Personalized journeys
Flight details, passenger answers, airport position, route, and remaining time combined to determine the next relevant action.
Transportation / Aviation
Montréal-Trudeau Airport Passenger Navigation & Contextual Engagement Platform
A full passenger-experience platform delivered across mobile, cloud, CMS, location services, integrations, and analytics.
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- macOS
- Cloud
Overview
One system for the full airport journey
Aéroports de Montréal needed more than a static directory or terminal map. The correct next step changes with the passenger's flight, departure time, airport zone, baggage, travel context, and whether they are departing, arriving, connecting, or meeting someone.
Underlabs designed and delivered a unified ecosystem of production iOS and Android applications, cloud services, a desktop content-management platform, analytics, flight-data integrations, geofencing, contextual notifications, and step-by-step indoor guidance.
The challenge
Turn changing passenger context into the right next step
The platform needed to interpret several live and passenger-provided signals at once:
- FlightNumber, gate, boarding time, changes, and destination
- JourneyDeparting, arriving, connecting, or meeting a traveler
- ReadinessBaggage, boarding pass, SecurXpress, or Nexus
- LocationCurrent airport zone and movement between zones
- TimingWait times and remaining time before boarding or landing
- ContextBusiness or family travel and relevant airport services
The result was a universal platform that could guide passengers throughout the airport journey while allowing administrators to deliver flight information and promotions based on where each passenger was located.
The solution
Mobile guidance, operational control, and contextual engagement
Indoor guidance
Step-by-step directions led passengers to baggage drop, security, passport control, services, shops, restaurants, and gates.
Flight integrations
Departures, arrivals, boarding information, gate changes, wait times, parking, SecurXpress, and direct alerts supported the journey.
Contextual messaging
Zone, entry, exit, dwell time, schedule, opening hours, flight, traveler context, and cooldown rules controlled message delivery.
Desktop CMS
Authorized airport teams managed users, flights, geofences, promotions, direct flight alerts, settings, and reporting from macOS and Windows.
Analytics
Dashboards covered users, zone events, notification delivery and opens, click-through rates, promotion performance, errors, and exports.
The operating system behind the journey
From passenger profile to location-aware action
Desktop content management
A unified view of passengers and flights
Airport personnel could review account activity and saved flights, restrict access when necessary, and send a direct message to one passenger or a group associated with a flight.
Contextual promotions
Messages tied to the passenger's real journey
Administrators could select airport zones, choose entry, exit, or dwell-time triggers, set schedules and opening hours, define an action, and prevent repetitive notifications with cooldown rules.
Geofence architecture
Large-zone context without a Bluetooth dependency
Overlapping virtual zones identified entry, exit, and dwell time across public, Canadian, international, and United States areas. Distance-filtered GPS reduced unnecessary location checks as passengers approached and moved through the terminal.
Step-by-step journey
Guidance that adapts as the trip changes
The mobile experience combined the map, live flight context, route priorities, and the passenger's next action. The guidance model supported departures, arrivals, connections, and meeting another traveler.
Location strategy
Why geofences were the right foundation
For airport-scale zones, geofences provided the signals the engagement needed without requiring passengers to enable Bluetooth:
- Detect entry into a virtual airport zone
- Measure configurable dwell time inside a zone
- Detect when a passenger exits or moves between zones
- Work across overlapping zones larger than 100 metres
- Continue determining position without a required internet connection
Geofences + GPS
Designed for broad airport context, overlapping terminal areas, and distance-filtered location checks.
Beacon limitations
Bluetooth had to be enabled, signals could vary around metal and other interference, accuracy changed with battery and device position, and hardware required battery maintenance.
Result
An integrated airport passenger-experience platform
The completed system brought passenger navigation, real-time flight information, contextual communication, commercial engagement, and airport analytics together in one operational platform.
- Guide passengers through complex terminal journeys
- Tailor instructions to flight and travel context
- Deliver zone- and dwell-time-based communications
- Communicate flight changes directly
- Centralize content, targeting, and reporting
- Provide airport-scale guidance without depending on Bluetooth beacons
Project facts
ClientAéroports de Montréal
IndustryTransportation / Aviation
PlatformsiOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Cloud
ServicesCustom software, mobile apps, systems integration, location-aware software, CMS and analytics
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