lufthansa mobile evaluation
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Evaluation of Lufthansa Airlines' mobile tech offerings.TRANSCRIPT
Evaluation of Lufthansa Airlines’ Mobile Offerings
University of Washington Mobile Environment and User Engagement
Mobiz CP110 Instructor: Jeff Klonowski
November 10, 2012 Author: KC Dochtermann
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Overview: Formed in 1926 as Deutsche Luft Hansa, Lufthansa (Deutsche Lufthansa AG) is a German-‐based air carrier (and is the ‘flagship’ national carrier), and is currently the largest airline carrier in Europe, as well as the fourth largest airline in the world in terms of carried passengers. From a fleet perspective, including all of its subsidiaries, it is the largest passenger airline fleet on the globe, with over 870 aircraft in operation. Current headquarters are based in Cologne, Germany, with it’s main passenger traffic hub based at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The organization currently has 12 subsidiaries, which includes Lufthansa Cargo, an air cargo company that is wholly owned by Lufthansa. Lufthansa has 9 (nine) additional operations, including LSG Sky Chefs, which is the largest airline-‐catering group on the globe. LSG accounts for one third of the world’s airline catered meals. Lufthansa is one of the founding members of the Star Alliance, which was formed in 1997, and is the world’s largest airline alliance. In addition to Lufthansa, the founding members of the alliance were Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, and United Airlines. The alliance has grown to include 28 member airlines, with a global reach of 1,356 airports in 193 countries. Industry Description: The airline industry is fairly young by historical standards. The first attempt to launch airlines was in the mid-‐19th century, when American aviation pioneers tried to begin commercial runs with airships from New York to California, but with failure. Accordingly the first airline was DELAG (Deutsche Luftshciffahrts-‐Aktiengesellschaft), which was founded in 1909, and operated airships. European countries were the first to adopt air transport on a commercial basis; the USA joined shortly thereafter, with its first commercial airline flight taking place in 1914. After World War I, the industry began to flourish. During the following decades, the adoption of airmail service served to greatly expand the industry. Most routes were within national boundaries, but Pan American Airways and Northwest Airlines were two of the first airlines to pioneer standard international routes during the 1920s and ‘30s. World War II was instrumental in the next stage of expansion due to the high number of air industry manufacturers and airlines that had bloomed due to military contracts. Advancements in technology (pressurized cabins, advanced propulsions systems, new age materials and procedures, etc.) ushered in a boom in the civilian air industry growth during the 1940s and ‘50s, a trend that has continued to accelerate on through into the modern era of today.
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Though a few countries (Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Mexico, United Kingdom and the USA) have deregulated their airlines, there is a strong tendency for a number of countries to retain a national airlines that is owned and operated by the respective government. This was true of Lufthansa in the past; prior to 1997, the German government had a roughly 35% stake in the company. The air travel industry has historically received a high level of state support, and is a highly cyclical industry with a fairly low net profit level – (only 2-‐3% after tax and interest). Global increases in petroleum prices have not helped the industry, and a number of airlines are regularly instituting fuel hedging pricing policies in order to remain competitive.
During the past decade a number of airlines, including 6 (six) major US airlines – American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As a result, a number of mergers and acquisitions have taken place; two of the most prolific were Northwest being acquired by Delta in 2008, and Continental and United merging in 2010. With all of the continuing turmoil in the industry (American Airlines filed for bankruptcy again in July), Lufthansa is still one of the leaders, posting the highest revenue ($36.1 Billion) and highest net profit ($1.49 Billion) of all airline groups during the 2010 year.
-‐5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Source: Airline Business, 2011
Airline Groups Revenue/ProVits -‐ Year 2010
Revenue ($B)
Operating ($B)
Net ($B)
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Lufthansa SWOT Analysis Strengths:
• Market Leader -‐ largest consolidated global carrier group • Biggest Star Alliance member – largest airline alliance group • Most profitable of all global carrier groups • Reputation for high level of customer service • IT Division is strong • Strategic capability to forecast future trends and patterns • Broad line of offerings in the mobile sector
Weaknesses:
• Big ship to steer-‐largest consolidated global carrier group • Biggest Star Alliance member – pulling the weight for other partners • Development of low cost airline structure in some sector • Some limits to ‘lighter’ (entertainment) mobile offerings
Opportunities:
• Encourage growth of Star Alliance partners • Expand presence in growing market sectors • Use strength of IT division to continue to roll out innovative mobile offerings • Continue to lead user engagement market trend
Threats:
• Continued cost increases due to supply and regulatory environment • Competing alliances • Competing low cost airlines • Alternative short travel distance options • Rapidity and fluid nature of the mobile sector
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Competitive Environment in Mobile Sector Like a number of other industries, competition is fierce in the airline sector. Rising consumer expectations combined with rising cost structures require a large global organization to be very nimble and innovate from a competitor’s perspective. This is increasingly important with a large component of the consumer target market becoming increasingly cost sensitive. From a digital perspective, user expectations continue to increase rapidly. The need to provide real-‐time information on a moment’s notice to customers is tantamount in the continuing battle for ‘seat share’, as well as for cargo-‐related needs. The tables below provides a breakdown of competitive mobile offerings of Lufthansa, and their leading global competitors. App Availability by Platform Airlines iOS Android Blackb. Symbian Windows Nook Amazon Lufthansa Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No United/Contin. Yes Yes No No No No No Delta Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Air France Yes Yes Yes No No No No Oman Air No No No No No No No AMR (American)
Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
Inter. (British) Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Japan Airlines Yes^ No No No No No No ANA Yes Yes No No No No No Emirates No No No No No No No ^Japanese language only It is interesting to note that American Airlines offers an app for the broadest range of mobile device platforms, covering both the Nook and Amazon tablets, while omitting offerings for Blackberry and Symbian devices. This is so indicative of the US trend of mobile platforms that may potentially arise on a national market share basis. Delta Airlines and British Airways are the two other global carriers that currently have mobile apps available for the Windows platform, obviously recognizing its potential for market growth. Blackberry is a platform with limited market share, but obviously enough on a global basis to have an app being made available by four carriers. iOS and Android platforms remain the mobile stalwarts, with almost every major carrier offering apps, with the exception of Japan Air Lines, Oman Air, and Emirates. Curiously, to date, Oman and Emirates has not made a mobile app available for any platform.
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iPhone/iPad Apps
Airlines # of iPhone Apps
# of iPad Apps
Lufthansa 6 8 United/Contin. 1 1
Delta 1 0 Air France 5 3 Oman Air 0 0
AMR (American) 1 1 Inter. (British) 4 2 Japan Airlines 6 0
ANA 1 1 Emirates 0 0
iOS continues to be the dominant player in the field of mobile applications – at least in the airline sector. As an example, Lufthansa offers three smartphone apps for the Android platform (the ‘flagship’ app, Quartett and Cargo), while it offers six apps for the iPhone, and eight for the iPad. This places Lufthansa by far in the lead, not only from a quantity perspective, but also from a quality perspective – especially in the area of tablet offerings (more on that in the review of the mobile offerings). United Airlines offers one iPad application that is a digital version of its inflight magazine. While Air France has a nice range of offerings beyond the utility-‐based flagship app, and cargo-‐tracking app, including three travel related apps, and ‘Travel Book’, an app that is integrated with Facebook in order to easily share trip related information with friends and family. In the realm of iPad offerings, Air France provides digital versions of two of their in-‐flight magazines, as well as a specialty news related app, which is available only in French language. British Airways has a few novel offerings for the iPhone beyond the norm, including an app with travel related information, as well as two apps for enjoying digital versions of both the standard and business in-‐flight magazines; these two magazines are also available in iPad optimized versions. Japan Airlines offers a broad range of apps for the iPhone, ranging from productivity apps to travel enhancement; unfortunately all of these apps are available only in Japanese language. ANA has an intriguing offering for iPad; the ‘Virtual Airport’ app, where users can view selected content from the company’s in-‐flight magazine, as well as videos, websites, etc. – all from a virtually constructed airport interface.
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Mobile Services Airlines SMS/
MMS Mobile Web*
App Check-‐In
App Flight Status
Mobile Check-‐In *
Mobile Flight Status*
Mobile Boarding Pass
Lufthansa Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes United/Contin. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Delta Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Air France No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Oman Air Yes No No No No No No American Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Inter. (British) Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Japan Airlines No No Yes^ Yes^ No No No ANA No No Yes Yes No No No Emirates Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes * Mobile-‐optimized experience ^Japanese language only In the area of mobile services, Lufthansa is well positioned, offering a full range. Only three other global carriers (United, Delta and American) present a similar comprehensive package of mobile services, making Lufthansa the only non-‐US based global carrier group to make such a broad range of offerings available. Air France follows a close second, offering a very nice range of user-‐friendly services, with the exception of text messaging alerts. Lufthansa Mobile Offerings: Mobile applications and services for the air traveler have become commonplace with the heavy adoption rates of smartphone and tablet devices during the past few years. Most major airlines now offer a variety of features with native mobile applications and/or mobile-‐optimized websites, including real time flight information, mobile check-‐in and boarding passes, airport maps, as well as weather for both departure and arrival destinations. Lufthansa has a number of fantastic mobile offerings. For smartphones, Lufthansa offers a flagship Lufthansa native application for the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Nokia (Symbian) platforms. While the new Windows App lists and sells as a new ‘Lufthansa’ app for the Windows Phone, upon closer inspection, it is nothing but a link to the standard web page.
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Text Messaging Lufthansa offers a very complete range of SMS service in order to enhance user experience:
• Mobile check-‐in invitation • Gate change alerts • Seat changes due to aircraft change • Flight delay alerts (over 30 minutes) • Flight cancellation alerts • Flight relocation information due to flight disruptions, including notification
of new mobile boarding pass
This variety of messaging services by Lufthansa is one of the most comprehensive sets of any global industry carrier. Mobile Optimized Website
Mobile Optimized Webpages
The mobile optimized website for smartphones presents an excellent user experience for travelers. Users are directed to the mobile site and are afforded the choice to select a country preference. The next thing to load is an automatic message that concisely describes the Lufthansa App, and provides a link to allow the user to download the app. The next screen that appears is the home screen. The navigation is simple and quick, and allows the user to jump to a variety of services, including flight status, timetables, check-‐in, flight booking, Miles & More (frequent
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flyer program) and My Bookings, for accessing existing reservations. There is also a direct link to the full version website, as well as links at the bottom of the page for contact, terms and conditions, etc. The second tab is the Info & Service section, where customers can learn about current flight information, airport transport services, check-‐in, route hubs, lounge directory and boarding. The one limitation is that the transport services are limited to Germany and Austria airports only. The entertainment tab offers ringtones, wallpapers and a screensaver to download. Overall the experience provides all the primary services that a traveler would need when looking to access the website via smartphone.
iPad Optimized Website
For the iPad, the ‘optimized’ version of the site is actually the standard desktop version website. It has the exact same functionality, look and feel of the full website, with the exception that the features and navigation are controlled via the touchscreen. Lufthansa may want to look into providing a customized version for the iPad, but the question would be necessity. If the basic wants and needs of the user are met by the full version on such devices, it comes into question whether a different version is truly necessary.
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Mobile Version on Full Website
One of the most interesting revelations is the mobile version of the website that can be accessed through the full desktop version website. Users can literally click on a link at the top right side of the home page menu to access this page. It appears on a grey screen, with what look to be an image of an iPhone. But once the user begins to run the cursor over it with the mouse, they realize that it is a fully functioning, virtual version of the smartphone version. This is indeed reverse engineering at its best. iPhone Apps
‘Flagship’ App
The ‘flagship’ app provides a number of features, including news, flight booking, timetables, flight status, check-‐in, and mileage program tracking; it also stores electronic boarding passes for rapid check-‐in, security and gate screening. It also provides direct links to Facebook and Twitter, fields for providing feedback, as well as a means for reviewing the Lufthansa app. It has an elegant look and interface, and has been built smartly in order to quickly fit all the essential and immediate needs of the passenger.
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LH Quartett App LH Cargo App
Including the standard flagship app, Lufthansa offers two additional apps for the Android platform, the LHQuartett app and the LH Cargo app; this makes for a total of three native applications for the Android platform. The Quartett app is purely a game-‐based entertainment app; users have the opportunity to play the computer, or play another player. It is a card game where the object is to guess the better/larger statistics of the various model planes in the fleet. It is mixture of skill, memory and luck, and is an enticing offering for customers that are seeking an avenue for staying entertained while waiting in airports or on long-‐haul flights. It is the modern day equivalent of the packs of cards that airlines used to distribute to passengers in the past. The Cargo app is on the other side of the spectrum of offerings; it is purely a utility app for tracking cargo shipment status via waybill numbers. The only element of interactivity besides the tracking function is the ability to provide feedback about the app. A possible improvement could be to add a locator map of the various cargo destinations that the Lufthansa network serves.
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Miles & More App Smart Opinion App LTT-‐Viewer App The remainder of the smartphone apps is available solely for the iOS platform. There is a ‘Miles & More’ App that is another utility app. It provides a wide variety of services for the frequent flyer; users can access their mileage account info, locate airport lounges, find partner shops, as well as access the ‘Member Scout’ app that was recently integrated. This function is a social media tool that allows users to exchange insider tips with other frequent flyers in the network. The ‘Smart Opinion’ app functions as a users own personal feedback portal – anytime and anywhere. One has the ability to select from a wide variety of Lufthansa’s products and services in order to rate and provide feedback. It is an ingenious app that encourages direct engagement by the user, and provides the company the ability to gain direct insights into the perceived performance of its offerings. Last in the smartphone app lineup is the LTT-‐ Viewer App. This offering is targeted for two variants of users: Aviation enthusiasts and aviation professionals. This app is a very rich program that supplies a wide variety of technical information about civil aircraft, specifically those currently in operation with the Lufthansa fleet. Considering the audience for which it was intended, while it is a fine tool for devotees, the real power of the program is to serve as a technical training manual for technical industry specialists; with over 50 years of flight operations contributing to the knowledge base, it makes for a superb training repository. The various elements of the program are organized in modules for easy of accessibility; bearing in mind the volume of information available, and the audience it is directed, the structure and usability of the app is exemplary.
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iPad Apps
‘Flagship’ iPad App While a number of apps that have been optimized for iPad many times appear to be just a ‘larger’ version of the smartphone version, this is not the case with Lufthansa’s flagship offering. And while a number of other major global carriers offer similar services, they tend to be spread over a number of apps. But this offering has managed to consolidate all the major features into one very elegant interface that users can enjoy while experiencing the world of Lufthansa. Customers can use this app not only to enrich their experience while traveling with Lufthansa (check-‐in, bookings, seat selection, mileage account, flight information, weather reports, news, etc.) but can also use it as a planner for their future travel needs. The intuitive touch screen interface allows users to search image galleries and access information of over 70 cities that are within the carrier’s network. Users can search by destination, or even by interests (beach, diving, shopping, etc.) The app is chocked full of rich content, including wallpaper, videos and even 3D animations. It appears to be one of the state-‐of-‐the-‐art offerings currently available that enriches the experience and enhances engagement for today’s traveler.
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Magazin App
Lufthansa’s second iPad offering is a digital version of their in-‐flight magazine, Magazin. The content is the same as the hard copy edition, providing news on a wide variety of subjects, including travel, locations, sports, culture, etc. A number of additional features in this mobile version is an interactive map that allows users to access in-‐depth information and imagery of multiple global destinations that have been featured in past and current issues of the magazine; users have the ability to even access background and contact information for popular locales. Accompanying music and videos are elements of rich media that have also been added to enhance the experience and encourage interactivity. An interesting element is that the latest version of the app provides statistical user information data back to Lufthansa, which no doubt serves to measure engagement, as well as helps to refine the elements of the app to better serve the needs of the user.
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Planet App
The third iPad offering is a digital version of the Planet magazine, a publication geared for airfreight professionals. This is appears to be a fairly new app, and by looking at the details on the App Store site, one would expect another elegant and interactive offering from Lufthansa. Unfortunately, the app would not download data and continued to repeat a “failed to connect to server” error, even after reloading the app from the store. It appears that the organization has some ‘bugs’ to work out with this contribution to their mobile services.
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Smart/Opinion App
The Smart/Opinion app for the iPad is essentially the same app as the one developed for smartphones. It provides a very similar experience, with the exception that the interface has been expanded for iPad users.
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LTT Viewer App The LTT Viewer app for the iPad is structured very similarly to the version for the smartphone, though it has been optimized for iPad users. Essentially the larger screen size of a tablet provides more ‘real estate’ for more expansive views of the various menu categories. It also has an additional screen that provides direct links to the Lufthansa Technical Training (LTT) company optimized website (see image at upper right hand of page), which provides a plethora of information about the organization and its program and services. This is a worthwhile upgrade for serious technical users that are utilizing a tablet as a connection.
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Lido/iRoute App & Lido Enroute
The last three of Lufthansa’s app offerings for the iPad app were not designed for the ‘average’ consumer. These apps are highly specialized navigation programs that were developed for pilots and flight enthusiasts. While all the other apps that are marketing by Lufthansa are free, the standard version of the Lido/iRouteManual app is priced at $19.99. This program delivers professional level aeronautical charts for 40 major airports. This offering is geared for three major user groups:
• Airline pilots that require navigation charts and would be inclined to use preflight briefing convenience.
• Professional pilots that are inclined to be acquainted with the Lido navigation charts.
• Aviation enthusiasts and flight simulator operators that would desire to use professional navigation charts while they ‘fly’.
The ‘Pro’ version of this app was intended for ‘power’ Lido users that require more extensive information (for airline and professional pilots) for more efficient flight and navigation operations. The final offering is the Lido/Enroute app; this program provides the actual charts for the Lido/RouteManual navigation system. The charts are considered as the top choice for instrument flight systems within the entire global industry. These charts can be downloaded and stored locally on the device so that they are always available for use, regardless of an internet or cellular connection. It is interesting to note that Lufthansa has created this state-‐of-‐the-‐art system of iPad suite of apps that are available not only for their own fleet pilots, but also for users that are employed by their direct competitors.
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These products demonstrate once again that Lufthansa continues to be a market leader and a highly visionary organization within its industry, providing state of the art mobile applications for a wide variety of users, and delivering exemplary experiences unparalleled by any competitor’s offerings. Future State of Mobile Offerings While Lufthansa has a very broad line of products that do an outstanding job serving the needs of a variety of different user groups, it was noted during the evaluation that none of the mobile technologies provided strong promotions efforts or offer-‐ based incentives outside the norm. Such promotional efforts may have been omitted purposely in order to stay within the strategic focus of providing an uncluttered and customer–driven experience; this would be in a similar vein of a strategy by other luxury brands – to focus on outstanding products and services, avoiding the more price sensitive consumer segment. Still, there may be value in offering special promotions through messaging and other mobile services. It was notable that Lufthansa was the first air carrier to be launched with Apple’s new Passbook app, once again leading the charge in providing cutting edge services through mobile devices. There is no doubt that Lufthansa, with it’s very technically rich brand, will continue to lead the industry in adopting advanced level technology to enhance engagement and user experience. It’s team of specialists are probably busy testing and developing new technologies to enhance its mobile product line, including augmented reality (identifying and defining seat selection on aircraft), rich media (expanding its line of streaming informational and entertainment videos), and geolocation (adding real time positioning to navigation charts/providing real-‐time location services for passenger as they travel through unfamiliar airports/cargo shipment tracking) services. Near Field Communications (NFC) systems is another technology that will surely be utilized with their offerings in the very near future (onsite mobile payment both at airports and during inflight). And with the launch of Microsoft’s new Windows 8 platform that is accompanied by the new line of tablets, it is certain that Lufthansa will soon be expanding its mobile product line for the Windows Phone and Surface tablet. Check back soon to see what this visionary company offers its customers and users next. Lufthansa should be perceived as way more than ‘just an airline’ – they are a leader in ‘global and mobile’ transportation services.