Air France, like other competing airlines, and in particular Lufthansa, which is a role model, is banking on digital technology to making the customer experience more fluid and reduce friction at the various stages of a journey. The first step is to enhance the company's mobile application, which is used by 4.5 million passengers, starting with its most loyal customers.
The payment methods integrated into the app, which are often a hindrance when you're on the move, will soon be extended. In addition to the 20 solutions already available - Paypal, credit card, bank transfer, etc. - the following will be added Google Pay and Apple Paythe 'wallets' of the two digital giants. Check-in has also been simplified. To add an identity card or passport to facilitate check-in, simply position the ID document in the field indicated by the application for the "passport". scanner. Based on the information extracted, the form's data fields are automatically filled in.
The desire to offer passengers a smoother experience is not limited to the dematerialisation of the boarding pass. The application will also estimate travel time from home or work to the airport, taking into account the means of transport and actual traffic conditions. Then, once at the airport, the passenger is guided to the boarding gate by the geolocationA map showing the passenger's route through the terminal. If, in the meantime, there is a change of gate, the route will be rectified accordingly. For this purpose, the airline already has data from around twenty airports in France and abroad. Paris CDG and Paris Orly will be included in the coming months. The French airline is also working on integrating the time taken to pass through security into its solution.
Finally, the mobile application also allows you to trace a luggage at every stage of the journey. On departure, passengers are notified in real time of the presence of their baggage, then on arrival, when it is unloaded or placed on the conveyor belt. In the near future, passengers will also be able to find out the number of the conveyor belt where they can pick up their baggage.
In a few weeks' time, customers will also be able - for all these actions - to interrogate the application by voicevia Siri on an iPhone. There are plans to integrate other voice assistants such as OK Google.
After Louis and Lucie, Léa, a new chatbot
Still on the subject of baggage, Air France is experimenting with biometric boarding pass for baggage drop-off and boarding using facial recognition. As we have seen, customers are invited to scan their passport using the Air France application or a self-service kiosk at the airport. Then, at baggage drop-off or boarding, an automatic machine will be able to reconcile the passenger's face with the photo of the scanned ID document. By reconciling the biometric data with the customer's image, it will be possible to authorise the customer to board or not. drop off your luggage and board. This "matching" avoids the need to collect personal data or access a database in strict compliance with the RGPD.
Finally, Air France is relying on digital technology to help passengers accept the ups and downs of travel. Passengers are informed of any delay or door change in real time by SMS, email or notification. A new chatbot is also making its appearance. After Lucie and Louis, the family of Air France bots is growing. The latest addition, Léa, is available in French and English on Facebook Messenger, and will assist passengers until the end of their journey.
Depending on the type of problem, Léa will send the customer details of the accommodation offered, certificates of delay or cancellation and compensation vouchers (for meals, accommodation, transport, etc.). For the meal voucher, Air France transforms the dematerialised boarding pass into a voucher. No need to queue to collect it: the customer uses this e-coupon and can go and eat in partner stores such as Starbucks. The system has been on trial at Roissy airport since this summer.
