for passenger segmentation based on the passenger core value, time. The results are based on qualitative research conducted in-situ at Brisbane International Terminal during 2012-2013. Based on our research, a relationship between time sensitivity and degree of passenger engagement was identified. This relationship was used as the basis for a new passenger segmentation model, namely: Airport Enthusiast (engaged, non time sensitive); Time Filler (non engaged, non time sensitive); Efficiency Lover (non engaged, time sensitive) and Efficient Enthusiast (engaged, time sensitive). The outcomes of this research extend the theoretical knowledge about passenger experience in the terminal environment. These new insights can ultimately be used to optimise the allocation of space for future terminal planning and design.

The future passenger experience: A shift from physical to virtual design

The importance of passenger experience in aviation has become well understood in the last several years. It is now generally accepted that the provision of good passenger experience is not an option, but a necessity, from an aviation profitability perspective. In this paper, we paint a picture of the future passenger experience by consolidating a number of industry and research perspectives. Using the future passenger experience as a starting point, we explore the components needed to enable this future vision. From this bottom-up approach, we identify the need to resolve data formatting and data ownership issues. The resolution of these data integration issues is necessary to enable the seamless future travel experience that is envisioned by the aviation industry. By looking at the passenger experience from this bottom-up, data centric perspective, we identify a potential shift in the way that future passenger terminals will be designed. Whereas currently the design of terminals is largely an architectural practice, in the near future, the design of the terminal building may become more of a virtual technology practice. This of course will pose a new set of challenges to designers of airport terminal environments.

A configurable airport reference model for passenger facilitation

The air transport industry is a complex environment facing many challenges while coping with changing global imperatives. International airport passenger facilitation is a part of the socio-technical system where these challenges manifest, impacting businesses in terms of time, cost and quality. This research inductively develops an extensible configurable reference model by capturing and merging the cross-organisational facilitation process from five Australian airports. The reference model can be filtered according to the contextual needs of airport users to inform relevant and accurate business process design. The domain and methodological contributions constitute the first reported application of questionnaire-based configurability to airport processes.

Design and a deep customer insight approach to innovation

This paper proposes and explores the Deep Customer Insight Innovation Framework in order to develop an understanding as to how design can be integrated within existing innovation processes. The Deep Customer Insight Innovation Framework synthesises the work of Beckman and Barry (2007) as a theoretical foundation, with the framework explored within a case study of Australian Airport Corporation seeking to drive airport innovations in operations and retail performance. The integration of a deep customer insight approach develops customer-centric and highly integrated solutions as a function of concentrated problem exploration and design-led idea generation. Businesses’ facing complex innovation challenges or seeking to making sense of future opportunities will be able to integrate design into existing innovation processes, anchoring the new approach between existing market research and business development activities. This paper contributes a framework and novel understanding as to how design methods are integrated into existing innovation processes for operationalization within industry.

Translating emotional insights into digital channel designs: Opportunities to enhance the airport experience

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify and understand the emotions behind a passenger’s airport experience and how this can inform digital channel engagements. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates the emotional experience of two hundred (200) passengers’ journeys at an Australian domestic airport. A survey was conducted which implemented the use of Emocards and an interview approach of laddering. The responses were then analysed into attributes, consequences and values. Findings The results indicate that across key stages of the airport (parking, retail, gates and arrivals) passengers had different emotional experiences (positive, negative and neutral). The attributes, consequences and values behind these emotions were then used to propose digital channel content and purpose of various future digital channel engagements. Research limitations/implications By gaining emotional insights airports are able to generate digital channel engagements, which align with passengers’ needs and values rather than internal operational motivations. Theoretical contributions include the development of the Technology Acceptance Model to include emotional drivers as influences in the use of digital channels. Originality/value This research provides a unique method to understand the passengers’ emotional journey across the airport infrastructure and suggest how to better design digital channel engagements to address passenger latent needs.