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Chapter 10: Engage, Innovate, and Expand
This WebResource has presented a great deal of information to provide a new viewpoint through which to see the concept of common use-from a broad airport-wide operational perspective-and a framework to organize, plan, and operate it under the governance of the airport's management structure. As you consider the future of your common use program, remember that you must start from where you are today and take the appropriate next step for your specific situation. There is no “one-size-fits-all” model of common use, so your next move forward must be uniquely tailored to fit your airport. Consider the following ways to help sustain your program into the future, as shown in Figure 10.1 and described in this section.
Figure 10.1: Sustaining Your Common Use Program
STRENGTHEN COLLABORATION FOR IMPROVED MUTUAL BENEFIT
Since the beginning of common use as a concept, there have always been challenges that have needed to be addressed. These challenges range from technical, to regulatory, commercial, and political, but every year that passes sees more of these challenges resolved. This is not because a specific airport, airline, or solution provider solved a problem; it is because these stakeholders came together and collaborated to overcome the obstacles and create a better solution for the industry. Especially over the last few decades, airlines and airports have grown into much closer cooperation, particularly around common use. This level of collaboration is necessary and contributes strongly to the ultimate benefit of all stakeholders.
This plays out in various ways, including through industry associations, airport-to-airport collaboration, airport-to-airline collaboration, and multi-stakeholder collaboration between airports, airlines, regulatory agencies, and solution providers. These collaborations may be information sharing regionally, pilot programs nationally, or the development of new standards internationally. Do not hesitate to find opportunities to join the collaboration and start helping to improve common use for your own benefit and that of the industry.
Incorporate Innovation
It is important to maintain an awareness of common use-related service trends to identify innovation opportunities and plan how to increase the benefits provided to the airport through innovation. Through your collaboration with other airports, airlines, industry associations, and solution providers, continue to seek out what opportunities for improvement can be created through emerging technologies, services, or IT-enabled innovation.
Though not all airport environments are conducive to innovation, to the extent possible, consider issues such as culture, reward, collaboration, technology forums, and mechanisms to promote and capture employee ideas. This starts with collaborating with relevant stakeholders to understand their challenges. And regardless of your place in the airport management hierarchy, develop an adequate understanding of airport strategy and the competitive environment, as well as your airport's unique constraints. This will help you identify opportunities enabled by new technologies and common use solutions.
Further, looking beyond the internal elements, keep track of the airport's external environment to identify emerging technologies that have the potential to create value. For example, pay attention to proof-of-concept or pilot programs being conducted at airports around the country and evaluate the results so that you can develop recommendations for your own initiatives and gain stakeholder support.
EXPAND THROUGH SCALE, SCOPE, OR FORMALITY
In considering your unique situation, the right answer for expansion may be growing the scale of your common use passenger processing capability to an airport-wide solution. It could be increasing the scope of the current solution by adding new integrated systems. Or perhaps it is simply taking the next step in formalizing a common use program. Up to this point, you have had numerous opportunities to answer questions posed in your Assessment and Planning Worksheet (click here if you need a copy). Determine your best next step by going back and reviewing your responses to these questions and envisioning a more complete picture of where you are on the holistic common use journey. And above all, start taking action!
Congratulations on completing this WebResource! Continue to the Resources section for additional details, such as summaries of the eight case studies completed in the preparation of this product.
