CanLufthansabringasmiletopassengersviadigitalpersonalisation?

Lufthansa has been developing a number of prototypes aimed at improving the customer experience at the booking stage, as well as the airport.

The developments are part of the carrier’s SMILE program, unveiled two years ago to help Lufthansa focus on personalising the passenger experience.

One prototype is being carried out at Munich airport and uses beacons to ascertain how much time passengers have before boarding and what specific products and services, such as lounge passes, the airline could offer them.

About 200 beacons have been placed around the airport which communicate with the Lufthansa mobile application to get flight details, customer systems to see whether the passenger is already in a frequent flier program and its lounges to gauge how busy they are before potentially offering a pass to customers.

David Doyle, director of the SMILE program, claims they’re not about testing whether elements such as lounge passes are attractive but to understand the context of the passenger and their behaviour.