Few airlines are making the most of the bookings and ancillary potential of mobile platforms according to a report.
Vueling is credited for making the biggest effort to promote their mobile app, while others neglect theirs. IdeaWorksCompany offers up the example of JetBlue’s confusing messaging by stating that double point frequent flyer bonuses only apply to bookings made “directly on jetblue.com” when in fact the airline’s help desk confirmed that the bonuses also apply to bookings made on the app. In this case, it would seem that JetBlue is steering customers away from mobile-first transactions.
One example of significant growth driven by a mobile-first approach included in the report is Pegasus Airlines, which had recorded more than 4 million downloads of its mobile application by February of this year. The airline has experienced an overall mobile booking share (via mobile website and mobile app) has over 90% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past there years. Mobile accounts for 20% of total airline sales and the app represents 65% of the mobile share.
Pegasus is not the only regional and low-cost carrier to experience dramatic growth from mobile. Earlier this month, airBaltic reported a 60% increase in the number of mobile bookings in 2017, with the share of bookings made from mobile devices increasing by 30%. The airline has accomplished this without developing a separate app.
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