Why the Airport Industry has been working with Samsung

Airports are busy hubs of people, information, and transportation. There are delays, schedule changes, multiple terminals, and dozens of airlines and businesses operating inside of airports. There are passengers in a hurry and passengers with time to kill, all of whom need to stay up to date with their travel plans.

So what does Samsung have to do with the airport industry?

Samsung’s two strategic partnerships with Ikusi and Zafire Group are recent examples of how Samsung has been offering solutions for the airport industry. Let’s take a look at some of the solutions for common challenges airports face.

Let’s take the example of Manchester Airport in the UK. Handling 22 million passengers per year, this busy airport had a big problem. Since 2007, the airport’s projector-based technology had been in place at the check-in terminals. You know – the giant screens above the check in terminals providing updated check in and boarding information. A number of technical issues had arisen with the projectors, and the maintenance of the screens (such as regular bulb and filter changes) meant that the screens were no longer a cost-effective option. Furthermore, the existing projectors were at the end of their life cycle and supporting them was becoming increasingly difficult as the parts became harder to source. Manchester Airport decided to upgrade its customer interface technology.

Samsung worked with Manchester Airport and installed its HD screen devices to suit the airport’s evolving needs. At the same time, Manchester Airport aimed to reduce its impact on the environment by lowering its energy and carbon footprint. Happily, the new Samsung screens are 50% more energy efficient than the old projectors; and this improved the airport’s green credentials. Having halved the power consumption of the check-in areas with the introduction of the new screens, the cost of doing so has been justified by the savings in energy spending.

Size also mattered for the new screens. A change of the size of the screens – moving from 85-inch displays to almost half that – was potentially problematic for the airport and both the airlines and other stakeholders had real concerns about this. However, thanks to the sharp improvement in image clarity and quality, any worries about the new 46-inch screens have been assuaged.

Different problems for different businesses cannot be solved with the same solution. This logic applies to the airport industry as well.

Located in West London, Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom carrying over 60 million passengers a year. It needed new flight information display system (FIDS) screens that deliver clarity with industry-leading brightness for its terminals in all 460 strategic locations throughout the terminal’s concourses, check-in areas and departure lounges. As you might expect, since these displays were going to be so prevalent, they also needed to be cost-effective.

Only Samsung’s large-format display (LFD) range was broad enough to provide everything the Heathrow airport demanded. Not only could it deliver a full range of screen sizes, it could supply all the required variations of specifications within each segment. The screens incorporate Samsung’s own Digital Information Display (DID) technology, which provides higher brightness and an exceptionally high contrast ratio (three times that of a traditional TV monitor), plus improved color saturation. At the same time, their operating temperature is exceptionally low, which eliminates image corruption.

Samsung’s embedded PCs also make the screens highly cost-effective, since there is no need to purchase a separate computer for each screen. Moreover, Samsung delivered a state-of-the-art yet highly cost-effective digital display solution, including technical and sales support, on time and on budget.

Sometimes things do not always go the way we want, which was the case for Gatwick Airport, London’s second largest international airport which possesses the world’s busiest single-use runway with up to 53 aircraft movements per hour.

Gatwick had previously relied on its large-screen technology to provide passengers with all flight information. However, customer feedback showed that passengers were overwhelmed by the large amount of information being displayed on the screens. This led to some people struggling to find their flight. In its quest to continually enhance the passenger experience, Gatwick Airport saw the presentation and flow of information as a vital part of the improvement.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has replaced the traditional matrix screens. Better presented and more up-to-date information is now available 24 hours a day. Labeled as ‘info tabs’, the Samsung devices have revolutionized the usability of the airport’s information system.

Now, passengers can enter their flight number to access information for their flight or they can sort by airline. All the information is much easier to find than on a traditional flight information screen that has been suspended from the ceilings. Personalized, reactive information is being provided at the touch of a button. Also, the increasingly positive user experience is clearly noticeable. The new info tabs provide information to passengers whether they are quickly passing through the airport or spending a couple of hours before a flight by browsing the shops or visiting the many cafes and restaurants.

Samsung's display solutions for airports have focused on offering customized service to improve the quality, cost-efficiency, and user experience, based on the specific needs of each airport. Receiving positive feedback from customers, Samsung looks forward to expanding its B2B business and working on more challenges in the airport industry.

*All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.