Airlines aren’t generally renowned for their technology. Ageing legacy systems have caused an untold number of operational meltdowns in recent years, while passengers are left navigating websites and mobile apps that look good but lack the functionality that is really needed.
United Airlines is, however, a rare exception. Things are certainly far from perfect, but the Chicago-based carrier has made real progress in adding features that are improving the passenger experience rather than just focusing on new ways to upsell.
In particular, under the leadership of chief executive Scott Kirby, United’s mobile app is actually being developed in a way that makes passengers want to use it, with a growing list of features, like:
- Checked bag tracking that shows you where your luggage is at every step in the journey.
- A personalized connections assistant that shows passengers where to go when connecting from one plane to the next.
- Weather maps and real-time delay information that uses AI to explain why your flight is delayed.
- Automatic rebooking in the event of a significant delay or cancellation.
- ‘ConnectionSaver’ tech that holds departing flights for a few minutes if customers who have a tight connection due to a delay have a realistic chance of getting to their next gate.
It turns out, however, that Kirby thinks that there’s a lot more that United could do to provide passengers with the information they crave, and he has looking at one particular flight tracking app for inspiration.
In a new interview with Stratechery, Kirby revealed that he talked about acquiring the award-winning app Flighty in an attempt to supercharge United’s own mobile app.
“I shouldn’t say this in public, but I told our team, ‘We should just go buy Flighty,'” Kirby admitted.
“We’ll keep running it as Flighty, but I just want smart people that aren’t sitting at headquarters that believe anything is possible. Don’t tell me why we can’t do it, but go buy Flighty, and just let those guys tell us what to do. They’re really good,” Kirby added.
Launched in 2019 by former Apple employee Ryan Jones, Flighty has become the go-to flight tracking app for frequent travelers. Jones conceived Flighty after experieicng a long delay with access to little information about what was happening.
Flighty provides flight information at a user’s fingertips in a way that most airlines’ native mobile apps fail miserably at.
Tapping into data feeds from an airline’s operational systems, as well as partner data providers, Flighty provides real-time updates, showing where your plane is coming from, and predicting delays based on a wide range of data, including weather and air traffic control issues.
For what it’s worth, interviewer Ben Thompson spoke to Ryan Jones, who agrees that United “by far the best app,” but also feels like the airline is “stealing all his good ideas”…. although this is meant as a compliment.
Kirby believes that United is currently the best airline in the world at telling customers why their flight is delayed, but in terms of where the airline is headed, United is still “in the pregame on getting it.”
“I think we have the data architecture that allows us to do it, and AI is really the right tool to effectuate that, and I think we’re getting much better at it,” Kirby continued.
As to whether United will end up buying Flighty, that’s uncertain, but it seems like, at the very least, the airline will continue to be ‘inspired’ by what Jones and his team are doing.
