SubscribeAviaVox Automatic Announcement Systems at the gate save time for Airline staff and are more easily understood by passengers.
Phoneme Software
AviaVox, a Dutch manufacturer of automatic intelligent announcement systems for airports, has expanded its activities to support the boarding procedures of airlines at the gate. AviaVox systems are based on phoneme software technology that make computers speak as if they were human beings. With the introduction of this new software application, airline staff can concentrate on boarding procedures and the communication and interaction with passengers.
There is a growing demand for use of artificial intelligence in the restricted area of the gate, especially one that meets the needs of each airline and the infrastructural differences from individual airports. AviaVox has found a software solution that is certified by the larger system integrators such as SITA, ARINC and Ultra Electronics. The application can be implemented on an existing CUTE/MUSE workstation, leaving airports and airlines to invest in other equipment at the gate. The development for this software application and the certification process took 2.5 years. By talking to many airports, airlines and passengers, AviaVox investigated the requirements from all parties involved. There were three major issues:
- Passengers often cannot understand live announcements because of poor quality
- Airline staff do not have enough time to concentrate on the announcements
- Airports are facing a conflict in announcement quality and policies.
Airport Audible Information
Some airports have converted to a silent airport policy because the aforementioned issues could not be solved with traditional technologies and existing automatic announcement systems. However, by leaving out audible information to passengers, this policy works against the improvement of the passenger flow. Experience has shown that passengers need short, informative information that is relevant to their flight. Presenting this information only on screens is not enough as between displays the only information available is from audible announcements.
This also is the case at the gate, where airlines use announcements to improve the efficiency of the boarding process. It is often underestimated how much work airline staff have at the gate and all this work needs to be done quickly. By automating the announcements, staff can pay more attention to passengers.
Different airlines, such as KLM, have given their input on the announcement requirements for the boarding process. Eventually, AviaVox developed a software tool that was trialled at one of the busiest gates at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol for more than six months. The results were astonishing as there was a clear difference in the way passengers reacted to a live announcement compared with the automatic announcement. Normally, with live announcements, all passengers stand up to queue after the first announcement. With the automated system, large groups stayed seated as they listened to the instructions.
With a simple click of a button on the CUTE computer, airline staff did not have to waste time on announcements and could continue doing other work. The passenger low at the gate was improved, and created a less hectic, more professional impression. This contributes to the quality a passenger experiences from the airport and airline and makes travelling more enjoyable.
Airline Gate Client
The AviaVox software tool is known as the Airline Gate Client and comes in two different versions: one is the Default-book and the other is the Specific-book. An air-line that wants to use the default solution has a wide choice of announcements and within the selections many variables are available. Hence, within certain boundaries, every airline can tailor the editors that are available at the CUTE workstation. An airline that wants to differentiate from the standard announcement book can define its own, which is made specifically for it by AviaVox.
The Airline Gate Client connects indirectly to an airport's AODB/FIDS and is fed by the current light information at the gate. If an airline opens the application, the software will automatically detect what airline is at what gate and will even adapt the editors on the screens automatically depending on the aircraft type at the gate. This is sometimes needed if the airline has defined different boarding procedures for a Boeing 777-200 or a McDonnell Douglas MD-11.
After the application starts at the gate, airline staff can manually begin the next phase of the boarding procedure, as they are the only ones who can judge the actual situation at the gate. Once the first phase of the boarding procedure is started, the software will take the basic information from the AODB/FIDS and will automatically generate the selected announcements. This then is done in the native language, such as Dutch, English or Arabic. The Airline Gate Client seems to be the missing link in a professional announcement environment at any airport terminal. It supports not only the airport announcement policies and airline boarding procedures, but most importantly it meets the expectations of passengers.
AviaVox is currently the only manufacturer in the world that can deliver this kind of software, combined with a generic automatic announcement system specialised for airports and airlines.
