Delta Air Lines
Soar to new heights
How a 15-year relationship has redefined travel in the digital age.
Insight
Giving travellers more control elevates their journey and wins loyalty.
When Delta Air Lines first worked with AKQA, its digital agency of record, to develop the Fly Delta app in 2009, the team discovered that putting a boarding pass on a user’s smartphone led to benefits beyond shorter check-in lines. They also learned that giving customers a sense of control over their travel helped their peace of mind, driving brand loyalty.
Idea
Empower travellers at every step in the journey.
Back in 2009, when most fliers used paper tickets and called the airline for information, it was clear that digital channels offered new avenues for growth and customer service and could help the airline stay on top of massive changes that were transforming the industry.
From the first app launch through the latest redesign, the Delta and AKQA teams have focussed on empathy for the user and smart UI when architecting every feature, ensuring that Fly Delta empowers customers to make the best decision for themselves.
A partnership driven by innovation.
Fly Delta was an immediate success upon its launch in 2010, becoming the standard by which the industry measures itself. AKQA has partnered with the airline on many industry firsts, such as being the first airline app to include Apple Pay and becoming the first U.S. airline to include RFID baggage tracking.
Fly Delta has been iteratively developed, redesigned and improved several times since Delta and AKQA began their partnership. A cross-disciplinary team focuses on combining customer needs and business objectives within the design process, shaping the final experience with rigorous user testing.
An elevated travel experience.
Over the years, Fly Delta has evolved into Delta’s primary self-service channel, reducing customers’ need to call customer service, queue for an agent, or visit a web page to buy a ticket. The priority at all times is to build a deeper relationship with customers and serve them more efficiently, so that the app becomes their trusted travel companion.
Although Fly Delta helped put the airline at the industry’s digital forefront, yesterday’s innovations can quickly become today’s standard. The largest airline in the world by revenue, Delta knows that staying at the top of a dynamic industry requires a relentless focus on customers’ growing expectations and constant reinvention.
That’s why AKQA has regularly worked with Delta’s Digital team to set a North Star for each new generation of the app before any redesign. As Delta has evolved its operations and expanded its digital footprint, new features are added that empower travellers to do more, from initial trip inspiration and planning to the day of travel. The result is the latest version of Fly Delta, a more elevated digital experience that contextually responds to and even anticipates a customer’s needs.
Always envisioning the next destination.
Because part of the fun of travel is imagining the trip beforehand, Fly Delta offers targeted content, allowing customers to explore other destinations, vacations and travel offerings. The Explore screen adds inspiration to the experience, making Fly Delta not just an incredibly convenient travel tool but also an imaginative portal for planning future escapes.
Impact
Transforming user journeys, in every sense of the phrase.
Fly Delta has become indispensable to the travel experience for millions of fliers, and for Delta, with more than one billion visits in 2023 alone. What was initially one channel within Delta’s digital ecosystem has become the primary channel for most customers and a vital part of Delta’s business strategy.
