Hawaiian Airlines transforms day-of-travel experience with cross-channel orchestration

6.5

x

increase in registrations

13

%

year-over-year increase in audience engagement

Founded in 1929, Hawaiian Airlines is Hawaii’s largest and longest-serving airline. Known for its dedication to service, safety, and punctuality, the brand prioritizes a seamless, welcoming journey and people-first approach, delivering an authentic Hawaiian experience at every step.

Overview

Much is at stake on the day of travel, and every second counts. Today’s flyers rely heavily on digital interfaces to manage bookings and plans. Hawaiian Airlines set out to reduce stress for customers on the day of travel, from check-in to boarding, with a new mobile strategy focused on seamless, real-time updates and streamlined processes.

Challenge

With rising customer expectations for frictionless day-of-travel experiences, Hawaiian Airlines understood they needed to revamp their customer experience with a unified, cross-channel approach — offering all the real-time information passengers need to feel ready for travel. The airline’s goal was threefold: significantly increase mobile boarding pass usage, boost both mobile wallet adoption and push notification opt-ins, and elevate overall customer engagement.

Results

Over six months, Hawaiian Airlines saw significant gains due to day-of-travel improvements including 13% year-over-year increase in audience engagement and a 6.5X increase in registrations upon first app opening, along with increased mobile wallet adoption and push opt-ins.

Solution

Maximizing value delivered at every touchpoint

Growing app usage with wallet

To drive engagement and improve customer satisfaction, Hawaiian Airlines launched Google Wallet boarding passes so they could reach all customers with highly visible, day-of-travel notifications.

Targeted in-app experiences to boost push opt-ins and wallet adoption

With an in-app automation campaign targeted to customers on Android devices, the airline educated about the new wallet feature and promoted its usage. It also launched a Scenes campaign, highlighting the new “Ready to Board” alert to encourage push opt-ins.

Elevating day-of-travel with Live Activities

To convey real-time information to travelers, Hawaiian Airlines implemented Airship’s Live Activities feature during an internal IT hackathon. It was the first airline to launch Live Activities — taking only two weeks from inception to go-live in the app.