We’ve all been there – We’ve been at an airport and the signs don’t make sense, and the maps provided are pure and utter fiction as you fight through the shops to the gate.
British Airways appears to be out there to help, with them trialling new digital wayfinding technology to support customers travelling through London Heathrow Terminal 5 and Terminal 3 this summer.
The new technology offers maps of both London Heathrow Terminal 5 and Terminal 3, helping customers who are travelling through the airline’s London hub to locate their departure gate and points of interest including shops, lounges and restaurants.
The new wayfinding tool allows customers to navigate the airport more confidently, saving time and reducing the chance of missing their flight.
The tool provides clear directions and information on the airport layout, allowing customers to have a more seamless experience through London Heathrow. Through an interactive map, customers can click on areas of interest including shops and gain information about the location, opening times, and a description of items that can be purchased. The tool also allows bathrooms, seating areas and information points to be easily located.
Customers who are connecting between flights, can also input the details of their inbound and connecting flights and are then given step-by-step instructions along with an animated map on how to get from the arrival gate through flight connections to their connecting flight departure gate.
The trial which began in June is available to all customers who are travelling through London Heathrow and can access the tool through QR codes on digital screens in London Heathrow or by visiting wayfinding.maps.ba.com.
As part of the trial, links to wayfinding have also been sent to all customers travelling into London Heathrow and connecting from destinations including New York JFK, Dubai, Mexico City, Atlanta, Dallas Fort Worth and Houston.
In Quotes
Calum Laming, British Airways’ Chief Customer Officer, said:
“We always want to make travelling through the airport as easy as possible for our customers, so we’re really excited to be trialling a new wayfinding tool this summer. The interactive map is simple to use, allowing our customers to easily locate their departure gates and discover nearby restaurants and shops for some last-minute duty-free shopping, and for those customers who are eligible, our lounges. Of course, our fantastic colleagues will still be on hand to help as well.”
A Quick Play with the Maps
I had a quick play with a map on a desktop computer – and from just a brief play, there’s a good amount of detail exposed.
T5A overview – the gates are visible, along with Points of Intrest shown
Zooming in, the detail is very clear, with those PoIs actually having detail in them.
Playing with the connections map, it’s very powerful, with step-by-step instructions and timings (although 17 minutes is… hopeful is the polite term I would use), both for accessible and walking routes.
A step up, compared to Google and even Apple.
Mapping venues indoors is a challenge. And Google fails in this without a step-inside function.
Lots of points of interest… but good luck navigating
Apple Maps are well developed in this regard. Look – there are actual gate numbers.
But it seems that this isn’t good enough for British Airways, who have chosen to go their own way – and with access to their pool of data (as well as the possible data collection they can get from the use of such a tool.
For some passengers, having a map to find things is a helpful way to visualise where they are trying to go in a terminal – especially if they are not familiar with the airport and are unsure where to get help.
And anything to make the passenger experience a little more helpful is never a bad thing.
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