Interview with Ursula Silling, CEO at Branchspace and Stefanie Harder, Director Passenger Management at Hamburg Airport – “The future is in digitalisation and the collaboration between airports and airlines.”

Airlines and airports have a complex relationship. Although they are partners on one hand, they remain deeply siloed on the other. To produce the best overall customer journey, airlines and airports must collaborate.

This interview brings together Ursula Silling, CEO at Branchspace and Stefanie Harder, Director Passenger Management at Hamburg Airport, to explore collaboration between airlines and airports, and technology’s role in this intersect.

Silling has spent the majority of her career working directly with a range of airlines and has also managed a think thank in a joint venture with Hamburg Airport. Complementing this, Harder began her career working in an airline before moving to Hamburg Airport where she has spent 20 years working in the airport sphere. Drawing on the combined insight of Silling and Harder, the interview takes a look at collaboration between airlines and airports through the lens of the customer journey.

Framing the discussion, both Silling and Harder described the experience of a traveller in an ideal world. Each painted a similar picture, featuring a convenient, seamless, interconnected journey through the airport. Using this as the aspirational model, the discussion delved into the need for collaboration between airlines and airports in order to make this a reality. Drawing on their individual experiences within the industry, Silling and Harder also explored what is preventing this seamless journey and the role that technology plays in facilitating collaboration between the siloes.

Watch the 20-minute interview below.

Article by Jess Brownlow

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