Insights
Newsletter - Q1 2020 - ICTS Europe Systems
Published: Wednesday, January 1, 2020
TRAVELDOC FOR STARLUX AIRLINES
We welcome StarLux Airlines, a new Taiwanese carrier that commenced commercial operations on Thursday, 23rd January, has joined the continuously growing TravelDoc family. The airline’s decision to use our solution, is another vote of confidence for TravelDoc as the most advanced automated document check software on CM platform. We are pleased that another carrier finds TravelDoc beneficial, attractive and a better suit to meet the growing challenges of automation in passenger processes. Starlux Airlines has thus followed in the footsteps of Eva Air Norwegian, Icelandair, Air France, KLM, Air Europa, Garuda Airlines, China Airlines, Kenya Airways, Air Caraibes, French Bee and many others. TravelDoc continues to be the dominant automated document check of Taiwan, with all three leading carriers being TravelDoc users.
AIR CARAÏBES GOING LIVE WITH TRAVELDOC
In December 2019, Air Caraïbes started taking advantage of the benefits TravelDoc integrated on Amadeus offers. The French carrier, which is the regional airline of the French Caribbean, conducted extensive testing before launching TravelDoc. Our team, together with our partners at Amadeus, were supporting Air Caraïbes throughout the whole testing period and tweaking the responses based on the airline’s specific needs. TravelDoc has a dedicated team of researchers who maintain the travel rules database and translate complex immigration rules into simple and easy to understand messages. They are sourcing data directly from immigration departments, embassies and consulates worldwide, while also listening to feedback from clients and more than 16,000 ICTS staff in airports around the globe.
SECOND GROUND HANDLER TO ENHANCE OPERATIONS WITH TRAVELDOC ON ALTEA GH
Aerohandling is the second ground handling company to start using TravelDoc on Altéa GH platform at Tel Aviv International Airport. The integration of TravelDoc to Altéa’s platform for ground handlers gives easy access to a much-needed advantage for ground handling companies everywhere. With TravelDoc integrated into their operating system, ground handlers can now trust the automated document check software to confirm no fines or delays apply to their airline clients, no matter which DCS they are operating on, while at the same time speed up the passenger handling process and making their services to their partner airlines even more valuable.
TRAVELDOC USER GROUP MEETING 2019, LONDON
The number of users are continuously increasing on our platform. At ICTS Europe Systems we pride ourselves on listening to our customers and tailoring our developments to their and the industry’s current needs. Following the triumph of our first TravelDoc User Group Meeting in 2018 – held in Europe – we had our 1 st Asian TravelDoc User Group Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand last July in an effort to get closer to our growing operations in Asia. Both meetings had a great reception and we have received a considerable amount of feedback from them that allowed us to improve and strenghten our operations. Based on the success of the previous events, we decided to host the 2nd European TravelDoc User Group Meeting in London, in order to meet our clients, discuss our recent developments and examine the issues and challenges faced while using our products.
The TravelDoc User Group Meeting provides an ideal platform to present our latest developments and describe our innovative solutions. The conference’s goal is to provide a forum for all of our valued clients and enable the exchange of knowledge through case studies and group discussions. Our two day conference was held at the iconic Sheraton Grand London Park Lane hotel in November. Our attendees from all over the world included some of the most well known airlines, airports and ground handlers in the aviation industry. During the meeting there was a range of presentations, demonstrations, discussions and a surprise entertainment at the end of the first day.
Over the last decade, ICTS Europe Systems has developed a variety of innovative solutions, which we presented during the two-day event. On the first days agenda was an in-depth presentation of TravelDoc, our automated document check solution, that allows passengers to confirm the required documentation for their journey. We have introduced our latest development, PassBoard, an application validating APIS/APP data as well as checking the travel document requirements while boarding the passengers thus avoiding fines incurred by wrongly submitted data.
We also discussed CPM, which is an indispensable aid for the airlines flying into the US to meet the TSA regulations. The case study went into great detail on the operations at Frankfurt Airport, explaining the benefits of the unique placement of the CPM kiosks at the transfer area, giving some new ideas on deployment to our airline partners.
We also introduced the Mobile SDK. By integrating this feature into airlines’ own apps, it will allow passengers to quickly and accurately upload their passport details before reaching the airport. The process is simple. It requires the passenger to take a picture of their passport and then touch it to the back of their phones, allowing the NFC reader to read the chip installed in biometric passports. The SDK is also able to read ICAO 9303 travel documents. This solution will allow airlines to gain fast and accurate OCR processing for passports and ID cards with antifraud liveness detection as a feature. The mobile SDK is also connected with TravelDoc.
We ended the day at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, where we belted out classic Christmas songs from the karaoke machine and had a great night. The second day was dedicated to SmartApp, our standalone cloud-based check-in application with TravelDoc embedded within the system offering airlines and airports an alternative to the traditional and expensive CUSS and CUTE applications. We started the day off with an introduction to SmartApp, along with a demonstration whereby we encouraged clients to see for themselves how efficent the process is. This was followed up by case studies of each of our SmartApp projects from around the world. We presented SmartApp in agent mode through the example of Bangkok and Manila where AirAsia is using the kiosks to double the number of their check-in counters. We then showcased the benefits it provides for group check-ins for Sichuan Airlines in Chengdu, China. Our team also discussed the kiosks application in Cyprus where they are supporting the TUI flights in self-service mode. Lastly, we explained how the SmartApp kiosks are used to enhance SBD operations at Bangalore Airport, and how we can supply different designs - like the express kiosk, that only prints boarding passes and allows check-in away from the airport – to better meet the needs of specific operations.
We would like to thank all our clients and colleagues who attended last November, and we look forward to welcoming you all to our next User Meeting event later this year!
ICTS EUROPE SYSTEMS 10TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY, LONDON
ICTS Europe Systems was founded in 2009 as a subsidiary of the ICTS Europe Group and became a leading provider of technology solutions to the aviation industry. Benefitting from our unique position of having the backing of one of the largest aviation security companies in the world, we retain the flexibility, innovativeness, scalability and growth associated with technology start-ups. We present intelligent, cutting edge solutions to the problems faced by the aviation industry.
In our London headquarters, we employ a growing number of highly skilled software developers, testers and support engineers, who work in close collaboration with our clients to ensure the products they develop continue to deliver the innovation for which our company has become known.
We strongly believe in crafting intelligent solutions to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market, helping aviation businesses improve their efficiency and adapt to the changing regulatory and security requirements all the while simplifying the procedures for airlines, airports, ground handlers, travel agencies and most importantly end users.
Big thank you to everyone on the team for all their hard work! We hope you will keep contributing to the company's growth and success and that we can celebrate together in another 10 years, with a few more celebrations sprinkled in there now and then.
PLUG AND PLAY’S GATWICK INNOVATION DAY, JANUARY 2020
A Silicon Valley accelerator, Plug and Play hosted an event at Gatwick Airport towards the end of January that brought technology start-ups together with VINCI Airport’s global network and other international airports and airlines to help drive airport innovations forward. We were honoured to also receive an invitation to pitch our innovative solutions, introducing our main products: TravelDoc, SmartApp, CPM and PassBoard to the audience. With our SmartApp check-in kiosk at the venue, we were able to demonstrate how quickly and easily passengers can be processed either in agent or self-service mode.
