How do you make passengers feel at home when traveling with a partner airline? Allowing them to “live” in their preferred app while traveling on another airline is a big step that can make the travel experience easier. And, in the near future, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines will take a major step on that front. Alaska Airlines plans to allow flight check-in on mixed airline reservations in either app, regardless of which one operates the first segment, in the not-too-distant future.
You will be able to register on the Alaska app or the US app, no matter which one operates the first leg. [of a joint carrier PNR].
– Charu Jain, senior vice president of marketing and innovation, Alaska Airlines
Speaking at the Future Travel Experience Ancillary & Retailing conference in Dublin this week, Charu Jain, SVP Merchandising & Innovation at Alaska Airlines noted that this is the next step in the evolution of services in the airline’s digital travel experience, as tries to make the process more consistent for travelers, regardless of which partner airline they travel on. “It just makes it easier for passengers,” Jain explains, “they don’t have to go to different places, they don’t have to download and learn a new app just to travel with a partner.”
Read more: It’s the end of the kiosk as we know it, and Alaska Airlines feels good
Airlines will leverage oneWorld’s Carrier Connect common data platform to enable this functionality. Ultimately, this should allow for broader adoption of the functionality, though Chain acknowledges that expansion is still dependent on bilateral agreements with each partner. That being said, he committed to that integration with additional partners in the future.
Read more: Upcoming Reciprocal Updates to American, Alaska Airlines
And while the move means some passengers will never download the Alaska Airlines app and will remain on the US interface (or eventually another partner), Jain is confident that the value for travelers familiar with the Alaska app makes it a a win for the company’s most loyal and trusted users. usual costumers
The idea of providing partner benefits in the customer’s preferred app is not new, but the problem is always in the details. In this case, Jain also points out that the initial implementation is not the complete final state.
Travelers will be able to check in and receive a boarding pass, but some additional add-on products will not be available. This includes managing seat assignments.
Jain expects that feature, among many others, to evolve as airlines improve their integrations. “Right now it’s just about getting a boarding pass. We are working to make seats available. And you can get the bag tag, no matter what the first carrier is.”
Jain also made it clear that developing this solution is a reciprocal agreement with the other operators. Presumably, American will (eventually?) similarly enable such a feature.
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