When you start matching the names and the faces of the security personnel at the airport, when you start wondering why Kancheepuram Idli is missing from today's menu of Kingfisher, when you start predicting which flight of Jet would have an in-flight entertainment system and which would not.... You know that you and travel have become as inseparable as Deccan and delays.
Every air traveler on an average spends at least 25-30 min after finishing all formalities (baggage screening, security check in etc) before his boarding call. Here is a list of services which if provided by the airport/ airline, can make air travel a lot more interesting and power packed and could make this time worth the wait..
Services at the airports:
1. Beauty salons - Can I have a quick facial/ a hair cut/ a shave/ a shampoo bath/ hair colouring before my boarding call? Can it make me more presentable before i land?
2. "Ladies and gentlemen... Air Deccan regrets to announce a further delay of 45 minutes. This delay is due to late arrival of flight from......." - On a usual day this announcement may have the ability to suck out the last ounce of energy which u had preciously saved. But what if you can spend the next hour or so usefully. Can someone give me a head massage (just the service I need right now.... Imagine an announcement which goes thus.... Air Deccan regrets... Blah blah blah.... Passengers who wish to avail a complementary head massage can do so by proceeding to gate no 1). Kingfisher can offer body massage services too, to take the Kingfisher experience to a completely new level ;-)
3. Book rentals: There is no dearth of book shops in the airports. But it is most likely that I don't actually buy the book in the airport store. The reason - I think it may be overpriced/ I am not sure how long my interest will last in the book/ I am not sure if there are better alternatives..
What if I don't need to buy the book but can just rent it for a small fraction of its original price and can return it to another branch of the same store in the airport in which I am going to land? If I really like it, may be I will buy it there...
4. In the same breath, can I hire MP3 players loaded with genres I like and return it in the landing airport? Can someone rent me a portable DVD player loaded with a movie which I always wanted to watch, but never got a chance...
5.I have a headache/ a running nose/ feeling feverish... I don't want to just pop an off-the-shelf pill, but i can't afford to be sick tomorrow. Can a doc have a quick look at me and prescribe something sensible?
6.How about secretarial services? I need to schedule a visit to my dentist, take my family out for a movie, have a dinner appointment with my friend. Can someone have all these appointments scheduled and give me the confirmations and the movie tickets, when I land?
7. Be it economy class in Air Deccan or business class in Kingfisher... All are equal when it comes to security check. Everyone has to wade through serpentine lines before ones turn comes through. Can someone else stand on my behalf and call me when just 4 or 5 people are ahead of me?
8. Here comes my next idea inspired by Harry Potter. If RFID tags are attached to each boarding pass, wherein passenger information is captured and if these are displayed as moving dots (with passenger details) on a live map in the airport area, I could spend hours staring at the screen and getting to know who is around. Mind you.. the airlines too dont need to make announcements like "This is the final call for Mr. X traveling by Kingfisher to ...." Mr. X's position can directly be spotted through the RFID tag..
Ok... Now let's move on to in-flight services
9. Networking platforms: Every flight has some interesting personalities traveling in it. However, at best I can know about my neighbor and no one else. Can there be a system wherein people can voluntarily say a few things about themselves and this in turn is available for others to see. Meeting requests can be communicated through a system and if the other person is interested in the meeting too, then the airline can facilitate the in-flight meeting, by rearranging their seating/ having a small meeting area arranged near one of the exit doors etc..
10. Independent Service Providers - Take a look at this... If i am a financial consultant and cannot do anything useful during the 2-3 hr flight journey, i may be happy to offer my services to others, of course for a fee. Unlike networking platforms described above, these are pure commercial service offerings. I can meet a consultant, a leading doctor, an analyst, a beautician, an event manager... whoever.. right in the flight. For the both the above services, the airline can take a cut too.. for facilitating the meeting.
Anyone out there listening? Come on do something.. or still better hire me..
