The Impact of Mobile Services on the Interaction between Airlines and Passengers

The purpose of this paper is to research how mobile services impact the interaction between airlines and passengers. The paper begins with a PEST analysis of the European airline industry and focuses on technological changes. It continues with a SWOT analysis of Lufthansa, where we interlink mobile technology as a platform which could reduce costs for the airline. In-depth research on mobile services and their impact on the interaction between airlines and passengers is performed by evaluating different mobile services along Lufthansa's value chain, namely the airline's activities in operations, outbound logistics and marketing and sales.

We claim that the interaction through mobile services is limited to one-way interaction, where airlines embrace the mobile services to perform cost reduction along their value chain, and neither offer two-way interaction with their passengers nor asking them to co-create the brand or the product. The current wireless mobile services are already offered via the internet, and allow a better and direct service for passengers. Mobile services are necessary for airlines, so they are not seen as out of date, but it does not mean that having mobile services contributes to having a competitive advantage. On the contrary, not having mobile services results in strategic disadvantage.