b'32 LNK AIR SERVICE DEVELOPMENTNext summer this is likely the same size, he predicts. It doesntCloud-Based Check-In and Gating Systems have to grow in a traditionalAccelerate Pace of Airline LaunchsenseI just need to be smart about how I use the airplane. Staring down dual-track deadlines forAeroClouds niche is providing Is this ever going to be 10welcoming a new chartered air carriercommon-use products to airports with airplanes? Absolutely not. Butand opening a major terminal expansion,5 million or fewer annual passengers, could it be two? Maybe. Nebraskas Lincoln Airport (LNK) had littlethough it can work with facilities of time to waste when identifying its systemall sizes. In the past, smaller airports Ticket sales will provide thefor managing ground operations.were often priced out of such services financial momentum going forward,because other vendors primarily focused as well as ancillary revenue fromThankfully for leaders at LNK,on the needs of major airports, where in-cabin sales and packagedinformation technology resourcesand products, Wangler adds. Hes alsoGeorge Richardson is accustomed tobudgetsare greater.working with local businesses on incentives to lure visitors intoworking at highWeve found these smaller airports Lincoln, thereby boosting Redspeeds. were under-loved, and one of the Ways overall economic impact.The 31-year-oldproducts they rapidly needed post-More flights mean more passengerformer racecar driverGEORGE RICHARDSON pandemic was common-use [systems], facility charges and parkinghas traded fast cars for a fast-risinghe explains. Airports need to optimize fees collected by the airport,venture in aviation support technology.their fixed infrastructure, so we give them plus additional revenue for localRichardson co-founded AeroCloud inone system through which they can restaurants and hotels.2019, and since then the U.K.-basedcheck in all of their airlines through their company has rapidly expanded toexisting infrastructure. They can actually Haring predicts that spotgrow rather than just spending dollars on demandflights for football gamesprovide cloud-based software at 50 small- and medium-sized airports aroundexpanding the terminal.or school breaks, for examplewill present natural growththe globe.Richardsons involvement with opportunities in 2024, along withLNK is using AeroCloud software toAeroCloud began over a cup of coffee possible expansion to additionalsupport Red Way, a new charter airlinewith Ian Forde-Smith, the companys markets. Regardless of how itservicein particular, to maximizeco-founder and chief technology officer. occurs, Fly Next must make theefficiencies for check-in and gatingA 30-year industry veteran, Forde-Red Way service self-supportingprocesses at its six new gates. TheSmith had sold a prior venture to Leidos or pursue additional backstoppingcompany also supports the airportsback in 2011. He later approached his from local businesses, the Chamberflight information display systems, gateprofessional race car-driving friend with of Commerce or Lincolns tourismmanagement systems and common- the novel idea of building an airport board, he adds. use passenger processing systems tosolutions software company totally in optimize terminal capacity, even as airthe cloud. Unlike some of the legacy Revenue that is above andsystems still in use, our software was built beyond Red Ways operatingtraffic grows. LNK hired the company in November 2022 and needed its productsin the 21st century, which means less costs is set aside in an air serviceclicks to get someone checked in, more escrow account that could provideand services ready to go by the start of this summer.latency to avoid downtime, Richardson a minimum revenue guarantee forexplains. And, its very scalable.future service to Lincoln. Richardson says AeroCloud can stand up its platforms in less than one month.Common-use technology can also Nothing would make us morehelp smaller airports with air service excited than to be sitting here aAnd the platforms are compatible with individual airlines legacy systems, fromdevelopment by decreasing a new year or two years from now, thecarriers costs to install its own systems service is flying, and we turn moneyticketing to self-service baggage drop.at a new station, he adds. Richardson back to the city and the county,We worked through the night, nightcites LNK and Red Way as prime Haring says. That is the ultimateand day, to get this project off theexamples. goal.ground, Richardson recalls. We had the flexibility and the tenacity and theWe want to work with an airport that We dont know the longevity ofisnt afraid to develop; isnt afraid to it, but we believe its sustainablewillingness to do that for (LNK), which meant they could start to sell tickets earliergrow or is unafraid of putting their neck and can be replicated. And itson the line for the growth of their local started off better than we everand realize their costs back sooner.economy, he says. Lincoln took it by hoped it would.the horns.September 2023AirportImprovement.com'