Passengers put Lufthansa Navigator app to the test
How do I get to the check-in counter, to baggage reclaim, to the lounge and then to the right gate? With the Lufthansa Navigator – a new application that runs on the iPhone – finding one’s way around the airport is child’s play.
This innovative application is structured like a navigation system and is designed to guide users reliably from their current position to their desired destination at the airport. It is available in both German and English and can be downloaded free from the Apple App Store.
Once the Lufthansa Navigator has been started up, passengers are presented with various options on the start page and can choose whether they want to go to check-in, to a lounge or direct to their gate. A list of all the current Lufthansa flights with the respective gate numbers is then displayed. As soon as the destination has been entered, the route from the user’s current location is calculated and displayed on an on-screen map. To aid orientation, original photos of the surroundings are superimposed onto the map at significant points along the way, and an arrow indicates the direction to be taken. Passengers can check out the route beforehand at home using the simulation mode. Once the starting point and the destination have been entered, the application calculates the virtual route and displays it on the iPhone.
But the Lufthansa Navigator is not just a navigation system. The iPhone app (version OS 3.0 or higher) enables passengers to call up flight information about individual flights such as scheduled and expected departure times and also to book flights or check in online via lufthansa.com.
“With the Lufthansa Navigator our passengers – whether they are frequent or infrequent travellers or whether they are using the application at the airport or at home – are ideally equipped for their journey,” says Dr. Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht, stressing the special customer benefits of the application. As Lufthansa’s Head of Hub Management at Frankfurt, he is responsible, amongst other things, for ground products and processes.
The test phase for the new application will last several months and will include a user survey. After trying out the gadget, passengers will be asked to assess, for example, to what extent the application helped them find their destination, whether the visual display is adequate and which additional navigation points they would like to see. Whether the application will be offered in future as a standard service and extended to other airports depends on a number of factors, including the test results and customer feedback.