Overview
For airlines, pilots and their cabin crew, mobile devices are critical to day-to-day operational efficiency, safety, and profitability. The devices serve as both an EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) and an in-flight POS (Point-of-Sale) tool. When one of the world’s leading airlines needed to refresh its existing flight attendant mobile solution, in the face of demanding time and logistical challenges, Denali stepped up to the plate. The airline gained efficiency, innovation, and convenience across its organization and its global flight attendant workforce.
Denali’s client is a major US-based airline and a top Fortune 150 company. Operating an extensive international and domestic network, the company offers an average of nearly 6,700 flights daily to 350 destinations in 50 countries. When measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenger mile, it is one of the world’s largest airlines, carrying an average of 350,000 to 400,000 passengers a day, pre-pandemic.
Mobile devices enable flight attendants to perform flight management, safety tasks and onboard sales more easily, increasing operational efficiency and revenues. The devices can also host purpose-built software applications that automate other functions previously carried out manually. Denali’s client is responsible for ensuring all its flight attendants are equipped with a personal mobile device to serve as their EFB and to conduct in-flight sales. EFBs are a mandatory, federally-regulated component of flight attendants’ workday. Both EFBs and in-flight POS systems are paramount to the smooth and secure running of flight operations around the globe.
Services
Challenge
When the airline approached Denali in July, 2019, it needed to replace its current mobile device solution fast. Current inventory comprised Samsung Note devices, but the Samsung Note 5 was due to become obsolete by December 2021. These devices were running on 3G, which was slated to be deprecated by the major cellular carriers by June of 2022. The airline wanted a new solution that would be simple to launch, scalable, user-friendly and on a current platform with a multi-year usable life. In particular, the company was also looking to:
- Deliver a better user experience for its flight attendants on an iOS® device, as internal client data showed most flight attendants used iOS® in their personal lives.
- Achieve more transparent reporting and analytics on its fleet health.
- Move from using its current MDM solution to an iOS® centric MDM solution.
- Provide a smoother solution from Retail in Motion for inflight payments with Bluetooth capabilities.
The airline faced difficult logistical challenges in achieving its objectives. A managed service provider needed to have all components required for this project available and up and running before December 2021, imposing a tight timeframe of just one year for completion. Additionally, ensuring receipt of the devices by 28,000 individuals who are constantly travelling – with variable schedules and short stays in any one location – presented exceptional implementation challenges.
Solution
- Our inventory management and scheduling capabilities ensured secure and reliable delivery of iPhone® 12 for all flight attendants. Denali set-up an ordering portal that allowed flight attendants to select both the location and arrival day of their mobile device kits. They also had the ability to change shipping addresses if their travel plans changed.
- Denali worked closely with the client to ensure standard applications were deployed across all devices.
- We supported a custom solution, with peripherals coming from different vendors around the world integrated into one combined solution. This included a third-party POS peripheral from Retail in Motion.
- Assisted the transition from the existing SOTI platform to the Jamf Apple device management solution within just one month.
- Designed a custom-branded unboxing experience for flight attendants using recyclable materials. The box design met the needs for both the delivery of new tech and reverse logistics for legacy retired phones.
- Denali’s global 24/7 managed service desk was implemented, supported by hundreds of
knowledge-based articles and knowledge transfer content. Help desk services were ramped up based on the volume of deployments needed. - We implemented 2D barcoding for optimized ongoing asset management, helping to safeguard the company’s assets throughout their deployment.
Results
Device deployment was successfully completed in less than 3 months. Denali’s faster and easier device delivery, deployment, and activation ensured that each flight attendant was quickly equipped and ready to go.
30,000+
mobile devices secured
3 mo.
Full depoyment in less than 3 months
28,000
flight attendants across America fully equipped
