Is there more appetite out there to increase investment in technology as a way to help growth? We’ve seen a few ‘green shoots,’ or at least the suggestion of re-germination, a few times in these columns recently.
As we know, a few swallows do not a summer make. But then today, more good news about confidence in the benefits of technology has come in, with the news that airport operator BAA is committing to no less than £400m in a combination of outsourced IT services and improved information systems to enable it to "better respond to crises and offer improved services to passengers and airlines".
Its CIO Philip Langsdale has gone on record to say that the investment in delivering innovative airport IT systems that will support everything from the landing of planes through to security queues is part of a drive to "improving our passengers’ experiences and getting the best value we can on behalf of our airline customers".
Langsdale’s plans are based on four key targets, he says: to improve passengers’ experiences in the airport by giving them the information they need when they want it, both on-line and in the airport, supporting a quick and easy transit through the airport; to provide the airlines and other firms at the airports with the systems and IT services and infrastructure they need for quick and secure check-in, baggage handling, stand management and gate management to ensure that journeys are smooth and hassle free; to give the airport and its airlines better systems to deal with events and incidents to minimise disruption and provide the information they need when they need it; and finally, to simplify an "unnecessarily complex set of systems" at the airport so as to give Heathrow a better quality of service and reduce costs.
All this will add up to £400m by 2013, of which a quarter of that total will be made up of a £100m outsourcing contract with Capgemini to run BAA’s IT services.
"We understand that passengers want short queues, quick information and a pleasant experience that gets them on their way without stress and with the confidence their bags will come back quickly," Langsdale argues, adding that the IT boost is part of a wider capital spending programme designed to modernise every aspect of Heathrow: "I recognise technology on its own cannot deliver these improvements – but it is a crucial enabler."
Heathrow is a complex real-time business; with 90-plus airlines operating out of it, you’re talking about 1,300 flights a day carrying over 65 million passengers a year.
So, argues BAA, knowing how the airport is operating and, perhaps more importantly, how it is expected to operate means that decisions can be taken in time to get the right resources in the right place so as to improve both passenger experience and airline service.
The claim is that Heathrow’s IT investment programme will help achieve this by helping keep managers, passengers and airlines better informed about the status of the airport, help improve punctuality by allowing for quicker turnaround of planes and better recovery from problems as they arise, allow for more timely information on flights, passengers, their baggage and any specific needs they may have, and so on.
Meanwhile the operators other UK airports – Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen – aren’t being ignored; they are to be supported with technology that will better reflect their individual needs as point-to-point airports with the idea that they will soon begin to operate with independent airport systems, improving their cost and efficiency profiles.
BAA got a lot of stick for the way it handled the snow this winter and it knew it had to do something. Looks like at least part of the solution it sees to get it to the next phase is significant investment in ICT – which should be welcomed by all of us… assuming it all works, of course.
Watch this space – and let’s hope we don’t see any ‘Delayed’ warnings on this project.
