As the race for “share of mobile” continues, Emirates airlines marks a major milestone with 20 million downloads of its mobile app on the back of a strong mobile and digital strategy that has led to solid consumer uptake particularly in Africa, GCC and Asia.
Catering to its global customer base, the Emirates app is available in more languages than any other airline app in the world, with full features set in 19 languages including Arabic and Mandarin. Available on Apple Store, Google Play Store and most recently the Huawei AppGallery, it is amongst the highest rated airline apps in the world.
Boutros Boutros, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand said: “Our Fly Better brand promise means that Emirates aims to provide the best possible customer experience – not only onboard and on the ground, but also online, where the vast majority of our customers increasingly want to interact with us at every stage of their journey. We’ve seen a huge uptake of our mobile and online services, particularly in developing markets where consumers have really embraced a mobile-first lifestyle.”
Boutros said that; “Over the past three years, we’ve made significant investment into Emirates’ mobile and digital channels, leveraging native app and cloud capabilities, global best practices in terms of software engineering, cross-functional ways of working, and leading data and marketing technologies. This is an ongoing investment, and we will continue to improve and add innovative app features and products, to keep apace and ahead of our customers’ expectations.”
Innovative feature and functions launched on the Emirates app in the past 18 months include; The ability to create a personalised ice playlist via Emirates app and to synchronize it with the airline’s system on-board, as well as the ability to preview the seat and the overall onboard product before travelling via 3D cabin models.
The app also allows the ability to bid on tickets for highly-sought after sports and cultural events sponsored by Emirates around the world, using Emirates Skywards points and the ability to navigate through Emirates’ hub, Dubai International airport, and easily find your way to your boarding gate.
In addition to features and functions, Emirates has also prioritised the improvement of site speed, as it is a major determinant of customer satisfaction with their online experiences.
According to https://www.webpagetest.org/, Emirates.com is now among the fastest airline websites globally, in particular when accessed via a mobile device on 3G and 4G.
Other fast facts on Emirates’ app:
· The most popular content on the Emirates app is in-flight dining menu.
· The most popular activities on the Emirates app are flight searches followed by checking-ins and accessing mobile boarding passes.
· In an average month, more than 1 million check-ins are performed via mobile devices, representing greater than 60 percent of all online check-ins, which in turn account for 50 percent of total check-ins
· Customers performed more flight searches on Emirates’ direct channels via mobile devices than via desktop or laptop computers.
· App push notifications have become the preferred and dominant customer communication channel, compared to SMS and email.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
