Emirates expands its mobile footprint, launches an Android app

On the heels of successful launch of its Apple Watch app, Emirates announced yesterday the debut of the Emirates App for Android, the world's largest mobile platform. With more than one hundred thousand monthly users of its iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch apps, Emirates is ramping up its efforts to enhance its passengers' travel experience through mobile technologies.

Developed in-house, the Emirates App for Android enables 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 Alex Knigge, Emirates' Senior Vice President – Digital. "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. "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."