KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is trialing an android smartwatch app that provides travelers with trip related information to help improve the passenger experience.
Smartwatch owners who install the KLM app on their android smartphone will be able to check their flight overview in KLM’s app at any time after making a booking. They will also start receiving trip-related notifications 24 hours ahead of their departure.
Upon entering Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s ‘geofence’, passengers automatically receive a notification with gate information and their boarding time. Opening the notification allows the passenger to swipe between all relevant flight information. An hour before departure, passengers receive a message with their boarding pass, ready to be scanned at the gate. A final notification with the passenger’s seat number is sent just before departure.
Tjalling Smit, senior vice president of e-commerce at Air France-KLM, said, “The KLM smartwatch app allows passengers to find relevant and up-to-date flight information at a glance. In the future, we will link further technologies to offer innovative services ensuring that passengers are always a step ahead on their journey.”
Last year, KLM launched an airport navigation service using iBeacon technology that helps transfer passengers to find their next gate at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. KLM is testing the smartwatch technology in order to benefit from user feedback and experiences. This will also help to develop the Apple Watch app at a later date.
