International Air Transport Association (IATA)

5.3International Air Transport Association (IATA)

5.4Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

5.5IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

5.6International Standards Organization (ISO)

6TRENDS AND ADVANCEMENTS IN AIRPORT TECHNOLOGY

6.1Common Use Passenger Processing Systems (CUPPS)

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  Applications run on any platform
  
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  CUPPS facilitates rather than mandates business processes
  
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  CUPPS platform will have minimally defined functionality
  
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  Affordability
  
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  Serviceability
  
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  Predictability
  

CUPPS addresses standards to allow different airlines to use the airport’s physical and IT infrastructure. CUPPS supports an open architecture system, and grants airlines the ability to access their respective networks and related applications from any of the CUPPS workstations.

The benefits of CUPPS include more productive use of airport infrastructure, more efficient use of resources (gates, ticket counters, baggage devices, etc.), and a flexible architecture to support different airline passenger processing business models. Interoperability between platform providers is also anticipated in the new CUPPS RP so that an airline can support one application across different platforms.

In addition to the IATA CUPPS, certain industry vendors and airports are implementing flexible provisioning environments” (FPE) that provide a flexible communications infrastructure to support individual airline systems in a dynamic environment.

Why is FPE taking hold? The adoption of PCs, kiosks, PDAs, and web-based front ends by the airlines, coupled with advancements in network technology, provide an attractive alternative to traditional CUPPS systems. In airports where a shared bandwidth infrastructure has been installed, CUPPS can be provisioned in a very different manner.

Specific locations may be designated by the airport as either “preferred use” or ”shared use.” This designation can tie to minimum operational requirements (eight turns per day on a gate or 10 hours per day at a ticket counter position). At “preferred use” locations, individual airlines may install their own peripherals, such as PCs and printers.

Shared use locations, on the other hand, would be equipped with a standard set of CUPPS-style peripherals. Signage at each location (either common or preferred use) must be dynamic and airport-provided or flexibility is lost.

Both types of locations would be wired with shared bandwidth data outlets. This allows the airport to change the designation between preferred and shared use as airline business models change over time.

At shared use locations, when an airline is assigned a particular location, airline personnel login to the local workstations with their respective airline’s affiliation. The workstation is logically partitioned (using one of several alternative methods, depending on a specific vendor’s platform), with each partition including the information necessary for a fully functional workstation.

Using this approach, no certification is required for the airline applications for each of the particular CUPPS vendor’s systems. Each airline is also free to provide their own portable devices, such as roaming agent check-in or portable kiosks, loaded with any software required for their individual processes. They are free to perform upgrades to their software and components without limitation by the CUPPS system.

The airlines usually have responsibility for WAN links and individual data processes. Therefore, each airline maintains its own data system and there is no security concern over links to their reservation system.

Interoperability with various other IP services can be achieved in a CUPPS environment, such as with IP telephony, permitting Flight Number Dialing, for example. CUPPS can also integrate with other airport systems, such as resource management software (gate and check in desk allocation) and the AODB to trigger dynamically the required configuration to support an airline assigned to a particular location.

6.2Common Use Self Service (CUSS)

This paradigm is different from the concept of proprietary kiosks, which are airline specific and require a greater total number of installations at an airport because they cannot be shared.

The need for more kiosks is difficult to accommodate because of space constraints, especially in the ticketing areas that have new TSA requirements. Common-use kiosks help to alleviate some of the congestion caused by proprietary kiosks.

Some of the major benefits of CUSS include:

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  Customer interaction with various airline check-in/boarding applications at a single location
  
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  Optimal use of airline facilities with no need to dedicate special areas for different airlines. In common-use areas, airports only have to provide space for CUSS kiosks which, in turn, reduces the amount of total ticket lobby space an airport needs to set aside for kiosks.
  
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  Shared operating costs
  
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  Permits airlines to deliver a proprietary self-service check-in product through the use of a shared host
  
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  Kiosks typically enable passengers to check-in in less than 60 seconds, thus alleviating some congestion and improving customer satisfaction
  
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  Kiosk technology is estimated to boost productivity by 40 percent through speeding passenger processing, while also reducing handling costs
  
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  Airlines report that for every two kiosks deployed they can free up one agent position that can then focus on delivering additional customer services
  

Other forms of airline service fulfillment are possible using this platform, including reissuing boarding cards and printing hotel and meal vouchers in the event of irregular operations (IRROPS). This means CUSS can be deployed not just in check-in areas but also in passenger concourses and gates.

In the wider context of self-service, it is also possible for an airport to develop its own self-service strategy within the context of its IT&T Master Plan to support the main Airport Master Plan. Self-service extends not just to check-in and IRROPS but also gate, boarding, and wayfinding. In addition to passenger self-service, there are opportunities for airports to develop CRM-based self-service strategies encompassing employees, public transport, parking, hotel check-in, retail, and fast food. In this context, the usability and usefulness of the CUSS footprint can dramatically widen.