Collaborative approach pays off as two member airlines begin to experience the benefits of SkyLink Digital Spine

You then try to select your seat for the second leg of your journey – the flight operated by Delta – and up pops a message. You can’t view a seat map, select your seat, or purchase a preferred seat.

This is just one of the potential customer pain points that can be solved with the SkyLink Digital Spine. Earlier this year the SkyLink Digital Spine went live with its very first pair of member airlines.

Unique to SkyTeam, the Digital Spine is an advanced technology that enhances the SkyLink tech hub with innovative new functionalities. It will enable our 20 member airlines to enhance the customer experience while creating opportunities for revenue growth through the cross-sell of ancillary products.

Delta and Aeroméxico customers are already experiencing the convenience and benefits of the Spine. As the first pair to go live, customers flying on an itinerary with the two airlines can now purchase seat products for their entire journey via their home airline website.

This industry-leading innovation is a perfect example of how collaboration and a digital focus is helping deliver improvements for our member airlines and their customers. The Spine will be expanded significantly over the next three years, eventually bringing in a range of potential functionalities, from capturing and finding baggage to seamless check-ins to providing all boarding passes.

SkyTeam has been collaborating with Delta, Aeroméxico and trusted provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to make this exciting development a reality. We spoke to four people who have been working behind the scenes to bring the Spine to life: Daniel Reyes, Aeroméxico’s Head of E-commerce Payments and Projects; Sjoerd Roorda, SkyTeam’s Program Director for Seamless Ancillaries; Devraj Chowdhury, Lead Business Architect at SkyTeam, and Murali Krishnan V, Lead Business Analyst at TCS.

 

What’s the most exciting thing about the seamless ancillaries’ program?

Daniel: Ancillaries are driving the way the aviation industry does business. It’s incredible that customers are going to be able to buy and select their preferred seats (or other ancillaries in the future) regardless of which carrier is operating the aircraft. This brings a better customer experience and additional revenue for the airline.

Sjoerd: The fact we deliver tangible results and are solving real customer pain points that have existed for a long time. Also, we’re developing a unique solution in the industry which really sets SkyTeam apart from other alliances – this is something we can be really proud of!

Devraj: For me, it’s about improving the customer experience by developing agile technology.

Murali: The endless possibilities that connectivity and seamless interaction between carriers can bring. I believe the SkyLink Digital Spine will bring about a new thought process to the aviation industry.

 

What has it been like collaborating with colleagues from SkyTeam, Aeroméxico, Delta and TCS?

Daniel: This project has required a lot of effort from all the involved parties, from facing language barriers to being in four different time zones. Running workshops in three different cities did speed up the pace, plus SkyTeam and TCS provided continuous support and tracking on a weekly basis.

Sjoerd: Working with this multidisciplinary and multi-cultural team is a huge pleasure. All team members are highly committed to making it a success and there’s a strong ‘can do’ team spirit, which I find very stimulating.

Devraj: We’ve had face-to-face meetings and workshops, conference calls, co-location testing. I’d like to thank all the colleagues of SkyTeam, Aeroméxico, Delta and TCS who have shown so much flexibility – particularly for all the informal discussions and conference calls across any hour of a day, which were critical to this accomplishment.

 

Tell us one thing you learned during this project?

Daniel: There’s a great opportunity to use modern technology to replace legacy airline systems. This will benefit all the stakeholders involved in getting our customers from A to B.

Sjoerd: Our agile way of working is a very powerful and useful approach. For this project, it’s allowed us to very quickly realize the user stories we defined together with the airlines and enabled us to fine-tune our solution along the way. This project again confirms to me that putting the customer and technology front and center is key.

Murali: I believe the Spine can bring a lot of added value to all its stakeholders. The endless possibilities that it offers will be an industry first, therefore being part of this project has given me (personally) and TCS (professionally) an edge.

 

What do you believe has been the biggest benefit of joining the program, either for you professionally or for your organization?

Daniel: For Aeroméxico, this represents our commitment to being a technology-driven company working to improve the customer experience for our passengers through digital solutions.

Sjoerd: Being part of this program is for me a great way to further grow and develop my knowledge. The opportunity to work in such a multi-cultural surrounding with a highly motivated team is the cherry on the cake.

 

Kristin Colvile, SkyTeam’s CEO, said: “SkyTeam is the alliance that listens to its customers, and we continue to invest in innovative technology to make their traveling lives easier.

The SkyLink Digital Spine is the latest in a long line of industry-leading initiatives that we’ve developed to solve travel pain-points that frequent flyers come up against most.”

We can’t wait to see more of our members and their customers benefit from this fantastic technology. Watch this space.