Airlines Launch Apple Watch Apps to Improve Customer Experience

Airlines join smartwatch revolution to provide customers with more convenience on-the-go.

American Airlines was one of the early adoptors of the Apple Watch, as they were working on their app before the new gadget had even officially been launched at Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) media event earlier this month.

Other big airlines have since followed suit, such as Delta and United in the US and EasyJet and British Airways across the pond.

James Millett, EasyJet’s Head of Digital, said: "We constantly look for new ways to improve the travel experiences of our passengers and providing up to date information on the latest technology such as Apple Watch is key to this."

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will be trialling an app for an Android watch instead "in order to benefit from user experiences", which the company said in a statement will be helpful for the Apple Watch app.

Air Canada is the latest carrier to join the smartwatch revolution, announcing this week that it’s working on a specialised app for the Apple Watch.

The apps from all airlines aim to make the customer’s journey more easy and convenient by providing important travel information on-the-go.

For the Air Canada app, the glance feature will provide customers with personal and relevant information about flights departing within a 24-hour window.

Essential information can then be displayed on the user's Apple Watch and is frequently updated during the day of travel, including actionable notifications for check-in and boarding.

The app also includes a hand-off feature to enable customers to begin more complex tasks, such as checking-in, that can then be completed either on an iPhone or Mac computer.

"The app further advances Air Canada's mobile strategy of innovating with the latest technology to provide customers a wide variety of options for managing their travel using their preferred personal device," Craig Landry, Vice President of Marketing at Air Canada, said.

The Apple Watch will be available from April 24 and the airline apps will be accessible in a designated Apple Watch app store from that date onwards.