08 Mar 2017

Eurowings taps Lufthansa resources for new phase of growth

Lufthansa Group‘s digital transformation continues apace, with its low-cost carrier Eurowings launching its MakeMyWay initiative today.

Eurowings expects to handle 25 million passengers this year and claims to be the fastest growing airline in Europe.

MakeMyWay comprises a number of digitally-led initiatives, many of which tap into the resources of the Lufthansa Innovation Hub. But as well as practical support from the group, Eurowings is taking advantage of the flexibility which is critical to the success of any digital transformation.
http://hub.lh.com/
Its FlightPass.de initiative illustrates the new approach. The airline identified a demand for a multi-flight pass – 10 one-way tickets across its network for a fixed price – and worked closely and quickly with the Innovation Hub to get the product ready enough to be trialled.

The trial launched four weeks ago, and has been adapted during this time based on the responses from the 150,000  or so people who have visited the site. Specifically, the terms and conditions for its Student Pass have been changed. The airline is confident it has worked through the glitches and has officially launched the product today.

Elsewhere, it has also launched Eurowings Holidays, allowing passengers to dynamically package flights with hotels.

The airline has also introduced a sophisticated high-speed in-flight wifi product, WingsConnect, using Inmarsat‘s satellite-based connectivity option. It offers three different levels of access, from bargain-basement messaging-only  to a fully-fledged all you can eat package.

It says the majority of its fleet will be wired up for wifi in time for the summer.

The digital transformation of Lufthansa Group has been under way for 18 months or so, kicking off with its distribution cost charge in June 2015. A more recent example of its new approach was the launch of its Open API last month, which opened up its airlines’ booking engines to third parties.

Related reading from Tnooz:
Lufthansa allows third parties to sell seats via its API (Feb17)
Can Lufthansa bring a smile to passengers via digital personalisation? (Jan17)