Frankfurt International Airport in Germany has seen a 37% rise in passengers using mobile-boarding passes, according to a new survey by SITA. The rise is due to a combination of high service availability and an increase in smartphone users, which have doubled in Frankfurt over the past year, with 54% of passengers using smartphones compared with 24% in 2010.
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The SITA survey revealed that 84% of business and first class passengers and 89% of frequent flyers had opted for smartphone boarding at Frankfurt, while 63% of business and first class passengers and 58% of frequent flyers had used a mobile boarding pass at least once.
SITA East and Central Europe regional vice-president Boris Padovan said that the Frankfurt experience clearly demonstrated that the wide availability of multiple self-service options is key to passenger adoption.
"In other words, if it’s readily available passengers will use it," Padovan said.
The survey also reported that 67% of Frankfurt passengers were interested in receiving trip-related information on a smartphone, with the majority requesting information on gate changes, and 42% keen to know waiting times at security. 42% were interested in the time to departure gate and 23% were willing to pay for such services. Frankfurt airport’s recently launched FRA AIRPORT app has also increased passenger interest in mobile access to information such as flight status, parking availability and shopping facilities.
The 2011 SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service Survey was conducted with a sample size of 283.5 million passengers who pass through six of the world’s leading airports: Abu Dhabi International Airport, Beijing International Airport, Frankfurt International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Sao Paulo Guarulhos.
Image: The rise in smartphone users at Frankfurt airport more than doubled to 54% during 2011. Photo: Benutzer:Melkom.
