38 SIMplIFyIng The BuSIneSS
SIMplIFyIng The BuSIneSS 39
Moving with the times
Andrew Mahon explores the potential of mobile technology. If it’s to play a part in the Fast Travel process of tomorrow, challenges must be overcome
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it possible for your passengers to print boarding passes or download them to their mobile phone and go through security.”
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t’s a logical extension of today’s technology-based, selfservice airline strategy – offering customers the ability to check-in, get a boarding pass and board the aircraft, all with their mobile phone. Certainly, market penetration of mobile phones has reached a critical mass with Forrester Research predicting continued growth. It estimates that approximately 87% of U.S. consumers and 84% of Europeans will have mobile devices – virtually all with internet access capability – by the end of 2012. In Japan, 95% of leisure passengers already have mobiles, while in metropolitan India mobile phone use is almost universal as the country, like many others, essentially bypassed the landline. “Mobile technology presents a new digital challenge for the airlines to communicate with and engage the customer,” says Henry Harteveldt, Vice President and Principal Analyst in Airline/Travel Industry Research for Forrester. He points to other industries that have successfully harnessed the unique qualities of the mobile phone channel to add value for customers. Retail banking in particular is one sector that is quickly moving ahead with mobile applications. “For example, in the U.S., Chase Bank sends fraud alerts to customers via their
mobile phones,” says Harteveldt. “The customers are alerted if there is an unusual amount of activity on their credit card or bank account.” The hospitality industry is also leveraging the technology. In Las Vegas, the Luxor Hotel has partnered with the U.S. mobile carrier Sprint to allow customers arriving in the city to receive a welcome message and give them the ability to check-in before actually reaching the hotel. Upon arriving at the hotel there is a dedicated check-in line for mobile-registered guests and the Luxor can then use the phone as a regular channel of communication with customers during their stay – perhaps offering dinner invitations or special offers for show tickets.
Setting StandardS
If, however, the mobile phone is to become part of a more convenient and customer-focused travel process, the aviation industry must face up to the challenges. As in the development of most technologies, the first critical step is the creation of standards. IATA has already prepared the way for applications such as mobile-phone boarding passes
with the development of an industry standard 2D barcode, a key project within the Simplifying the Business (StB) programme. “IATA launched the 2D barcode standard to provide airlines with a common platform and ensure that it’s acceptable to authorities around the world,” says Eric Léopold, Project Manager, Bar Coded Boarding Pass (BCBP). “It enables the development of web check-in as well as mobile boarding passes.” In contrast to the traditional magnetic-stripe boarding pass, which could only be printed at the airport, the 2D barcode is a versatile standard with greater information capacity that can be printed anywhere. The 2D image can be displayed on a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA), creating a digital boarding pass. “At the moment, we have around 120 airlines and about 200 airports that are BCBP-enabled,” says Léopold. “Our goal is 100% BCBP, using the 2D standard, by the end of 2010.” However, Léopold is quick to emphasise that the 2D barcode is a means, not an end, to improving the passenger experience. “We’re not pushing an airline to offer any particular services,” he says. “We’re just saying that, if you’re going to do web or mobile check-in, now you have an industry standard that makes
Security control
Of course, passing security with a mobile BCBP also requires the agreement of the relevant authorities. In Canada, even with an excellent degree of cooperation from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), which is responsible for airport security, it’s a gradual process that requires airlines to ensure security agencies have the information, manpower and equipment to handle mobile boarding passes at every airport. “To get the approval to use a mobile boarding pass in Canada, we had to ask every one of the 62 airports where we wanted to offer it to get their OK, because they decide whether it’s a valid document,” admits Patrice Ouellette, Director, Customer Service Platform, Air Canada e-commerce. In the U.S., Continental Airlines has become the first airline to test mobile boarding passes, working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to offer the service at its Houston hub. Meanwhile, in Europe, airlines are proceeding on an airport-by-airport basis, similar to Asia-Pacific. ‡
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AIrlInes InternAtIonAl
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june/AGM 2008
june/AGM 2008
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AIrlInes InternAtIonAl
40 SIMplIFyIng The BuSIneSS
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In Japan, mobile technology has really taken hold. ANA reports bookings made on mobiles account for 15% of total online sales. And 45% of its customers use SKiP – which allows them to go straight to security and pass their QR code over a reader to get through and then again over a reader at the gate. The QR code can be printed out or brought up on the screen of their mobile. Airlines also have to ensure their sites are ‘mobile optimised’ and present an easy-to-use interface, something that is particularly critical at the early stages of mobile services in order to build a loyal user base – essential to making the service financially viable in the long term. Air Canada again provides an interesting case study. It has offered mobile boarding passes on all flights within Canada and all international flights from the country since September 2007. Passengers with mobile devices that support 2D barcode technology receive two SMS text messages to confirm check-in – one containing the flight details, and another containing a link to a barcode image. Customers proceed to the security checkpoint and display the SMS text to a security agent. Then, in December 2007, the service was expanded to include customers using web check-in. The result has been an 800% increase in customer use and a powerful indicator that customers want ‘cross channel’ freedom when they travel. “Our challenge is to bring value-added services to the customer and, for them, the value added is to travel without printing any documents,” says Ouellette. In Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) has rolled out a mobile application that customers can download to mobile phones equipped with an integrated-circuit (IC) chip. This allows the mobile to be used as an ANA Frequent Flyer Program (FFP) card (ANA FFP cards also have an IC-chip installed on them). “Even customers who have mobile phones without the IC-chip, or who haven’t downloaded the application, are able to board using their mobiles,” says Taku Hashimoto, Assistant Manager, Passenger Services Planning, Operations and Airport Services. “We deliver QR-code – which contains the passenger’s data – for those customers via e-mail, which is the standard distribution channel in the Japanese mobile market.” Rob Zwerlink, Manager, E-Services for KLM says the key factor is not the device itself or the new technology, but the
a handheld digital reader is used by airport security staff to read a 2d barcode, which can be forwarded via e-mail to a pda, as above, or by SMS to a mobile handset, right
customer need. “It’s not our exclusive goal to have as many customers as possible use their mobile,” he says. “It’s a matter of relevance. We see mobile check-in by itself remaining a niche product for a couple of years at least, because our main check-in channel will still be the regular internet.” KLM currently offers mobile check-in for all KLM and Air France European flights (with boarding pass printing at the airport) and expects to offer electronic boarding passes via e-mail or mobile phone in the spring of 2008 on flights between Amsterdam and Paris (Charles De Gaulle).
future poSSibilitieS
Philippe Bruyère, Programme Director, Simplifying the Business, IATA, stresses there is little doubt the mobile phone is becoming an important conduit between traveller and airline. “It opens a wide range of possibilities,” he says. “The opportunity to be in constant contact will pay dividends for both the passenger and the airline. We will keep looking to build on this communication infrastructure as market adoption will be fast. We believe there will be many more opportunities beyond check-in and receiving your boarding pass.” Ultimately, the role of mobile phone applications will fit within a broader vision like IATA’s Fast Travel initiative, designed to offer a full range of self-service options to the passenger at all stages of a journey from departure to arrival. “The key driver is to bring more value to the passenger,” says Bruyère. “The market surveys we conduct show that passengers want choice, so if you want to offer full service, you need to offer mobile options.” n
For more information about simplifying the business visit: www.iata.org/stbsupportportal
AIrlInes InternAtIonAl
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june/AGM 2008