WAYFINDING Mapping operations As part of the Customer Service, Passenger and Workforce Experience conference track at this year’s Passenger Terminal Expo in Madrid, SFO’s Jacob Ehrenberg will explain how he is creating a new Airport Integrated Operations Center (AIOC) to enhance the passenger journey. “SFO set the challenge to map the SFO guest experience alongside existing airport operations to support this initiative,” he explains. “Our efforts resulted in a customer journey map that tells the story of SFO’s guest and operations journey. In collaboration with airport stakeholders, employees and subject matter experts, a unique SFO customer journey map was developed, highlighting key experience moments and opportunities for improvement across arrival and departure journeys. It has become a valuable tool for communication, education and celebration across all departments.” Ehrenberg. “A few of the old numbers were also partially obscured due to the architecture. We did a lot of work with our stakeholders and our information and experience designers to ensure the numbers now reveal themselves clearly as you progress through the space. They’re not necessarily sequential when viewed from above on a plan, and we had some pushback at first about that being potentially confusing. But it now makes so much more sense when you’re in the space as the passenger. Despite some of the initial doubts, we never heard anything about it again, so we think we must have done a good job!” Further actions saw the improved placement and application of new information pylons, a new suite of printed maps and guides that work alongside the physical product family, complete redesign of all flight displays and back-end digital display systems, and improved connectivity to the wider regional movement system, including public transit, taxis and ride-hailing service providers (Uber/Lyft). “Information planning is critical,” emphasizes Ehrenberg. “Establish the information need before deciding if it should be digital or not; and the reading distance – will it be viewed up close, or does it need to be read from 50ft [15m] away? This informs not just screen size but also screen type.” Customer journey maps help SFO better understand the guest experience SFO has introduced water filling stations at key touchpoints ABOVE BELOW It now makes so much more sense when you’re in the space as the passenger Jacob Ehrenberg, SFO SFO’S popular chilled water taps dispense over 7,500 liters every day Source: SFO SFO worked hard to identify key touchpoints across the passenger journey to help reduce anxiety, improve orientation and boost guest satisfaction. This included the introduction of contactless, custom-designed coolers between security and immigration, to enable passengers to refill their water bottles and gather their thoughts. The airport has installed seven stations to date, dispersing around 7,570 liters (2,000 gallons) of chilled, ambient and hot water per day – the equivalent of 16,000 half-liter bottles. “Good design is not just about placing information in the right location, which is the bare minimum,” says Eoin Billings, a partner at Billings Jackson, the industrial design firm that partnered with SFO on the design of the water fountains. “It’s about adaptability to space, ease of maintenance, seamless installation during off-hours, handling operational changes and even accommodating contractual shifts. SFO is setting a great example by developing solutions that integrate with the entire airport ecosystem, all with the goal of improving the passenger experience. When solutions are well designed and easy for operations teams to manage, they remain consistently available and functional for the passengers who rely on them.” “SFO banned the selling of single-use plastic bottles in 2019 so we wanted to offer our own filling stations,” adds Ehrenberg. “Then the pandemic hit, so it was important we made sure they were hygienic, with hands-free operation and UV self-cleaning technology. This is a great example of Wayfinding as a Service, where we have determined a need after mapping the customer journey.” Similar to Schiphol, SFO is also investigating how best to use mobile technology to provide a more personalized service. “We’re about to start the second phase of our wayfinding program, where we want to push more information to individual devices rather than across lots of screens out in the terminal,” explains Ehrenberg. “Those screens cost a lot of money and require a lot of maintenance, with new and better technology often making them obsolete within a few years. We’re not sure how sustainable that is, as an airport. However, we don’t want to overwhelm or alienate any of our guests, so we are currently researching and prioritizing all the information requirements before we know what the [mobile] product or service will look like.” www.PassengerTerminalToday.com 26 Passenger Terminal World APRIL 2025
Passenger Terminal World Passenger Terminal World April 2025 Issue: Page 26
