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April 05, 2012

Airports Delivering More Mobile Content than Ever Before

By Jacqueline Lee, Contributing Writer

Brent McHenry of the Dane County Regional Airport knows that mobile is becoming more of a marketing driver for air travelers every day.



“Mobile users represent more than 50 percent of our travelers, so it is essential that we put the right strategy and technologies in place to meet their needs,” said McHenry, who is the airport’s marketing director. “We’re all about customer service, and our new mobile website gives our customers an easy way to plan ahead and take control on their day-of-travel.”

Mobile websites are either currently available or in development at over 60 U.S. airports. To remain relevant, airports are going to have to offer either mobile websites or native apps that go beyond basic airport of information and offer up-to-the minute, day-of-travel mobile capabilities and integration.

One popular mobile development trend involves integrating social media with an airport’s flight status information. Every flight status shared on Facebook (News - Alert) or Twitter allows friends and relatives to stay informed. Each status or tweet also lists the name of the airport, providing airports with a steady stream of free publicity.

FlightView is a provider of mobile flight information solutions for airports and other parts of the travel industry. The company offers a built-in mobile framework to deal with the nuances of flight tracking. The platform is also reliable and cost effective for third-party web developers. The company, which services over 120 airports, has added 10 new airports to its client list in 2012 alone. This uptick only underscores the public’s appetite for mobile in the friendly skies.

“Our customers have expected fast access to actionable flight information for years, but now, with the number of travelers carrying internet-enabled devices, expectations are at an all-time high,” said Susan Kittle, director of External Affairs at the Lehigh Valley International Airport. “FlightView provides an easy and cost-effective way to keep our customers informed on arrivals and departures, parking availability, terminal maps and more via the mobile Web, giving us a clear advantage over our neighboring airports.”

Mike Benjamin, CEO of FlightView, says that all airports need to offer mobile content access for travelers if they want to stay ahead of the curve. “As mobile becomes the norm, airports must continue to innovate their mobile capabilities to better serve their travelers and stand apart from competitors.”






Edited by Jennifer Russell
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