Known as the gateway to Australia, Sydney Airport is the busiest and most globally connected in the entire region, hosting 44 million passengers a year as they transit to and from destinations across Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. It’s also one of the oldest continuously operated commercial airports in the world, having celebrated its centenary in 2020. 

Introducing tripsim – the ultimate travel essential for Sydney Airport passengers 

Passengers preparing for departure from Sydney Airport have plenty of opportunities to stock up on last-minute travel essentials, thanks to a host of retail stores throughout its three terminals. One ‘must-have’ for those about to embark on foreign trips is mobile data either because their existing data plans won’t work abroad or can prove very expensive when roaming. This is where tripsim comes in, says Sydney Airport Head of Commercial Analytics, Michael Brown: 

“Data roaming can be expensive. Rather than accept this on behalf of the millions of travellers who board flights through Sydney Airport, we wanted to provide our customers with a viable solution: tripsim, fast, reliable and affordable data eSIM plans covering over 150 countries worldwide.”

tripsim is the result of a partnership with eSIM Go that delivers a range of low-cost, easy-to-consume eSIM data roaming plans to those jetting off on their travels worldwide. It’s vastly superior to the temporary SIM card options that passengers might typically consider, as it’s fully digital and based on eSIM technology that carries none of the technical risks and challenges associated with physical SIM cards. 

“Using the tripsim web app, passengers can choose from a range of data bundles for different destinations and have that allowance added to the eSIM on their device in seconds.” 

Enhanced passenger insights and optimised customer experience

Like many airports worldwide, Sydney Airport had little commercial interaction with the thousands of passengers transiting through its terminals each day aside from comprehensive car parking facilities. In 2022, the Sydney team identified eSIM as a great opportunity to deepen customer engagement with a compelling new service offering that would drive new revenue streams and add to the Sydney Airport passenger experience.

“Having flown half-way across the world to attend the Future Travel Event in Dublin, I reached out to eSIM Go to discuss the opportunity of eSIM, and how Sydney Airport could embrace it on behalf of our customers.” 

“Combining the expertise of both the Sydney Airport team, and the team at eSIM Go, we were able to establish the ideal eSIM offering to our customers.”

Darren Shaw, eSIM Go’s Chief Product Officer picks up the rest of the story:

“Once Michael reached out to us, we were in the ideal position to move quickly. We helped the Sydney Airport team establish a fit for their customers through a collaborative design sprint technique we adapted from a Google Ventures-originated approach. This resulted in a working prototype that formed the basis of the technical design and build of tripsim as we see it today.”

Sydney Airport’s eSIM-enabled tripsim proposition went live at the beginning of May 2023, setting it apart from other airports in the region. Despite the time zone differences between Australia and eSIM Go in Europe, the combined project team took full advantage of technological platforms to enable the collaboration – developing an outstanding data eSIM offering to Sydney’s jetsetters. 

Speaking at tripsim’s launch, Sydney Airport’s Executive General Manager of Commercial, Mark Zaouk, said:

“We are always looking for ways to support our passengers in the terminals, but this is the first time we have offered a product to enhance their entire holiday experience.”

“Every year millions of Australians fly out of our T1 international terminal and we’re proud to deliver a new affordable product to help them stay connected while travelling overseas.”