Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2026

In partnership with SFO, the Bay Area Host Committee and Gen City Labs installed two Proto Hologram experiences that give Mayor Lurie and Chastain a lifelike sense of presence, making the welcome moment engaging, memorable, and highly shareable for travelers. The hologram installations are located post security in Terminal 2 across from the Amex Lounge and in Terminal 3 near the E Gates food court area. Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) recently made a similar move. During the NFL Draft, hundreds of thousands of visitors passed through PIT . Waiting for them, around the clock, were life-size holographic musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, performing inside a nearly seven foot-tall, 400-pound display conceived by Joe Zeff, president of Joe Zeff Design . Zeff wanted to reframe what a first impression could be. “A hologram collapses the distance between audience and musician. It’s not a screen you watch, it’s a presence you can feel. The depth, scale, and sound of the device create the illusion that the musician is right there with you,” he said.

Zeff was deliberate about placement. “No matter when you arrive, you step into something already in motion, a moment of beauty waiting for you,” he said. “We placed the device in front of a beautiful photograph of downtown Pittsburgh, blending the sights and sounds that show our city at its best.” Beyond The Screen The PIT and SFO installations are examples of a technology that advocates say is fundamentally different from the digital displays airports have relied on for decades. “This feeling of presence is very real, when you feel like that person is sharing the same space with you,” said David Nussbaum, founder and executive chairman of Proto Hologram Technologies . “There’s a physical and emotional experience that you can’t get from a flatscreen.” Proto Hologram has become the go-to hardware for airport hologram installations, with devices now running in terminals across the country. Nussbaum envisions holographic avatars functioning as

Above: During the passenger surge from the NFL Draft held earlier this year, Pittsburgh International Airport installed life-size holographic musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, performing inside a nearly seven-foot-tall, 400-pound display. Credit: Proto Hologram interactive wayfinding tools, a recognizable figure that a traveler could approach and ask where to find currency exchange or even the best slice of pizza nearby. For families with children, Nussbaum sees storytelling potential, with a holographic pilot who could field questions from curious kids in the gatehold area. And for airports looking to generate revenue from the real estate holograms occupy, the technology may carry a commercial advantage over traditional advertising. “There are LEDs and cardboard cutouts everywhere, but holograms are causing longer dwell times for passengers because the content is more experiential,” Nussbaum said. “It’s engaging with you.” That engagement carries measurable results. “When something appears like it’s in the room with you, you tend to

41

AX NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2026