Neil Hughes
British Airways has seen quick customer adoption of the Apple Watch for boarding passes, prompting the airliner to integrate new wrist-friendly ticket scanners at London's Heathrow Airport starting this month.
As some who have used an Apple Watch to display a boarding pass may have encountered, some ticket scanners simply don't work with wrist-worn displays. Specifically, mounted scanners sometimes don't offer the necessary clearance to fit a user's wrist underneath, instead being designed for paper tickets or thin smartphones.
But British Airways has seen use of its Apple Watch app increase 386 percent in just four months, between June and October. Seeing the demand among its customers, British Airways announced on Tuesday that it will use new wrist-friendly scanners to make its Apple Watch app easier and faster to use.
A total of 136 new "Scan and Go" devices will be able to accommodate a passenger's wrist at Heathrow's Terminal 3 and 5. The scanners will be active as of Dec. 15.
According to the airline, the Apple Watch already accounts for more than 5 percent of its mobile app usage. The official British Airways app gives customers information beyond their boarding pass, including real-time flight status, gate information, a countdown to departure time, and the weather at their destination.
"We are always striving to make our customers' journeys easier through use of technology," said Kevin McQuillan, British Airways' Head of ba.com and Mobile. "When we saw the dramatic rise in the number of people using the app on their Apple watches we knew we needed to create new features in the terminal which would make the experience even better for them."
British Airways has historically been quick to adopt new mobile technology, and had an Apple Watch app available at the device's launch in April.
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27 Comments
Mmmm! I wonder how this plays into the narrative of the numerous pundits out there that have written off the Apple watch as a failure.
I tried using my watch to scan the boarding pass last time I flew. It was awkward because the watch face shut off every time I tilted my wrist to put it in the scanner. Apple really needs to deactivate automatic shutoff when passbook items are being displayed.
[quote name="iaeen" url="/t/190413/citing-rapid-apple-watch-adoption-british-airways-to-launch-wrist-friendly-ticket-scanners#post_2811830"]I tried using my watch to scan the boarding pass last time I flew. It was awkward because the watch face shut off every time I tilted my wrist to put it in the scanner. Apple really needs to deactivate automatic shutoff when passbook items are being displayed.[/quote] I didn't think that was on when you have the Passbook app opened. Was this through the Airline's app on the Watch?
bought 2 Apple Watches during Black Friday.
Media pundits don't know crap. The Watch was all sold out in Walmart, Target, and B&H photo.
The other thing media and analysts don't realize is how much people might be spending on bands: I am up to $300 already (three different Sport Bands and one Milanese Loop). I will probably buy a few more.
On the BA front, I am flying them in a few weeks, so it'll be fun to try out!
I agree with the comments regarding AppleWatch shutting off. This happens with ApplePay and also Airline tickets (the two services I use most). This is also a problem with iPhone. It is shocking to me that they did not think this through as part of customer experience. I will also say it is a shame that Airlines and also the Auto industry are so slow to adopt and innovate. To have at least one airline thinking about this already is a breakthrough. A word to all companies: Look at the top 10 most profitable companies. Now review how they innovate and/or progress services and technologies...that is the big difference of them being the "haves" and why the "have nots" are in financial trouble.