INDIA. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has appointed airport hospitality services provider Plaza Premium Group (PPG) to manage passenger services at Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport under a ten-year agreement.
Under what the partners call a ‘One Team, One Airport, One Experience, One Platform’ model, summarised as ‘The Power of One’ the contract covers 22 areas of the business. PPG will have responsibility for business segments such as Service Delivery, Control Center, Training Center, Customer Engagement, Marketing Communications, Sales & Distribution and Technology.
Services include Meet and Assist, Porter Services, Luggage Storage and Flower Booking, PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility) Services, Limo Services, Concierge Services, Valet Parking, Car Spa, Travel Concierge, Pet Care Service, Personal Shopper, Robotic Assistance and more, with others to be introduced.
BIAL and PPG said they will collaborate in addressing the desires of ‘New Travel’ with a focus on “seamless service delivery, world-class standards and quality, technology and innovation, as well as commercial optimisation”.
Plaza Premium Group has teamed up with global IT services leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop an end-to-end passenger services technology platform. This will connect the complex areas of reservation, sales & marketing, customer engagement, back-of-house command and control, manpower management, training centre and the entire operation information management.
The newly developed PPG Passenger Services Technology Platform will be tailored to suit BIAL’s passengers’ needs, said the partners. The platform will include an omnichannel booking engine which enables worldwide sales & distribution, a Customer Engagement Center with customer profiling & personalisation capabilities, a Service Delivery Platform for dispatch and real-time incident management, and a Back Office System.
PPG is also partnered with one-stop customer engagement technology service provider oneDirect to ensure passenger interactions are managed through a single platform via various touchpoints. PPG said it will “optimise and commercialise the customer experience and achieve the vision for unmatched, memorable, world-class passenger journeys”.
BIAL Managing Director & CEO Hari Marar said: “We are optimistic that our timely partnership with Plaza Premium Group (PPG) will bolster our mission to transform passenger experiences at BLR Airport. The Power of One concept will ensure optimal service and safety standards, along with seamless airport experience. This partnership is a positive step towards restoring passenger confidence in air travel.”
“We are beyond grateful to be trusted by BIAL to jointly create world-class airport experience and very importantly, to serve millions of domestic and international travellers in the new era of travel,” said PPG Founder & CEO Song-Hoi-see.
“India is one of the fasting growing air travel markets with Bangalore as the key driving force. PPG is no stranger to the Indian travel market and we see huge potential in the travel market. We have strategised to invest over US$15 million and will deploy a workforce of over 800 staff over the ten years, supported by our Hong Kong-based headquarters, with the hope to grow with BIAL in the years to come. With a strong local alliance with TCS and oneDirect, we are confident that we will be able to take BLR’s passenger service to the next level with data-driven decision-making, advanced technology and very importantly, the PPG team’s love and passion for quality customer service.”
PPG’s experience in the Indian market includes lounges, transit hotels and meet and greet services across key airports including Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Chandigarh International Airport and Visakhapatnam Airport.
