Whenever I travel, I’m always thinking about new product opportunities. And more recently, I’ve become more interested in what I might have previously considered “mundane” or “non-flashy” product opportunities. Often the places no-one else is looking are the most fruitful! But anyways, without further ado, here were a few potential areas for new products at airports, described in brevity (mileage may vary):
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People guiding planes to and from gates with light-up batons. There must be a way to automate this? It seems like a major operating cost and not the most enjoyable job during bad weather.
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Checked-bag pickup. While conveyors and rotary baggage claims seem pretty efficient, some airports definitely do not have the cargo hold-to-passenger pipeline optimized. Is there an easier way to transport the bags to the terminal? A better way to present them to customers?
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Finding personal space. Particularly during a global pandemic, knowing what gates and areas of the airport are less populated would likely be useful. Additionally, mapping outlets and other airport premiums could be a bonus.
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Physical parking tickets. It’s not much of a secret that airports make lots of money from their own parking services (and maybe people losing tickets is a source of significant revenue), BUT we must have a way to opt-in to digital parking tickets or license-based ticketing.
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Estimating time to gate. Some airlines have started to provide layover gate-to-gate walking time estimates for their fliers. Why not from airport entrance to gate? Even non-live numbers would be useful for most airports. (Airports are incentivized to have people spend more time at the airport, so maybe they wouldn’t be happy about this)
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Best seats on different plane bodies/specific planes. Every plane is different, and there are definitely people who fly enough that they know what rows and seats are the best on different plane bodies. Is the bulkhead in economy roomy or cramped? Can you recline in the exit row? All questions that could be answered with a single website or spreadsheet!
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Ski weekend transport service. Finally— and this is very niche service— there are tons of people that fly to Denver and other central mountain airports that need to drive 3+ hours to a mountain. For a lot of these people, a dedicated and high-quality transit service to various mountains would probably be welcome. Maybe even a mountain guide!
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