Cases | Transportation

Adapting a large airport infrastructure to new industry challenges.

Client:
A major nationwide airport operator.

Request:
Understand the impact of several changes in the routines of flying and identify opportunities to capture more value.

Participants:
Travelers, greeters, employees and partners.

How:
In a process that took more than two weeks, we used three methods of observation; (a) contextual interviews with frequent flyers, the airport’s "extreme users", (b) mapping space usage and (c) "fly on the wall” observation. The buildup of information and thought was so great that we could deeply understand how three major phenomena were pushing the limits of that airport infrastructure: (1) the ever tighter security on airports, (2) the smoking ban and (3) the increasing availability of low-cost flights. A set of explanatory insights into the problems experienced by passengers and a session of idea generation was carried out..

Results:
A pipeline of ideas that helped the operator to better exploit the opportunity areas revealed by the problems found.