Engine complete two year project with Airport Authority

July 2010 has seen the completion of Engine’s two year engagement with ANA, the Portuguese Airport Authority, which started with the creation and subsequent board approval of a ‘passenger-led service strategy’ from which we have developed a suite of passenger services and built ANA’s service capability. 

ANA manage and operate seven major airports across Portugal with over 24,000 passengers travelling through them every day. ANA had become specialists in operations and infrastructure and happy to consider the airlines as their customers rather than the passengers, to whom they were essentially invisible.

However, against the background of the rapidly changing economic conditions, increased competition and rising fuel prices, ANA realised they needed to alter their perspective. To be truly world class they had to begin to cater for passengers and visitors directly and initiate a shift in focus from infrastructure to service provider.

Since then a dedicated Service Development Team has been built, made up of ANA personnel and Engine designers. Utilising the full range of service design approaches, the team have been working collaboratively to bring the strategy to reality and deliver services that fulfill identified roles of the airport.

The objective has been to create a suite of advanced services aimed at creating real passenger benefit and value whilst building the ANA brand; and to establish a set of internal practices, standards and training to sustain the design and delivery of passenger-centred services long term.

Making it easier for passengers to navigate around the airport

The project also aims to create and sustain a cultural change - one that centres on people as customers, not just the airlines.

Engine designers will be discussing the project in full at this year’s Service Design Network Conference in Berlin. Here they will discuss:

- How Engine were involved in building a team, building capability for service design and development.
- How the Service Development Team collaboratively moved from strategy to action.
- How a diverse set of services were developed from scratch between London and Lisbon.
- How cultural differences were identified and barriers navigated.