Hitting new heights: Bangalore International Airport celebrates Pinnacle by BLR Awards

INDIA. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has once again recognised partners within the wider airport ecosystem at its annual Pinnacle by BLR Awards, held on 30 May at the BIAL-run Taj Bengaluru hotel.

The event also saw the progressive airport company launch two extraordinary innovations, its own fragrance and sonic identity (see below).

The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie was honoured to be one of a three-person judging panel for the submission-based awards section (see table below for results).

The Pinnacle by BLR programme is designed to redefine excellence in the aviation sector by celebrating outstanding achievements among stakeholders, including retailers, food & beverage providers, airlines, car rental companies and others.

Welcoming guests to the evening, BIAL Managing Director and CEO Hari Marar said, “You will hear about the individual performances of people who’ve gone above and beyond in doing some exceptional acts.

“You will hear celebration of the power of partnership and collaboration; and celebration of the spirit of BLR airport – the very spirit that powers everything that we do in this campus and makes this airport truly what it is.”

Marar said BLR had achieved several milestones since the previous Pinnacle Awards, notably reaching the 40 million passenger mark.

“This catapults us into the category of large airports around the world. So from this year onwards, we belong to the big boys’ club,” he said to applause.

“During the course of this year, in partnership with many of the airlines present here, we launched several routes. Today we are connected to 111 destinations in India and outside. We also launched a series of new concessions with our commercial partners… and pioneered several service initiatives, all of which have really cemented Bangalore Airport’s place as one of the greatest infrastructure success stories in India.”

Marar spoke proudly of Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru Terminal 2 being awarded the Skytrax 5-Star airport terminal rating – the only Indian airport to have achieved the status. “This also puts us in a really small group of airports around the world who’ve been able to achieve this,” he commented.

“At the same award ceremony, we also were recognised for being the best regional airport in India and South Asia, again a fantastic achievement for us.

“I think all of this is reflective of our deep belief that the customer and the customer experience have to be at the centre of everything that we do, everything that we build, everything that we design and everything that we deliver.”

Marar also spoke glowingly about the focus BIAL has placed on its hospitality offer. “Our journey has taken on a new trajectory, specifically with our 080 lounges,” he said. “They have taken it up one notch and raised the bar after winning last year the FAB domestic lounge of the year.

“This year we received another two very important awards, the Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Award, as well as the Travel + Leisure awards. This is very special to us because it was on the basis of voting by the users of the lounge.”

Scenting further success

Marar also announced the release of ‘Dancing Bamboo’, an airport fragrance designed to create a multi-sensory, immersive experience for passengers. The fragrance will be deployed in various airport areas, including the arrivals hall, check-in zone and boarding gates.

“We’ve always stated that we want the airport experience to be an extraordinary and unforgettable experience, and there’s nothing that makes it more unforgettable than when it is soothing, calming, truly immersive and multi-sensory,” Marar explained.

“Terminal 2 was always designed to be a terminal that offered passengers an experience of strolling through a garden and in keeping with this vision, we thought it important to add another dimension to this experience. So you will actually smell this fragrance as you travel through the airport.”

Creating a sonic identity

In another key initiative, Marar announced a new sonic identity for the airport, based on BLR’s ‘The World is Waiting For You’, composed by Grammy-winning artist Ricky Kej and released last year.

“Lots of people have danced to this and enjoyed this music so much that we’ve now decided to adopt this music as our new sonic identity. You will see this tune now being creatively adapted and very imaginatively presented at various touchpoints at the airport, so that it enhances your experience at the airport, and it reminds you of Bangalore Airport whenever you hear this music.”

Marar explained the difficulty of creating a sonic identity. To achieve it, BIAL hired Rajiv Raja, Founder & Soundsmith of BrandMusiq, India’s number one sonic branding agency and one of the country’s finest jazz and fusion flautists.

Marar called Raja to stage, who explained to guests, “When we were analysing this piece of music, we had to look at different elements. Just like every brand has a logo, we create a mogo or musical logo.

“So we had to look at hooks that everybody would instantly recognise and register. One key part of Ricky’s anthem is the chorus. When we were designing the sonic identity, we created what we call a mogoscape – the sonic theme of the brand within which is the mogo.

“We had to express the essence of BLR airport, which is turning airports into magical destinations. So therefore there had to be a magical feel to it.

“We also wanted to communicate the inclusiveness and caring nature of the BLR brand as well as delight and inspiration.” Raja then played a video showing how ‘The World is Waiting For You’ had been turned into BLR’s sonic identity, capturing “all the elements and the essence of Bengaluru.”

On a night of so many high notes, it was a thrillingly appropriate way to encapsulate what this fine airport is all about.