Travellers passing through the Chicago Midway, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Boston Logan, Philadelphia, Dallas Fort Worth, and Tampa international airports can now access food and drink delivery options for their journey via relevant airport, airline and day-of-travel channel partner websites. The system is enabled by Grab Airport Marketplace technology, an enterprise self-service platform for hospitality developed by Servy, and its partner delivery app, AtYourGate. The partners also plan to introduce similar initiatives in at least six additional airports by mid-2021.
According to Servy, more airport guests are choosing to pre-order meals from their digital devices. For example, at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, for example, as many as 22% of Grab orders are now placed through airline apps.
Passengers passing through the airports, as well as airport and airline staff, can have menu items delivered directly at a time and location that suits them. For example, at Chicago Midway International Airport, 75% of orders for local bestseller Nuts on Clark located in Concourse A are delivered to passengers waiting in Concourse B. Similarly, Chickie’s & Pete’s is the most popular food outlet in Philadelphia International Airport’s ‘Shop Dine’ programme, and is now making deliveries to all terminals and employee breakrooms.
According to the partners, airport concessionaires working with Servy and AtYourGate are also benefiting from the partnership, gaining incremental orders as they reach new guests who would not have ordered without the convenience of a delivery service. Operations can be simplified for participating outlets, as they have a single source for menu updates, and integrations to point of sale.
Whether wishing to save time or dodge crowds, food ordering and delivery can make the airport experience less stressful
Further innovatations are in the pipeline. For example, at Philadelphia International Airport, AtYourGate has launched a pilot programme with Piaggio Fast Forward to deploy Gita, a robot that assists with food delivery to customers, using the airport’s contactless ordering system.
“Offering more contactless order and pay and delivery options to travellers means they can spend time in the airport however they like and can avoid areas that are possibly more crowded as enplanements increase,” said Jeff Livney, chief experience officer at Servy.
