Huawei, the largest telecommunication equipment manufacturer, has announced that it will work towards enabling the digital transformation of Hamad International Airport in Qatar. The announcement followed signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Hamad International Airport and Huawei formalising the strategic partnership.

Eng. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at HIA (left) and Xilin Yuan, President of the Transportation Sector of Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group(right) (PRNewsfoto/Huawei)

The MoU outlines a framework for collaboration between the airport and Huawei for co-creation of innovative concepts, prototypes and solutions to address real world business challenges and explore opportunities to improve travellers’ experience. The developments will primarily be in areas of IoT and automation. The objective is not only to accelerate the digital transformation of Hamad International Airport but also to create solutions that can be widely employed across the industry.

Commenting on the cooperation with Huawei, Eng. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at HIA said, “Innovative technology will continue to drive digital transformation at Hamad International Airport. Through this strategic alliance with Huawei, which also provides access to its eco-system of niche partners, we aim to accelerate our journey and to demonstrate our commitment to the industry by sharing viable concepts and solutions that may be developed through this partnership.”

Hamad International Airport, located in Doha, Qatar, recently joined the exclusive ranks of global airports awarded the prestigious ‘5-Star Airport’ designation by Skytrax, the London-based aviation institute and the gold standard for conveying the passenger’s voice in airport and airline rankings. This makes HIA the first airport in the Middle East to earn this acclaimed title and the 6th airport globally to be rewarded that accreditation.

Huawei offers an array of solutions for the airline industry including data centres, cloud platforms, analytics platforms and communication solutions. Earlier this year, AirAsia X announced in-flight entertainment options powered by Huawei devices. Huawei is also working with DHL for connected logistics solutions. With the latest partnership, HIA will also get access to Huawei’s partners to further explore possibilities.

Xilin Yuan, President of the Transportation Sector of Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group, commented, “It is a great pleasure for Huawei to collaborate with Hamad International Airport to enable a Smart Airport that can meet the future demands of passenger flows as well as the needs of digital-savvy customers. By placing digital transformation at the heart of its commercial strategy, HIA will deliver a user-centric connected experience to continue delighting its customers.”

Airports all over are working towards adopting technologies to streamline the processes and improve travellers’ experience as the travel industry continues to grow. During CES earlier this year, LG announced Airbot, a robot to assist passengers at airport by offering information related to their flight and guiding them. The robots will be deployed at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport later this year. Other airports are also working with different tech partners to address the key pain points. With the global smart airport market predicted to reach close to USD 20 billion over the next eight years, expect more such developments in future.

The post Huawei to contribute towards digital transformation of Hamad International Airport appeared first on TravHQ.

Despite recent economic challenges, China’s population continues to travel and passengers are demanding more from airlines and airports. China’s airports and airlines are responding with higher levels of investment in innovation than found globally. The “Smart Airport” is coming to China. As the aspirations of Chinese consumers increase, so does their expectation for a better travel experience. The willingness of passengers to use self-service gives the industry the opportunity to rethink the airport layout and how it manages passengers. Nearly three-quarters of airports in mainland China (72%) are investing in new technology compared to 58% globally. While airlines in China are spending 38% of their IT budget on innovation compared to a global average of 32%.

An analysis published by SITA, the global provider of IT to the air transport industry, shows that passengers desire to use their own technology will lead to a major shift to “off-airport” check-in. In addition, passengers want to use their smartphones for identification purposes and access, including boarding the aircraft and entering airport lounges.

May Zhou, SITA Vice President and General Manager, China, said: 

“Our global IT surveys cover trends from the perspective of passengers, airlines and airports. We combine this with SITA’s on-the-ground industry experience to provide a unique 360-degree view of technology investment and usage within air travel. We work with airlines and airports across China to identify opportunities, work together and invest in innovative technology that can meet and exceed the expectations of travellers. This is particularly challenging and rewarding during these times of fast-rising passenger numbers.”

Key findings of the analysis-

#1. Self – service gives the opportunity to the industry to rethink the airport layout in China.

Source: SITA Analysis

Passengers in China are vouching for a more convenient way to travel. People are expressing a strong inclination to move to self-servicing functionalities, especially on their personal device. Check-in at the airports is declining seriously as passengers prefer using their personal devices. Self-servicing kiosks will turn up the as the next big trend, however, the usage of such technology could be less adaptive given the rise in off-airport check-ins. The use of sensor technologies, such as Near Field Communications(NFC) would automatically transfer the boarding pass as the passenger passes through the gate. Although trends of off- airport check-ins are picking up, the baggage remains a challenge in the self-servicing sector. The move was rather not welcomed as the passengers preferred face-to-face processing at airport counters.

#2. M for Mobile

Source:SITA Analysis

The industry is acting on the high passenger aspiration to use mobile. Smartphones are fast becoming a unifying technology that will allow seamless interaction between passengers and travel providers. 67% want to use their smartphones both for access, including both the aircraft and the airport lounges and for identification purposes. Mobile boarding passes are key enablers for mobile optimized journey and airlines are keen to migrate people to mobile boarding passes. Airlines are coming up with baggage tracking notification and baggage collection information on mobiles in a couple of years down the line.

#3. Investment in technology for rapid growth pan-sector.

Source: SITA Analysis

Greater investment is required to make better usage of capacity and infrastructure. Airports can be made smarter by enabling the exchange of real-time information, cross collaboration and airport- wide process integration. New technologies are underway as they would reduce wasting time in queues, provide flight information or help turnaround. Emerging concepts like business intelligence initiatives will monitor passenger flow and airport operations.

To get more details, you can find the full report on SITA website.

The post 33 percent of Chinese travellers are now using their mobile phones to book flights: SITA Analysis appeared first on TravHQ.