Again it’s hats doffed to Air New Zealand for winning yet another innovative award, this time for how they look after your unaccompanied kids with the revolutionary Airband.
Check out this very cool wristband that looks like a Fitbit and is waaaay cooler than the big sticker or lanyard the little tykes used to wear. This little device tracks their journey all the way from your final hug to the open arms at the other end.
Air NZ’s Airband for kids
Air New Zealand’s Airband™ has been named Innovation of the Year at the 2016 CAPA Asia Pacific Aviation Awards.
Airband, a revolutionary wristband for children travelling unaccompanied, was first introduced in late 2015 and allows parents and guardians to follow the steps in their young one’s journey. The product is embedded with a chip which is scanned at key stages of the journey to trigger text notifications to up to five nominated contacts.
Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says the airline has big aspirations in the digital space and is looking closely at new technologies to enhance the customer experience.
“We carry tens of thousands of children travelling unaccompanied each year and this product innovation has allowed us to provide guardians with additional reassurance and visibility of their child’s journey, with the added benefit of allowing us to streamline the booking process for both customers and our staff,” says Mr Golan.
Air New Zealand is currently investigating future uses for the Airband product and how it can support other customer journeys.
Oh, and the kids get to keep the wristbands after their trip.
I look forward to seeing what else they come up with – including luggage tracking which is already out there, just not through airlines. Yet.