As a place that is often in the limelight, Las Vegas airport will soon be one of the most innovative in the world. McCarran airport was amongst the first to offer access to free WiFi for passengers. Ten years after launching this service, it is now in the process of deploying one of the first systems to beam WiFi outside of the terminal to travellers on board arriving and departing aircrafts.

In the US, more than 90% of the largest airports now offer free WiFi. The reason is simple; customers want (and expect) free WiFi pretty much everywhere they go. Recently, WiFi provision has been cleared for airports in New York and New Jersey, however the free time allowed is limited to 30 minutes, which many passengers feel simply isn’t enough.

Just over a year ago, there were only four out of the 25 largest airports offering limitless free WiFi in the UK. However, Manchester Airport has recently doubled its free WiFi time from 30 minutes to one hour due to increasing pressure from travellers, but is this enough? Apart from the obvious benefit of having access to free WiFi during lengthy waits at the airport (checking emails, browsing the internet or accessing social media), there is so much more that WiFi at airports can offer.

Free WiFi in airports is typically a loose term as it is usually only available for 15-30 minutes after which you need to pay, and this can be extremely frustrating. The model needs to evolve to incorporate a free option that allows a certain level of speed sufficient for email, browsing and social media. Then those that wish to use the WiFi for more heavy lifting, such as streaming video or handling large files, are likely to be happy to pay for a premium service.

Using real-time marketing information means that airports can send out personalised offers and vouchers to passengers during the time they are waiting at the airport. For example, offers on food, beverages and duty free shopping can be sent whilst the passengers are having their passports checked, meaning that they can be used as soon as the passenger is in the airport lounge. Offers can even be triggered according to the number of times a person has visited the airport, so loyalty can be rewarded with a special discount.

Other great benefits include:

  • A frequent flyer may have logged onto the airport WiFi many times before so their device is already recognised by the safe and secure network system
  • Special airport parking offers sent to phones
  • Personalised offers for refreshments or duty-free shopping
  • Invites to use the exclusive lounges
  • A passenger can check their mobile to see if anyone known to the passenger is in the airport
  • Access real-time information about departure details
  • Help passengers get prepared and ready to walk over to the correct boarding gate and even correct seats when the flight is called
  • Free WiFi will give passengers access to wayfinding apps for ease of navigation around the area

If passengers log-in to the WiFi using their social media accounts, they can share a message to their wider social network, or post about the holiday that they are about to embark on. Put simply, WiFi encourages passengers to share their journey experience.

Additionally, an increasing number of airlines are offering in-flight WiFi with more to follow suit. This means that passengers can continue their connected experience throughout their travels. It is exciting to think that internet speeds on planes will eventually become comparable to the speeds of home broadband services.

The cost of installing and maintaining high quality WiFi isn't cheap and making sure everybody has access to decent speed is also a big overhead. Getting a return on that investment is key and there are now ways of achieving that while delivering genuine benefit to WiFi users. Personalised, timely and location aware offers are a great way of monetizing at the same time as adding value.

 

By Gavin Wheeldon, CEO of Purple WiFi. 

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