At Helsinki Airport, Finavia has launched the globally unique TravelLab project, where passengers get to test new service concepts and share their views on them.
TravelLab, created around service ideas from passengers, is part of the Helsinki Airport development programme, through which the airport is preparing to serve up to 20 million passengers per year by 2020.
At the Quality Hunters 2013 workshops, for example, Finavia has compiled ideas from passengers for new, interesting services. In the TravelLab project, which will be implemented in summer 2014, passengers will get to test the prototypes of services created on the basis of these ideas.
Some implementations will make travel even smoother, some will introduce totally new services to passengers, and some will make travelling purely more fun.
- At TravelLab, we do not ask passengers what they would like to do at the airport. Instead, we do things together with them and ask them for their opinions, says airport director Ville Haapasaari.
The diverse expert team of TravelLab investigates different passenger groups' experiences in service use on the site. The experiences compiled are used for estimating which services can be introduced permanently at the airport.
- The goal is to provide passengers with genuine experiences and services with an actual impact on the travelling experience, says Haapasaari.
Experiences for all the senses
The first task implementation by TravelLab is a Finland-themed photo wall which will be created at the airport, inviting passengers to take selfies and share them with the #SelfieFromHEL hashtag in social media. The Selfie from HEL photo wall will be introduced at Gate 32 on Friday, 9 May.
The TravelLab will soon also make it possible to do yoga at the airport. At the yoga studio, which will open on 21 May, passengers will be able to relax after their flight through guided exercises or on their own.
In June, the Finnish midsummer will appear at the airport through birch trees, Midsummer dance and Finnish films. Passengers can also test services related to the Finnish coffee culture and Finnish food.
TravelLab will also introduce technical services in the test, such as information boards on the gate buses providing information on what to do at the airport.
Service concept testing will continue through the summer until the end of August.
TravelLab digs into transit passenger experiences
Helsinki Airport is Northern Europe's leading transit airport, and through TravelLab, the particular goal is to serve international transit passengers. Helsinki Airport's goal is to be the most popular transit airport between Asia and Europe.
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