Delivering a robust and innovative airport management system

What are the biggest challenges facing the airport management sector?

With the advent and subsequent growth of low-cost airlines and associated operating cost savings, these reductions inevitably affect the available budget that an airport is likely to have at its disposal for such systems. This, in turn, compels airport management sector suppliers to offer customers lower relative costs whilst ensuring ever-increasing overall value. This is where Airport Information Systems Ltd (AIS) is unique in the market being able to deliver proven quality airport management systems that are inexpensive, robust and innovative. 

How do these challenges differ in relation to the size of the airport?

Typically, the smaller the airport the greater the problems they can have in extracting viable operating fees and charges from their current or prospective new airline customers. This situation partly constrains the related business model and ultimately can hamper the addition of new operators or expansion of existing routes, which in turn can limit or delay airport growth plans.

Can you run us through your own personal experience in the information and communication technologies space?

I have worked in information and communications technologies-related businesses my entire career, which now spans almost 40 years, and of course I have seen lots of change. I began in Telecommunications. In those days (the early ’80s in the UK) this was fundamentally an analogue voice communications public service. With the advent of mass-use public data communications the supporting network needed to evolve – enter the UK digital communications infrastructure. The next related components or ‘gadgets’, as they are often referred to, to arrive were personal computers. Further developments and expectations linked computing and telecommunications and as I recall this was the beginning of “IT”, which is now widely known and taught in most schools as ICT. The rest, as they say, is history!        

What attracted you to the role at Airport Information Systems Ltd?

The solidity of the business, including its unparalleled established customer loyalty and associated satisfaction with its products and services, its dedicated focus on its airport management system and, of course, its loyal customers. My goal is to bring the skills and experience to AIS to strengthen the already hugely knowledgeable team and develop the business generally for the benefit of its customers i.e., the travelling public who are clearly enjoying an era of air travel that is now open to a far greater worldwide demographic.   

Are there any exciting new developments at AIS that you’d like to discuss?

Airport information Systems is proud of its latest new developments including its state-of-the-art Flight information Display System, AFIDS, that increases the cost/performance of associated airport display technologies significantly and something that no other supplier offers. With its unmatched aeronautical billing system ALDIS and other key software modules, Airport Information Systems is well-placed to serve the airport management sector now and into the future.