Despite a survey last month by J.D. Power & Associates that showed airline apps were not as well regarded as others in the travel industry, at least one carrier is pleased with how its customers have adopted their mobile devices to book flights.
Delta Air Lines said in a conference call on Wednesday to announce its first-quarter earnings that nearly a quarter of its bookings now come from smartphones.
"Mobile is by far the fastest growing, and it's about 20% of our direct bookings, 20% to 25% of our direct bookings," Delta president Glen Hauenstein told investors on the earnings call. "And it seems like every week and every month that moves on, mobile becomes a bigger and bigger chunk of total booking."
That seemingly flies in the face - pardon the pun - of the J.D. Power findings. The survey company revealed that airline apps ranked below hotel, online travel agency and rental car apps in customer satisfaction.
And Delta's app, Fly Delta, was rated only fourth among the six airlines that made the list.
But Hauenstein insisted it was a thriving category for Delta.
"That's really the place that we see an incredible amount of growth, and that's where consumers are seeming to want to go in order to book delta.com or book directly with Delta," he said. "So, very exciting, and we have lots of great new releases coming this year, which we think will continue to enhance the customer experience with more and more utility that you can have in the palm of your hand."
Hauenstein said Delta also had success with mobile with its SkyMiles loyalty program. The airline rolled out miles as currency to mobile users, offering members the opportunity to upgrade to a more premium experience through its app.
"We saw an overwhelmingly positive response with revenue in the March quarter already exceeding our original full-year estimate," he said. "On average, there are already 4,000 customers upgrading with Miles every day with more than half of those transactions coming via mobile. This drove nearly four points of redemption growth in the quarter."
Airlines aren't the only travel category talking up mobile. The 2019 Smart Decision Guide to Hotel Property Management noted that mobile devices cannot be looked at as an afterthought.
"A mobile-first design is imperative. All staff-facing interfaces need to allow for anywhere, anytime access," according to the guide, put out by Hotel Resource Guide. "Providing staff members with real-time access to information via mobile devices can reduce guest wait times at the front desk during check-in, which is an important factor in overall guest satisfaction. Mobility can also mitigate other inconveniences that could impinge on the quality of the guest experience, including potential housekeeping and maintenance delays. For most hoteliers, being able to manage virtually all hotel operations from any place, at any time, via any device is a true game-changer."
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