American Airlines launches new iPhone app

July 29, 2010 | Online Travel

The new app knows and displays who the customer is and where they are going - from where they are departing and what gate, to where they will sit, and where they are on the standby list, once they are logged in.

Mobile phones have evolved into hand-held personal assistants, concierges and bookkeepers for people on the go. Today American Airlines adds “travel guide” to this list, by releasing the first version of its iPhone application. The free app for iPhone and iPod Touch offers customers a new way to stay connected with the airline while they are traveling. It is the latest in a series of technology enhancements from American to improve customer service and give customers more control of their travel experience.

The new iPhone application’s intelligent data display allows American to provide the most relevant day-of-travel information. This means the application knows and displays who the customer is and where they are going - from where they are departing and what gate, to where they will sit, and where they are on the standby list, once they are logged in. With the new applications, customers are able to:

- Enter log in and password only once - allowing the application to push upcoming flight details to the home screen automatically
- Set a parking reminder
- Monitor the standby list
- Track elite status progress
- View personal flight details - receive gate, seat and flight status information at a glance
- Access Mobile Boarding Pass - the application saves it for you, so it’s always easy to find
- Use GPS to locate the nearest airport served by American
- View terminal maps
- Play Sudoku

The app also provides direct and easy access to a variety of other tools that help customers manage, plan and further enjoy each trip on American Airlines:

- Book and check-in for flights
- Create Flight Status Notifications
- Check Flight Status and schedules
- Access AAdvantage® account information
- Enroll in the AAdvantage® program
- Access contact information

American continues to invest in technology enhancements, developing innovative products and services that better serve the needs of its constantly connected customers, as well as its employees, who strive to improve the customer’s experience with unique operational mobile applications.

“Our mobile website is the best in the industry, and this new iPhone app takes our leadership another step further because the unique attributes of the iPhone are embedded in the app itself - giving our customers a completely differentiated and personalized experience,” said Monte Ford, American’s Senior Vice President - Information Technology and CIO. “The app is the latest in a series of customer technologies we’ve introduced to help improve the customer experience, and we are developing immersion apps for a wide range of other mobile devices. In fact, mobility is at the heart of much of what we are implementing today to dramatically improve our customers’ interaction with American - from Mobile Boarding to the many portable technologies our employees are equipped with. We are leveraging leading technology tools to bring the best information and experiences to our customers.”

The app was designed using customer and employee input. During its development, American conducted usability sessions to gain valuable feedback from AAdvantage members, which helped determine what they valued most. Members with varying ranges of AAdvantage status were able to “test drive” the application during these sessions and voice opinions about the features they liked and found useful during day of travel, and the ones they could do without.

“We have an intense focus on researching and developing new tools like the iPhone application that will help positively impact the customer experience,” said Craig Kreeger, American’s Senior Vice President - Customer Experience. “Now we have one more way to give customers access to travel information where they find the information most useful, at their fingertips.”
The new iPhone application will be introduced in several phases as the airline continues to develop the capabilities of the tool, including an iPad-specific version in the coming weeks. Future versions will further utilize the iPhone’s global positioning features, enable push notifications, International Flight Check-In, request and view the Upgrade List, along with other functions that take advantage of the “app experience.”