The recent news about JFK airport’s Terminal 4 evolution got CXM all curious about the future of air travel and how the JFK customer experience is changing. Fortunately, Maddy Kossakowski, Designit’s executive experience design director, and Belinda Jain, vice president, customer experience and commercial at JFK International Air Terminal – the operator of Terminal 4 – were on hand to chat about the massive changes as part of the multi-billion dollar redesign.
They joined CXM to discuss the transformation of JFK Terminal 4, focusing on evolving the passenger experience through infrastructure improvements, technology investments (including AI), and commercial redevelopment with experiential elements.
Tell us about this massive project and your roles
Belinda: JFK T4 is the largest terminal at JFK, recording 27.7 million passengers in 2024. It operates across 22 airlines, with Delta as our anchor tenant. JFKIAT, which is T4’s steward, has a legacy of fostering a collaborative culture with its airline partners and stakeholders. The company’s strategic focus and entrepreneurial culture have resulted in creating an effective ecosystem where innovation and a customer-centric approach have created incredible journeys for passengers.
In my role, I’m responsible for generating and managing the company’s non-aviation revenues, leading the customer experience and all marketing efforts.
The $1.5 billion transformation of Terminal 4 broke ground in 2021, as part of the $19B redevelopment of JFK Airport, ushering in impactful investments in both the physical and digital aspects of the terminal, including expansion of the terminal capacity. It initiated significant upgrades to support continuous growth in T4’s passenger traffic, seamless operations, advanced sustainability initiatives, and cutting-edge technologies to innovate the terminal’s systems for the future.
How is phase 2 of the transformation progressing?
We are now entering into what I would call the second phase of our transformation, which is really perfecting the art of travel and focusing on the passenger experience, which is part of our collaboration with Designit.
Maddy: I’m an executive experience design director at Designit, an experience innovation firm which works across strategy, design, marketing, and technology to bring creative solutions to the different clients that we work with and their challenges. And we’re working in close partnership with JFK Terminal 4, Belinda and her team on this.
Belinda: It is also important to understand that JFK has multiple terminal operators, and each terminal operator manages their own terminal. Across our transformation at T4, we’re cohesively implementing world-class standards without disrupting the passenger journey. For example, we’re exploring how to implement personalised, omnichannel suggestions and continuing to optimise passenger flow.
Designit’s role in establishing a north-star vision for the Terminal 4 customer experience (CX) is to perfect the art of air travel. We have conducted extensive research with passengers, employees, and business partners to understand their perceptions and define a shared vision that considers all stakeholders. This vision emphasises a “T4 state of mind” uniting pride, community, and innovation. We collaborate across the community of employees and business partners that make Terminal 4 run to deliver a strong experience.
Maddy: The north-star vision will essentially impact the entirety of the T4 experience so while it’s very much anchored against a customer experience strategy, we’re also making sure we’re looking at the experience through the lens of all stakeholders – employees, commercial partners, and airline partners to encapsulate the ambiance of the terminal as well.
What differentiates T4 JFK for passengers compared to other airports and the previous CX infrastructure?
Belinda: Throughout the terminal redevelopment, the use of technology has become a key driver to ensure seamless operations. We took an innovation-first mindset to reimagine the check-in experience in particular in self-service check-in kiosks, in self-service bag drop units, and in digital signage throughout the building.
Maddy: For passengers, one focus is on personalisation, and how we can make sure we’re providing that personalised experience to everyone who goes through the terminal. This is still being implemented, so it is in the early phases. But the vision right now is to provide passengers with smart, relevant, contextual suggestions and recommendations about their end-to-end terminal experience, and also make sure any interventions aren’t intrusive.
Belinda: Personalisation comes from understanding our passenger personas and meeting their individual needs. For example, for passengers with sensory needs, we have partnered with Kulture City to develop a sensory pod that we opened last year. This can help them escape the hustle and bustle of an airport and reconnect.
How is the hospitality side of T4 changing?
Belinda: We are putting a huge focus on a hospitality culture. Again, it is a work in progress, but our approach is to move beyond the traditional airside formula of cramming in retail and food outlets for a captive audience. We are taking a hybrid approach, mixing retail and experience – for example a coffee shop which also provides books, or combining healthy food and beverage offering with relaxation and spa services.
Maddy: In line with that hybrid approach, we’re exploring elements like live entertainment with food, or a meditation lounge with wellness drinks before a long flight, that can enable a more relaxing and enjoyable experience.
Can we discuss the data side of running JFK T4?
Maddy: Data and AI are at the core of T4’s customer experience. Designit’s parent company, Wipro, is a technology partner supporting elements of T4’s digital transformation. Wipro has been implementing dashboards for JFKIAT’s leaders, including one for CX that allows you to track progress and measure impact of improvements. And we are incorporating AI for relevant insights, balancing any AI-driven improvements with maintaining an authentic human touch in the passenger experience.
Belinda: Behind the scenes, we are advancing the technology to monitor traffic flow, personalisation and deliver omnichannel insights for passengers that are timely and useful. And we’re optimising the use of AI for passenger flow management, resource allocation, and proactive insights to help with smooth operations.
And what are the signs of progress and positive feedback?
Belinda: Well, we are monitoring through what we call Airport Service Quality, which tracks passenger satisfaction from curb to gate, and through the terminal services. Every quarter over the last few years, we’ve been seeing progress as a matter of fact, on key elements.
For instance, more recently, we have invested both in the renovation and enhanced the janitorial operations of our service provider, including real-time feedback. Should a passenger share any negative comment, our service provider is able to act on it immediately. And we have seen significant improvement in the overall experience from passengers.
Maddy: As we look at the road ahead and continue to partner with JFKIAT and Terminal 4 to implement their North Star, we’re delivering a seamless experience for its passengers that incorporates hybrid retail, as well as personalised, omnichannel innovations.
We look forward to visiting the new T4 soon to see all these improvements for ourselves. And if you’ve been through the new terminal, let us know what you think.