Lufthansa Provides Cabin Staff with iPads

• Brings direct payment option to the check-in counters and gates in Nigeria with card terminals

A gentle push on the home button and the digital world opens up to the user. A finger swipes the surface and navigates to a yellow app. With the “Lufthansa crewFlight” apps, the seating plan is quickly opened, providing the cabin crew with a plenty of information on the guests of their next flight. Lufthansa has been providing its 20,000 flight attendants with iPad Minis. The so-called cabin mobile device (CMD) will be successively issued to the entire cabin crew over the next few weeks. This is a major and – above all – visible step in the year of digitisation at Lufthansa.
The so-called Electronic Flight Bag has already been in operation in the cockpit since the beginning of 2015 and is used by 4,300 pilots for flight planning and operations. At the same time, cabin crew managers also received a tablet, and this is now to be extended to include all cabin crew as a result of the positive experience. The CMD will allow cabin crew members to access all the data they need to work on board, to access important service manuals and service schedules, and easily view any changes in plans. The CMD heralds a new way of “paperless” working and simplifies existing processes so that staff have more time for customers. Moreover, it significantly improves communication with the personnel on board.

The Cabin Mobile Device project is part of a major current programme of transformation called ‘OPSession’, which aims to further digitise the operational areas of Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines. Employees with no fixed workplace are to be equipped with mobile devices so that they may meet the needs of the customer in an even better and more personalized way.

In another development, Lufthansa will now enable secure simple payments at the check-in counter in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, by introducing “Amadeus Airport Pay”. This new service, developed by Amadeus and Ingenico, will subsequently be available at more than 170 airports around the world. The customers will be able to pay for ancillary services, such as excess baggage, with chip-cards (credit/debit cards), girocard payments and compatible digital wallets.
“This direct-payment option will further improve the customer experience for our passengers in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt,” says Robin Sohdi, Lufthansa General Manager Nigeria.

Additionally, airline staff are able to initiate compensation payments with these terminals, for instance in case a passenger voluntary steps back from an overbooked flight. “To bring secure and seamless payment options to our passengers to ease their individual and seamless travel experience is a core objective for the Lufthansa Group. Amadeus Airport Pay enables our travellers to choose customised ancillary services for their flight while checking in or at the gate – securely and with a variety of payment options, and without the need for detours,” said Kai Schilb, Head of Payment at Lufthansa Group Hub Airlines.

“Besides, as an IT solution, Amadeus Airport Pay gives the Lufthansa Group full control over its payment infrastructure by enabling bilateral connections with a wide range of payment providers. We look forward to bringing this service to our airport check-in desks and ticket offices in more than 170 airports very soon,” added Philipp Vetten, Head of IT Payment Projects at Lufthansa Group Hub Airlines.

The standard used by the Amadeus Airport Pay solution is also fully compatible with PCI-DSS, a series of security standards defined by the payment card industry. By using a PIN method for the cards, fraud is prevented during the payment process itself.

The Lufthansa Group strives to provide its customers with a range of choices in products and services fitted to their needs. In today’s digital world, customers demand simplicity and convenience throughout their purchasing experience, no matter what channel they use while shopping, whether it is web, mobile, or physical stores.