AKQA Turns Delta Airlines Digital

Delta Airlines has announced the launch of new digital products, including its first-ever iPad app that gives people a travel experience like never before. The apps were both designed and developed for Delta by ideas and innovation agency AKQA. 

 

With Fly Delta for the iPad customers can now explore Delta’s destinations, download entertainment for their journey, interact with a dynamic view of their travel plans, and even explore the ground below them and connect with their social networks in-flight through Glass Bottom Jet™. Additionally, Delta also released the all-new Fly Delta for iPhone app today. With the rebuilt mobile app, customers can now find, compare and book flights right from their mobile device, manage their profile and travel preferences, and customize their experience with trip extras.

 

This is part of a $140 million investment in technology implemented by Delta. The launch of the app is latest in a phased rollout of a significantly improved online and digital customer experience which also included the 2012 launches of the new delta.com in November and revamped self-service kiosks in September. 

 

The Fly Delta app for iPad features a "Glass Bottom Jet," through which customers will have the ability to view the ground below in a unique way that includes maps, social networks and internet content while connected to the Internet on any of Delta's more than 800 Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft. The app also includes travel planning tools to book a trip, destination guides, flight check-in, an interactive trip map and the "What's Next" feature to help guide customers to the next point in their journey.

 

"Our goal is to simplify the digital experience across the touch points where our customers already spend their time by making their interactions with Delta easy and intuitive," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president – Network Planning, Revenue Management and Marketing. "The incredible functionality and innovation found in the new iPad app embodies all that we're doing to further improve the digital experience customers have with Delta. All of this represents the largest investment to delta.com and digital technology in more than a decade."

 

The new delta.com design features a new My Delta section which consolidates trip summaries, account details, personal preferences, payment information and travel settings in a single location. This allows customers to easily access the personalized features that mean the most to them and help maximize their travel plans. An improved My Trips section brings together all details of a customer's trip including air, car, hotel, Trip Extras, weather information and travel alerts. The new My Wallet feature keeps payment information and receipts in a digital wallet on delta.com. Additional website enhancements will be available through a series of scheduled deployments in the first half of 2013.

 

"Based on customer feedback and behavior, the improvements we've made to delta.com and our kiosks are hitting the mark as customers are enjoying the more intuitive layout, new features, and the ability to take advantage of many of the elements that can be added to their flight experience, such as an Economy Comfort seat, extra SkyMiles and in-flight Wi-Fi," Hauenstein said.

 

In future updates to delta.com, customers will see additional service improvements which will include more robust customer alerts, improvements to flight search results, enhanced information displays and greater personalization based on their past travel behavior. Over time, delta.com and all Delta digital channels will evolve to deliver greater relevancy to the individual customer based on past interaction, new product offerings and customer information. This will result in a highly personalized online experience and improved delivery of existing critical features such as flight check-in options, which more than 90 percent of Delta customers utilize during their travel.

 

The brand new, redesigned Fly Delta app for iPhone was also released today with the ability to book tickets and other features including integration with Passbook and iPhone 5 features. The Fly Delta app for Android will be updated in early 2013. The Fly Delta app has been downloaded more than 5.5 million times and includes popular tools including checking in for flights, accessing an eBoarding pass, changing seat assignments, tracking the upgrade list, tracking and paying for bags, receiving alerts for updated travel information, viewing airport and aircraft details and setting a parking reminder.

 

Changes to Delta's self-service check-in kiosk designs were launched across all worldwide locations in September on more than 2,500 individual kiosks. The new design has reduced the average customer check-in time by more than 15 percent. The improved design streamlines the process, improves the speed of check-in, offers 12 language options and gives customers the ability to self-select options they find most important in their experience.

 

"Customers can rely on Delta to provide innovative tools throughout their travel experience that put them in control and give them the information they need, when they need it," said Hauenstein. "We'll continue to provide new and interesting ways to plan, share and connect, so that traveling with Delta keeps getting better."