Innovation in the Real World
While traveling home from Montreal, my husband and I had a short layover in New York City. One of the busiest airports in the country, LaGuardia International was our one stop for a stretch of the legs and a quick dinner break. Airports are notorious for people being in a rush and are constantly searching for way to improve service and quickly move people in and out as quickly as possible. This is where innovation comes into play.
My husband and I were looking for a "sit down" restaurant to relax for a nice meal before our next flight. In Dallas, there are places like this around every corner, but you have to make sure you have plenty of time and definitely not be in a rush. We walked through two terminals in LaGuardia and did not have any luck. There were people sitting at tables all over the terminal. Tables that each had an iPad on top of them. I didn't give them a second look. We were on a mission. FOOD!
Little did I know, those iPads were the keys. No matter where you were in the airport, those iPads connected you to your latest flight information, news, weather around the world, and FOOD! That's right. LaGuardia, or at least Delta Airlines, had discovered a new way to allow for prompt and efficient service for its costumers.
Some of the people we observed were reluctant to try this new technology. They prefer the days of having a waitress or host to speak to. I agreed, I missed the human interaction, but to have everything I needed at my fingertips when I was on a tight time line was AMAZING! This new innovative way of handling thousands of customers a day worked! My husband and I, once we figured out what we were supposed to do, were able to sit down at a cute little table right next to our gate, set an alert to keep us up to date on our flight, order dinner, and pay for dinner without waiting on a waitress to stop by or standing in long lines waiting to place an order.
Technology and a little bit of innovation can completely change our daily routines. It has already in so many ways. My experience at LaGuardia really opened my eyes. Airports have had the same problem for years and years. This fairly simple, but expensive, solution is going to change the atmosphere and tempo of airports for many years to come. I am curious to see if it spreads to other airports. I had a fantastic experience and would love to see it in future travels.