easyJet makes it easier

European low-cost airline, easyJet, hopes to improve passenger travel experience with its rollout of iBeacon, a Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) wireless technology designed to provide location-based information and services to iPhones and other iOS 7 devices.

The technology is being trialed at London Luton, London Gatwick, and Paris Charles De Gaulle Airports, and uses the passenger's Bluetooth signal to identify their proximity to the beacon - allowing the delivery of timely and helpful notifications to passenger's mobiles at designated stages of the airport journey.

As Peter Duffy, Commercial Director for easyJet, puts it, "This is another example of how easyJet is innovating to make travel easier for passengers across Europe. By becoming the first airline to trial iBeacons across Europe we can help speed up the airport journey and provide assistance to our passengers making it even easier to fly easyJet."

easyJet is just the third airline to deploy the potentially revolutionary technology, following the lead of Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines. While easyJet's introduction of the iBeacon is simply a trial, the airline is optimistic that the system will ultimately become standard equipment.