Delta Airlines and the Mobile App

With the advent of mobile technology, many companies have taken a 2nd step from going a brick and mortar way of business, to an e-commerce platform, and now to a mobile application. An industry that has used technology to it’s fullest potential is the travel industry, specifically the airline industry. Airline companies have benefitted greatly by transitioning their business to a web based and mobile ready technology.

Delta Airlines was one of the first airlines to offer a e-commerce website over twelve years ago as an alternative to working with a travel agency, calling the airline directly, or going to the airport to book travel. Soon after, the web check-in process was offered as a second option to getting in line at the airport to check-in, print your boarding pass, and drop of your luggage. From 2001 up until 2010, the Delta website was enhanced to allow car and hotel bookings, check up to the minute flight statuses, look at upcoming travel itineraries to change seats or change flights as well. In addition, there are now portals to log into the companies frequent flyer program to check your miles earned and to book award travel. In 2010, Delta’s first mobile application was released.

The mobile application allowed Delta customers to conduct business with Delta on their mobile device just as they could if they were sitting at their computer. A customer could book domestic or international travel or even book a vacation to Hawaii including car and hotel. A customer can also check-in for their flight and e-mail their boarding pass to themselves, or print them at the counter when they got to the kiosk. Subsequent enhancement include re-booking travel for interrupted or cancelled flights, push notifications for terminal and gate changes, seat changes via an interactive seat map, adding yourself to a standby list or the first class upgrade list. One of the newest enhancements is the ability to save your boarding pass into Passbook, and purchase in-flight extras like Wi-Fi, seating upgrades, or priority boarding access. (Delta, 2013) Delta has also released a version of their Fly Delta App, specific to the iPad. The iPad version of this application not only does the same things that the smartphone application does, but it also features new innovations like the “Glass Bottom Jet”, through which customers will