Airlines Look for Additional Passenger Touchpoints via Mobile

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009335

Airlines aren’t new to the mobile arena, but they’re looking to take a step further than mobile check-ins to engage with their passengers.  Connecting with passengers via mobile seems like a natural fit for airline companies.  The article states, “As of June 2012, nearly half of all check-ins for North American airlines were conducted either online or through a mobile device, with mobile increasing from 5% of all check-ins in 2011 to 11% in 2012…As more airlines allow this expedited service, consumer check-ins on the go will increase, freeing up more time for customer service interaction at the airport.”  Given the nature of airline travel, many passengers are rushing to make flight boarding times, catch a connecting flight, or are interacting with some form of mobile or tablet device pre-, during or post-flight.  Airline communications with their passengers via mobile can not only act as a convenient way to inform passengers in a “push” manner (rather than having the passenger find out for themselves somehow at the airport, etc.), but also can act as means for advertising opportunities to generate additional revenue for the airlines.  For example, on my last mobile boarding pass from United, I received offers for discounted rental cars and hotel stays.  This is common practice across the industry.  From a consumer standpoint, mobile interactions or notifications from airlines regarding gate location, flight delays, etc. are very convenient and can greatly enhance a passenger’s travel experience.  Many airlines are looking to implement (by ~2015) increased communications with passengers regarding missing baggage or re-booking flights.  Additionally, some airline companies are looking for ways passengers can access the  on-board entertainment programming via their own mobile/tablet devices.  This is not only a preference of passengers due to their affinity with their own devices but also another way for airlines to generate advertising revenue (and potentially reduce costs to their own in-flight programming mechanisms).   “Allowing customers to access curated entertainment through their personal devices opens the lines of communication in flight beyond a purely utilitarian interaction with flight attendants. This allows airlines (and advertising partners) to target messages based on what individuals are doing at that particular time (i.e. traveling to Paris, watching a live sporting event, etc.).”  When in-flight, passengers are a captive audience so airlines interacting with consumers in this manner could fill a prior void in passenger communication for the airlines and advertisers alike.