Traveling for just about everyone these days is an absolute bear. Having to arrive hours early for a flight, realizing there are very few airline employees in the terminals to help passengers anymore, and incredibly long security lines can stress out even the most patient passenger. Given that much of this is outside of an airport’s control, airport management is continuing to find ways to try to improve passenger experience through dynamic digital technology so that a trip out of town isn’t panic-inducing.

LED displays can be both a tool to help passengers make their traveling experience a little less hectic as well as improve their experience. Here are four ways digital displays enrich the quality of experience for both the passenger and the airport.

1. Create more visual and compelling shops, restaurants, and boutiques within terminals

LED displays provide airports with a way to create a more compelling passenger experience by upping the visual appeal within the shops, restaurants, and boutiques within airport terminals. And because NanoLumens can create a display of any size, shape, or curvature, each display can be custom built to maximize each business’ look and feel.

Airports can also increase the revenue they earn from restaurants and shops by utilizing the displays for advertising. In fact, airports are going to continue to be more and more like shopping malls, and digital displays will only increase awareness of the array of shopping and dining opportunities available to travelers – and due to their dynamic nature, even start to market offers and promotions.

2. Enhancing passenger experience through messaging

Perhaps nothing is more stressful for an airline passenger than finding his or her way through an unfamiliar airport after getting stuck in an interminably long security line and worrying about missing a flight. Digital displays allow airports to help reduce this stress by helping passengers navigate through the airport successfully. They are the perfect platform to deliver passengers’ flight information data (FIDS) and wayfinding information. By helping passengers understand the route they need to travel within the airport through the use of digital displays, airports can help them save valuable time and take away some of the stress of modern day flying.

LED displays also give airports the opportunity to help add flavor to the passenger’s experience. Most airports find it important to represent where they are. For example, Las Vegas might highlight gaming and entertainment, while an airport in Canada might highlight the great outdoors. Miami International Airport for example, has a huge, double-side curved display that laces the baggage claim area, and it is decked out in bright tropical colors and themes. That display clearly gives passengers the feeling of being in Miami – “Bienvenidos a Miami.”

Communicating to passengers through LED displays will become more important to airports in the next few years as airlines continue to eliminate behind-the-counter staff across the world. So there is an increasing burden on airports and airlines alike to have clear messages, and those messages will likely be on digital displays.

3. Durability of LED Displays

Part of adding value for airports is implementing technology that’s reliable, sustainable, and built to last. Airports need to work with technology that’s going to work a long time and can give them needed technical support. NanoLumens’ LED displays have a life expectancy of about 100,000 hours, which is about eleven years if they are running 24-hours a day. NanoLumens also offers a best in class warranty of six years – along with technical support to help manage the displays. This level of durability gives airports a lot of bang for the buck because they won’t have to worry about constantly changing or upgrading the technology.

4. Smooth integration with existing hardware and software

One of the most tedious tasks in content management is the changing of the content or a dreaded change in CMS providers. NanoLumens completely eliminates this problem because our displays are agnostic of any kind of media player. And, NanoLumens has the new AWARE software platform that allows an airport operations team to manage both their LED and LCD displays remotely and at the touch of a button. Users will have a single dashboard for real-time diagnostics and easy management. This feature is critical for airports as they slowly phase out LCDs for LEDs and this software allows them to control both systems. Additionally, this software system manages proof of display, instead of just proof of play, allowing airports to actually prove advertising is playing. This is an extra layer of confidence for both airports and advertisers.

The sheer size and complexity of the modern airport means it’s critical that they work with a premium LED display company offering unparalleled design, display, warranty and support. So, perhaps it’s no surprise that many of the world’s biggest airports are choosing to work with NanoLumens. To find out more about our work in DOOH, please click here.

Martin Leclerc
Regional Sales Manager – Canada