As passengers are getting more connected, their expectations are rising towards airlines to remove the inconveniences of air travel and do much more than just fly them from A to B. Mobile technology has already had a significant impact on the passenger journey and while many digital innovations – think United Airlines and Uber, easyJet’s ‘Mobile Host’, Transavia’s ‘pre-flight entertainment’, and Singapore Airlines’ upcoming Companion app – offer convenient services, these tend to be focused on a specific area rather than align the whole journey. Meanwhile, airlines are looking to increase margins by introducing ancillary services and are beginning to take a holistic look at the customer journey, and provide empowered passengers – who want to be in control of their journey – with a personalised and stress-free end-to-end travel experience. In this presentation, recent airline initiatives will illustrate how digital devices, connectivity, data, service design and merchandising skills are coming together to provide a ‘passenger-centric’ door-to-door experience.

1. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
DIGITAL INNOVATION AND THE END-TO-END PASSENGER EXPERIENCE
PASSENGER EXPERIENCE CONFERENCE, 4 APRIL 2016
RAYMOND KOLLAU | FOUNDER AIRLINETRENDS | RAYMOND@AIRLINETRENDS.COM | +31 6 4186 1136 | WWW.AIRLINETRENDS.COM

2. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS OF TODAY’S CONNECTED PASSENGERS: ON-DEMAND, REAL-TIME, END-TO-END
Expectations of airline passengers are not only shaped by how well an
airline performs versus its direct competitors. They are also fuelled by
standards set by experiences that consumers have in other industries, as
innovative products and services in one industry raise the bar for all
industries. This means airlines and airports need to tune into the customer
from a holistic perspective when designing the passenger experience.
At this year’s Passenger Experience Conference, AirlineTrends founder
Raymond Kollau delivered a presentation about ‘Digital Innovation and the
End-to-End Passenger Experience’.
Below is the outline of our talk, illustrated by several few examples of how
airlines are tapping into the changing consumer behaviour and expectations
of today’s connected travellers.
On Demand
As smartphones make it quick and hassle-free to order goods online, flag a taxi via
Uber, or what have you, the on-demand economy has generated a sense of
entitlement to fast, simple and efficient experiences as it taps into consumers’
appetite for greater convenience, speed, and simplicity. For example, analysis from
Uber shows the longer Uber has been in a city, the less willing to wait for a car
everyone becomes.
In the food and beverage industry, Starbucks’ new pre-order app has become a
very popular time-saving service, while airport restaurateur OTG has installed
thousands of food-ordering iPads at half a dozen U.S. airports.
And a growing number of airlines – including Virgin America, Air New Zealand,
Japan Airlines, Norwegian, Azul – allow passengers to order meals, snacks and
drinks via the in-seat IFE system in between regular meal services, while Qantas
and EVA Air offer passengers the option to purchase duty free via the Panasonic
eX3 IFE systems. Passengers onboard leisure carrier TUI Netherlands can even
order drinks and duty free via their own smartphones.
These on-demand services allows for retailing to occur throughout the entire
duration of a flight rather than a limited time when the flight attendant walks the
aisle.

3. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS OF TODAY’S CONNECTED PASSENGERS: ON-DEMAND, REAL-TIME, END-TO-END
Real-time
Furthermore, the ability to be connected on the ground and
increasingly up in the air – combined with airlines’ growing commitment
to digitally-led service innovation – allows passengers to be in the
know about the progress of their journey in real-time.
Delta in 2011 became the first airline to make the baggage process
more transparent for passengers by launching its ‘Track Checked
Bags’ service. Available for domestic flights, Delta passengers can use
the ‘Track My Bag’ functionality on the Delta mobile app to scan their
baggage tag with their smartphone camera. And, as Delta has
equipped its entire domestic fleet with GoGo’s in-flight Internet,
passengers can even check up in the air whether their bag has made it
on their flight using the free access to delta.com and the mobile app.
Surprisingly, Delta’s ‘Track My Bags’ service has been introduced by
very few other carriers – although the rapid developments in digital
luggage tags will no doubt change this. American Airlines since the fall
of 2015 lets passenges track their luggage via its website (but not yet
via its app), while Lufthansa has just announced a comprehensive
‘baggage experience’, allowing passengers to track their bags via the
Lufthansa app, as well as launching a digital baggage tag in
partnership with Rimowa.
End-to-end
Passengers, spoilt by availability of user-centric apps on their smartphones, are raising
the bar for airline apps to become more relevant as well. A growing number of airlines are
working to evolve their app into a ‘digital travel companion’ in order to extend their service
beyond just flying passengers from A to B.
This approach is most visible today in the digital partnerships that airlines such as United
and American have forged with Uber. In mid-2014, Uber announced it would open up its
application program interface (API) so any app developer could integrate the on-demand
car service into their app. Basically, all it takes is to add a few lines of code and an Uber
button is part of the app.
Digital eco-systems
Further expanding its open digital eco-system approach, Uber recently launched Uber Trip
Experiences which allows users to integrate mobile notifications and content from third
parties into their Uber app. The idea is that while passengers are in an Uber car on the
way to their destination, other apps and services can push them content during their ride
which can be customized since data about the destination and duration can be used.
Lufthansa is one of the airlines that has fully embraced this open platform mentality and
the airline’s Innovation Hub in Berlin is taking a leading role in turning Lufthansa into a so-
called ‘end-to-end digital travel ecosystem’.
As Sebastian Herzog, Managing Director and Chief Strategist of Lufthansa’s Innovation
Hub, summarizes it nicely: “While Lufthansa traditionally sees itself ‘only’ as an airline,
digital transformation drives the connectivity and interdependence of all mobility services.
In such a scenario, it is important to understand and build ecosystems while proving the
ability to share data and partner.”

4. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
CONNECTED
PASSENGERSFOCUS: DAY OF TRAVEL

5. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
APP EVOLUTION: EASYJET
BOOKING
WAYFINDING

6. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
REAL-TIME TRACKING
DELTA (2011) LUFTHANSA x RIMOWA
DIGITAL BAG TAG | MARCH 2016

7. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
AIR NZ » WELCOME IN THE LOUNGE
PUSH NOTIFICATION

8. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
AIR TRANSAT ‘PRE-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT’

9. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
SQ ‘COMPANION APP’

10. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
LH SYSTEMS ‘BOARDCONNECT’ » COMMERCE

11. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/20/gogo-opens-up-its-apis-to-allow-developers-to-build-better-in-flight-apps/
OPEN INNOVATION

12. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY > DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
“What if the inflight (wireless) IFE portal or airline
app becomes an integrated touchpoint as part of
an end-to-end airline service, entertainment and
merchandizing platform/ecosystem?”

13. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
UBER INSIDE

14. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION

15. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
GOOGLE MAPS AS PLATFORM
“Google’s goal is clear – when you
need to go somewhere, Google
wants you to fire up the Google
Maps app first and quickly figure
out whether it is faster to hop on a
bus, walk or cycle a few blocks,
find a ride-sharing service, or hail a
taxi.”

16. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
DIGITAL INNOVATION » API ECONOMY » PLATFORM COMPETITION
“The most effective new
innovations are re-combinations to
solve specific customer problems
and mobile apps are the best way
to deliver this.”
“Open APIs provide the opportunity
to integrate multiple third-party
features in an app that already has
an audience”

17. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
“The first iPhone was little more than a phone, web
browser and mp3 player crammed into a single shell.
Only later, with the launch of the app store, did it
become clear that something deeper was changing.
Uber remains the embodiment of the disruptive new
services that became possible.” – Financial Times, 04.16
IT’S BEEN NINE YEARS…

18. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
UBER AS DIGITAL ECO-SYSTEM
Uber in 2016…

19. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
AIRLINES AS END-TO-END DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS
“The real disruptions of the future will come from the digital giants.”
“While Lufthansa traditionally sees itself ‘only’ as an airline, digital
transformation drives the connectivity and interdependence of all
mobility services.”
“Products such as ‘flights’ will be way more integrated in the future
with other experiences. In such a scenario, it is important to
understand and build eco-systems while proving the ability to
share data and partner.”
– Sebastian Herzog, Managing Director & Chief Strategist, Lufthansa Innovation Hub

20. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
AIRLINETRENDS » INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION
CONTEXT
Economic Power Shift
Demographics
Value Competition
Platform Competition
Sustainability
EMPOWERED
Connected
Digital
Choice
Control
Real-Time
Transparency
EXPERIENCES
Expectations
Convenience
Hospitality
Storytelling
Human Brands
“Trends emerge
as innovators
address basic
human needs in
new ways.”

21. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
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22. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
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23. 2016 AIRLINETRENDS.COM
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PASSENGER EXPERIENCE CONFERENCE, 4 APRIL 2016
RAYMOND KOLLAU | FOUNDER AIRLINETRENDS | RAYMOND@AIRLINETRENDS.COM | +31 6 4186 1136 | WWW.AIRLINETRENDS.COM