EMIRATES LAUNCHES ANDROID ‘APP’ TO GIVE THE OTHER HALF OF THEIR PASSENGERS EQUAL MOBILE FREEDOM
(Posted 19th May 2015)
Emirates, flying daily to Entebbe and double daily to Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, has now launched their long awaited Android App for travelers flying with them who do not use Apple phones or tablets or their latest craze, the Apple Watch – Emirates just launched a separate App for that device – perhaps because they think, as this correspondent does, that apples are only good for pies and to feed to horses.
That little dig out in the open, the application is free to download on any smartphone which is Android powered and will give users the freedom to play travel agent, though the use of one is of course still highly recommended.
Emirates yesterday announced the debut of the Emirates App for Android, the world’s largest mobile platform, for many of their regular travellers a long overdue move. With more than one hundred thousand monthly users of its iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch apps, is the airline finally acknowledging Android users and ramping up its efforts to enhance the travel experience of those passengers who are not living by and for Apple.
Developed in-house, does the Emirates App for Android provide for a true personal journey planner, enabling users to:
· Book flights and review travel itineraries
· Manage every aspect of a booking, from seat selection to on-board menu and what’s on ice
· Download their boarding pass directly to Google Now or send it to a phone via SMS or email
· Receive quick updates on flight boarding and gate changes
· Get notifications about our Chauffeur-drive service
· Verify the status of a flight and sign up for alerts to know when it has departed or arrived
· Manage all the details of their Skywards account such as favourite destinations, aisle or window seats, and preferred newspaper
‘Our passengers are mobile and increasingly reliant on mobile devices to stay connected, no matter where they are in the world’ said Mr. Alex Knigge, Emirates’ Senior Vice President – Digital before adding ‘We believe the right mobile technology can significantly improve our customers’ experience. As a result, Emirates’ mobile strategy is aggressive and a key element of our digital roadmap. We aim to be trail blazers in the airline industry when it comes to mobile technologies’.
During the development of the Android app, Emirates conducted testing with employees and Skywards members. Feedback from these users was instrumental in fine tuning the overall experience.
‘With the popularity of Emirates’ first app for iPhone, many customers have asked for the Emirates App for Android. In fact, half of all users who access our website via mobile devices are on the Android platform’ commented Alex Knigge, Emirates’ Senior Vice President – Digital further. ‘Not only does this meet the needs of many of our customers while they’re on the move, it also paves the way for innovation on other devices that use the Android platform’.
Emirates meanwhile says it is continuing to enhance and expand its existing apps and develop new technologies that will benefit customers using a variety of mobile devices. For customers on-the-go who do not have iPhones, iPads or Android devices, Emirates also offers them access to this range of features via mobile.emirates.com as a mobile solution.
Customers can download the free app from the Android Market. To download the app all one has to do is to click on https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emirates.ek.android
For more information and added details one can also visit http://www.emirates.com/english/flying/emirates-app/index.aspx
One question in closing though which regularly burns on my tongue, WHAT TOOK THEM (and others) SO LONG and what made Emirates (and others) push Apple into user’s faces instead of starting off with Android which by their own admission make up half of their mobile site visitors?
