An iPad, a Smile and Help When You Need It

If you’re trying to navigate Pittsburgh International Airport this summer, you might just run into Emilie Yosten, asking if she can help you out.

Yosten is one of four Carlow University graduates selected for a one-year pilot program aimed at enhancing the passenger experience at PIT.

“I think when people travel, they are in a zone, trying to get to their gate and get to where they need to be,” Yosten said. “So I think making it a more personal experience and developing relationships with the passengers is going to be a great thing for the airport.”

The teamwork with Carlow is the latest collaboration between the airport and leading regional educational institutions. The airport signed a deal with Carnegie Mellon University last year that makes the terminal a testing ground for technology.

Similarly, officials hope the Carlow program will blossom into a testing ground for improving the customer experience. The airport also routinely works with the University of Pittsburgh and Robert Morris University on projects.

Walking through the terminal to provide on-the-go assistance for travelers, Yosten and her fellow customer care agents will complement the existing support provided by customer service representatives stationed at information desks in the airport’s Airside and Landside terminals.

“The idea is to enhance the overall experience at the airport in a way that no other U.S. airports are really doing,” said Brian Stashak, vice president of customer and tenant experience. “This program will allow us to provide additional customer service in a unique way through activating a mobile team that can serve as the eyes and ears of the airport.