Schiphol Airport

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’s new electric taxi service comes with in-car wi-fi

14 April 2012 | Aiming to provide business travellers with an easy transfer to and from the airport, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has aunched the Schiphol Business Taxi, a luxury taxi service designed to help business travellers start or end their journey in business class style. Besides petrol-powered vehicles, the new taxi service also offers a green, electric option, the so-called ‘Electric Business Taxi’.

Electric taxi
The Schiphol ‘Electric Business Taxi’ is 100 percent powered by electricity and can cover a radius of around 100 kilometers. This makes it suited to short distances, such as journeys between Schiphol and central Amsterdam or the Amsterdam Zuidas business district. Taxi drivers receive a short training to learn to reduce speed by using the engine, instead of the brakes, in order to generate as much energy as possible and maximise the radius. The electric taxis also offer wi-fi connectivity, which eventually will be rolled out to all Schiphol Business Taxis as well.

The business taxi service can be reserved up to four hours ahead of departure, and passengers can be picked up at (or transported to) anywhere in the Netherlands. Rates for a transfer for one person with luggage are EUR42 into the business district, EUR58 to the centre of Amsterdam and EUR124 o central Rotterdam. Extra services such as an escort to and from the gate and check-in assistance are also offered. The service is offered by a joint venture between Schiphol and Connexxion, the largest public transport company in the Netherlands.

Better Place
There are currently 2 electric Renault Fluence Z.E. (zero emission) taxis in operation and another 4 vehicles will be added this June. The Renault Fluence Z.E. cars are the result of a partnership between Schiphol Airport, the City of Amsterdam and Better Place, a company that provides what it calls “electric car networks,” a network of battery switch stations combined with the supply of batteries that power the electric cars.
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European airports roll out the red carpet for Chinese travellers

27 January 2012 | Rising disposable income in emerging economies such as the BRICs and the N-11s has allowed the rapidly growing middle classes in these countries to start travelling by air. According to IATA estimates, the number of air travellers worldwide will grow with 800 million to 3.3 billion in 2014 (up from 2.5 billion passengers in 2009), with China alone accounting for more than a quarter of this growth. Although air travel in China is still mainly on domestic and regional routes, an increasing number of leisure and business travellers are flying overseas.

‘Red carpet’
With Chinese outbound tourism recording more than 20 percent annual growth in recent years and overseas spending by Chinese tourists in 2011 expected to total around USD55 billion, airlines, airports and tourism destinations around the world are rolling out the red carpet to make Chinese travellers feel more at home.

Says Reinier Evers, founder of trend agency trendwatching.com, “China is the new emperor, and outpaced companies, flailing nations and even broke monetary unions are looking to the Chinese to bail them out. No wonder red carpets are being rolled out wherever Chinese politicians and CEOs currently set foot. In 2012’s global consumption arena we see a similar picture: department stores, airlines, hotels, theme parks and museums, if not entire cities, around the world are going out of their way to shower Chinese customers with tailored services and perks, and in general, lavish them with attention and respect.”

Since there are around 160 cities in China with populations of over 1 million people, airlines such as KLM (Chengdu, Xiamen, Hangzhou), Lufthansa (Shenyang, Qingdao), Air France (Wuhan), Finnair (Chongqing), Qatar Airways (Chongqing) and Etihad (Chengdu) have opened routes to second-tier cities in the country. These airlines also employ Asian cabin crew on board and offer localized amenities such as Chinese food and beverages, movies, music, newspapers and magazines.

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Instant banner vending kiosk at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport lets family and friends give travellers a warm welcome

5 December 2011 | Many people will be familiar with the sight of families and friends lined up in the arrival hall, anxiously waiting to welcome their loved ones, and displaying home-made banners to add an extra dimension to the occasion. Always on the lookout for an innovative amenity to improve an already well-regarded airport experience, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has just installed a self-service banner vending machine, called the BannerXpress. The instant banner (‘spandoeken’ in Dutch’) kiosk allows people who are meeting passengers at the airport to design and print their own personalised banners.

The BannerXpress machine, a world’s first, lets users create a personalised banner in a few steps. They start with choosing the size (40, 130 or 300 cm wide; the height is a standard 30 cm), and then select the background and theme. The last step is entering the text they wish to appear on the banner, and after paying with a debit or credit card, the banner is printed out on canvas. The price of a the banner ranges from EUR 3.95 (USD 5) to EUR 14.95 (USD 20).

Says Otto Ambagtsheer, Director Business Area Consumers at Schiphol Airport, “The banners by BannerXpress allow the airport to offer people who are coming to pick someone up with the chance to surprise them in a playful way. For now we only have this one dispenser in Arrival Hall 2, but we may add more at other locations if it proves popular.” According to the New York Times reports that in the first month of operation, the banner machine “has been churning out about 50 banners a day.”
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Amsterdam Airport offers transit passengers a city tour by amphibious bus-boat

26 July 2011 | Airports that heavily depend on transfer traffic, such as Seoul Incheon and Hong Kong International offer layover tours of the city, so passengers with several hours to kill before their connecting flight departs can get a taste of their transit destination. Changi Airport and Turkish Airlines even offer passengers a quick tour of respectively Singapore and Istanbul for free. Now, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, where 40 percent of arriving passengers connects to another flight, has come up with a concept for passengers in transit to experience the city in a very original way.

Floating Dutchman
In a partnership between Schiphol Airport, local canal cruise company Lovers and the City of Amsterdam, an amphibious bus-boat vehicle, dubbed the ‘Floating Dutchman’, has been launched that offers travellers an opportunity to explore the city in a short span of time. Passengers with a layover of at least 4 hours can hop on to the bus-boat from the airport, take a tour of the city and return back to the airport for their connecting flight. The bus-boat has been built by a consortium of companies, called Dutch Amphibious Transport Vehicles, of which canal cruise company Lovers is a co-owner.

From July 20^th on, the Floating Dutchman departs from Schiphol Airport by road into Amsterdam’s city centre, where it ‘splashes’ into the canals at a specially prepared zone to set off for a 45 minute boat tour of the city’s canals. After the trip, the vehicle emerges from the water and continues its journey back to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Images and a video of the tour here and here).
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Schiphol Airport opens airport park with wooden benches and virtual butterflies

17 May 2011 | After opening an ‘Airport Library’ and a ‘Holland Boulevard’ to give travellers in transit at the airport a taste of Dutch culture, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has just opened another ‘airport experience’, this time a 200 square meter (2,100 sq ft) ‘Airport Park’. 

Relax before the flight
The airport park is located at Schiphol’s D-pier and replaces a former waiting area. With the park Schiphol aims to create an environment where people can stay in a pleasant and green surroundings to relax, eat and drink before they fly. Greenery, both real and fake, sets the tone at the park and travellers can relax under half a dozen artificial trees in various seating areas, ranging from designer furniture to tree-stump seats, wooden picnic benches and circular benches with foilage in the middle. A 130-year-old tree serves as a signpost for the park. There is also an outdoor terrace where passengers can sit at wooden picnic tables with views on the aircrafts parked at the gates. 

The feeling of being in a park is also brought alive through what Schiphol calls ‘mixed reality’ technology: images of famous parks all over the world are displayed on the walls, virtual butterflies surround people when they sit on certain places on the park, while ‘soundcapes’ of animals, bicycle bells and playing children add another ‘real’ touch. 

Park Café, DIY-charging
Visitors to the park can also enjoy fair trade coffee, fresh juices, hamburgers on organic buns at a Park Café, while various kiosks sell magazines, newspapers, flowers and souvenirs. Food and beverages can be taken outside to the terrace or enjoyed in the park, and – just like in other areas at Schiphol – free WiFi is available for 1 hour. 
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Schiphol Airport’s renewed ‘Holland Boulevard’ gives transit passengers a taste of all things Dutch

25 August 2010 | Amsterdam Schiphol Airport has just opened its modernised and extended ‘Holland Boulevard’, an area between the airport’s E and F piers that mainly caters to intercontinental transit passengers. With the Holland Boulevard, Schiphol aims to give travelers a taste of Dutch culture, especially those who are on Dutch soil for just a few hours. 

In the new ‘Airport Library’ – a world’s first – visitors can read books, watch short movies and listen to music. The 90 m2 library features several ‘reading towers’ filled with Dutch literature translated in 29 languages, a reading table equiped with iPads, and there are laid-back reading chairs and seats with integrated listening devices. Passengers can also download digital content to their personal devices via a download station. The airport library is set-up by the ProBiblio Dutch public library organisation with funding from the Dutch ministry of education, culture and science. 

Other new facilities at the Holland Boulevard include the ‘Bols Genever Experience’, set up by Dutch spirits brand Lucas Bols. Travelers can customize their own cocktail via a touchscreen, print the recipe and have it made at the Bols Bar. Every year, Bols and KLM also bring out a new miniature house filled with Bols genever. A ‘Dutch Kitchen’ offers typical Dutch fare such as ‘poffertjes’ (miniature pancakes), ‘kibbeling’ (small chunks of fried battered cod) and croquettes. In the Dutch Bar, passengers can sample Dutch coffee and special beers.
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Schiphol Airport teams up with Philips to develop ‘ambient gate’

15 June 2010 | Amsterdam Schiphol has opened a new gate at the airport’s G-Pier that is intended to make the time passengers spend just before departure as pleasant as possible. The so-called ‘Innovative Gate’ resulted from a collaborative venture between Schiphol and a large number of other parties. Philips played a key role by providing its expertise in creating ‘ambient experiences’, which basically make use of a play of different lighting fixtures, effects and colors to create different moods. The new 700m2 gate features 1,000 fluorescent LED lamps. 

Mood lighting, ‘living magazines’,  innovative seating
When passengers approach the gate, the gate is lighted using the airline’s colours and large billboards positioned at the gate entrance display photos or videos of the destination alongside flight information. A reception desk lets airlines welcome passengers, and the pre-waiting area offers different furniture elements, such as work desks for business travellers, group seats, and individual seats with enhanced privacy. The waiting area also features number of large video screens (called ‘living magazines’ by Schiphol) that show infotainment programmes. Cathay Pacific will be the first airline to use the new gate. Read full article »

Schiphol Airport opens new airport library to highlight Dutch culture

25 May 2010 | Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is set to open the world’s first permanent airport library. Starting this summer, travellers can pass their time reading, watching films or listening to music whilst waiting for their flights. The airport library is meant as a place to relax, get inspired and to serve as a showcase of arts and culture in The Netherlands. Visitors can read Dutch literature translated into various languages, browse through photo-books or catalogues from Dutch musea, and view short movies about Dutch arts and culture, such as Dutch Design and the Delta Works. 

The 75 m2 airport library will feature several ‘reading towers’ with (translated) Dutch literature, a reading table equiped with iPads, and there will be laid-back reading chairs and seats with integrated listening devices. Visitors will not be allowed to borrow books, DVDs or other items though. A separate ‘download station’ will be available instead, allowing passengers to download digital content to their personal devices. The library says it hopes travelers will become interested in a specific book or topic when visiting the library and will look it up again once they return home.
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Airport vehicles go green

15 April 2010 | Many airlines and airports already try to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from operations on the ground where possible. JetBlue, Air France-KLM and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport are taking another step by introducing non-CO2 emitting ground vehicles.

JetBlue says it has just purchased a new environmentally-friendly utility truck for use by its technical operations team at New York’s JFK airport. The MILES electric work truck’s maximum speed is 25 miles an hour and travels 50-60 miles (80-95 km) on a charge. JetBlue says it plans to purchase additional vehicles to reduce its carbon footprint and consumption of fuel.
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Airports reward employees for green commuting

16 February 2010 | As part of their environmental programs, a number of airports are introducing schemes that reduce traffic congestion and environmental impact. Initiatives vary from facilitating employees and customers to share a car when travelling to and from the airport, to rewarding staff and passengers driving a hybrid, electric or other fuel efficient vehicle with designated parking lots located close to the airport terminal or workplace.

Since January 2010, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is rewarding employees working at the airport with the best parking spots on the staff parking areas. Employees that drive a hybrid or small fuel efficient car (emission below 110 gram CO2/km) can apply for a so-called ‘ECO2 parking badge’ which has to be placed behind the front screen of the car. 
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KLM and Schiphol Airport use social network for innovation contest

29 October 2009 | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, and Dutch social-networking site Hyves have launched a competition, called ‘Creative Challenge’. Hyves is  the largest online community in the Netherlands with over 9 million members.

The contest challenges young people (aged 15 to 25) in the Netherlands to present their visions of the future of the airline industry. Participants can write, design or make a video about their idea and post it on Hyves, where other ‘Hyvers’ can vote for it. The competition has been announced on October 26 and at last count over 700 ‘Hyvers’ have become a ‘friend’ of the contest. The ‘Creative Challenge’ is also advertised on passenger information screens at Schiphol Airport.
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