Thoughts on the MagicBand and Air Travel

In fact, it’s called the paradox of choice: You make people happier not by giving them more options but by stripping away as many as you can.
— Cliff Kuang, Wire

Original Article: Disney's $1 Billion Bet on a Magical Wristband | WIRED

Was reading the article on WIRED.com about Disney's MagicBand and how it created seamless transitions before, during and after your experience at Disneyland that greatly enhanced your experience, allowing you to focus on enjoying and eliminating as many barriers to it as possible. As I was reading it, I also kept drawing a parallel to the airline industry and what airlines could do to provide this seamless, almost magical experience.

From my research into airline brands in a project I was working on last term, I realized that airlines have so much potential to expand their service offering beyond the flight experience. There are many airlines with an already good brand reputation and each has its own loyal following, and they could leverage on that, providing services that transcend beyond the cockpit of the plane. This could also open up new revenue streams that help ease the pressure placed on them with fuel costs etc.

Perhaps airport security organizations like the TSA could take a cue from Disney's MagicBand, to provide a seamless service and experience that we are so sorely missing, especially the mess that is the airports today.