United Continental accommodates international travelers via mobile enhancements

By Rimma Kats

March 21, 2011

United's mobile site

United Continental Holdings Inc. is expanding its mobile services to let international travelers check-in to a flight via their smartphone.

The company is letting customers traveling with international itineraries check in at United.com using a Web-enabled mobile device beginning two hours before departure. Additionally, the airline is adding mobile boarding passes to accommodate international travelers.

“Our goal is to enable greater use of self-service tools by our customers,” said Charles Hobart, communications and public relations director at United Airlines, Chicago. “Customers have embraced self-service technologies as a way to save time and enjoy greater control throughout their travel experience. 

“We’re able to provide more information to customers through mobile options, which enables them to make more informed decisions,” he said. “The mobile channel provides us with yet another way to communicate important updates with the customer regarding their trip. 

“At the same time, we recognize that consumers are performing more transactions – whether search or purchase – through the mobile channel. We recognize this channel shift and are interacting with our customers via mobile.”

United Continental Holdings is the holding company for both United Airlines and Continental Airlines.

Mobile expansion
Customers departing from airports in London, Munich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Geneva, Zurich, Moscow and Osaka can use mobile boarding passes.

Additionally, the company plans to introduce the mobile boarding pass option at additional international airports, including Frankfurt, Tokyo Narita and Hong Kong in the coming months.

The mobile boarding passes feature a two-dimensional bar code and the customer’s flight information.

Consumers can scan the mobile bar code at the security checkpoint and validate it at the boarding gate.

“We are communicating with our customers with traditional signage at airports, at United.com and through marketing communication such as frequent-flyer emails, digital signage at airports and home-printed boarding passes,” Mr. Hobart said. “We’re also proactively communicating with customers through flight status messages and social media channels like Twitter and Facebook.”

Enhancements
Via the new features, United customers can check flight status, flight availability, itineraries and Mileage Plus accounts, and sign up for notification via email, phone or text message of any changes to flight status.

Additionally, the My Itineraries feature lets consumers view their itineraries and if there are any missed connections, they can see the flights on which they have been automatically rebooked, rather than waiting in line at the airport for agent assistance.

“We are committed to the use of new, innovative solutions and technologies to improve the customer experience,” Mr. Hobart said. “Customers have embraced self-service as it enables them to take more control of their travel experience. 

“Mobile devices enable us to interact with and provide information to our customers while they are on the go,” he said. “At the same time, customers have the ability to learn more about other aspects of their travels with us and can then make informed decisions that fit their needs best.”

Final Take
Paperless boarding passes are taking off