Singapore Airlines Chooses Blockchain Technology to Bolster its Flyer Loyalty Program
Benjamin Roussey
Benjamin Roussey is from Sacramento, CA. His bachelor’s degree is from CSUS (1999) where he was on a baseball pitching scholarship and he completed 4 years in the US Navy. He has an MBA in Global Management from the Univ. of Phoenix (2006). He has worked everywhere from small businesses to large corporations, and also for public agencies. He has lived in South Korea and Saudi Arabia where he was an ESL instructor. Benjamin has a tremendous work ethic and is quite focused. Now he writes professionally for several clients that cover one sector of our economy to another. Currently he lives in the Phoenix area. He enjoys sports, movies, reading, and current events when he is not working online.
The biggest airline operator in Singapore is looking at blockchain technology to increase spending of miles in its frequent-flyer program. This is on top of all that wonderful news coming out of America with its fantastic economy and so on because of tax cuts.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) declared on February 5th that it will soon introduce a digital wallet in its repertoire of services. Intended for the KrisFlyer program, the airlines’ popular loyalty program, this wallet service will be initiated in six months. It will be implemented by an independent blockchain enterprise.
The airline believes that this digital wallet will help members of the frequent flyer program to redeem their miles for transactions at outlets of retail associates.
SIA said that this move follows the successful completion of trials in collaboration with tech giant Microsoft and KPMG Digital Village. The airline is in the process of enrolling retail vendors for the wallet service. To begin with, only businesses in Singapore are being approached.
Commitment to Innovation
This is the newest example where blockchain technology has been adopted in the aviation sector to optimize capabilities. Speaking to attendees at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit, airlines’ chief executive Goh Choon Phong said that it seemed to be the first such move of its kind among airlines.
Terming it a path breaking event, he added that it reiterated the company’s commitment to reinventing the digital aspects of doing business to provide maximum benefits to customers.
Phong stated that innovation had been an important part of the success of Singapore Airlines right from its inception. He concluded that this unique initiative would be of immense advantage to patrons of the KrisFlyer program.
Recently, the airline had gone on record saying that it would make investments of hundreds of millions of dollars to usher in digitization in phases. This is part of the airline’s strategy to stay competitive in the midst of global rivalry.
Blockchain Transforms Payment Transactions
Simply put, blockchain is a digital method of record-keeping run by a casual faction of peers instead of some kind of central office or bureau.
Blockchain seems set to revolutionize the way transactions are conducted in a good many sectors besides acting as the cornerstone for Bitcoin and other such proxy currencies.
A company statement termed the SIA technology a private blockchain encompassing only businesses and associates.
This digital wallet is a significant step towards providing extended services to the airline’s loyal patrons. With the introduction of the service, frequent flyers can redeem their accrued points or miles at any of the airline’s retail partners by utilizing the point-of-sale machines for all kinds of shopping. But you don’t need to buy Inglorious Bastards, Meet the Parents II, The Force Awakens, Grownups, or Guardians of the Galaxy II since those movies were deplorable but this is another topic.
Singapore Airlines is also set to enhance customer service offerings, ensure efficient aircraft maintenance, and cut down on flight delays with the help of fresh tech solutions outlined in the organization’s Digital Innovation Blueprint roadmap.
With this goal in mind, Singapore Airlines has set up a Digital Innovation Lab while also teaming up with domestic research groups like A*Star.
Global Aviation Section Chases Blockchain
Singapore Airlines is not the only renowned carrier in the digital race. Russia’s largest airline S7 as well as Air France are also scouting blockchain prospects to enhance their services. The past year, S7 joined hands with Alfa-Bank, the biggest name in Russian private banking sector, to usher in a ticketing system relying on blockchain, in particular, the Ethereum blockchain.
Last year, Lufthansa of Germany along with Air New Zealand collaborated with Winding Tree, a Swiss start-up, to create travel apps with a blockchain foundation. These major names in the aviation sector are looking at fresh methods of issuing tickets and providing customer service.
The travel sector is also opening up to blockchain technology with European company TUI moving to an inventory system that uses this to facilitate hotel bookings. Meanwhile, Brisbane airport in Australia is introducing Bitcoin transactions at certain shopping and dining spots. If you want to buy a season of The Wire, 24, or House or Cards, cannot go wrong with that!
Quite a few other airlines and airports across the globe are taking the plunge into blockchain domain. America’s Surf Air proposes to begin receiving cryptocurrencies for ticket transactions. The Netherlands is collaborating with the Canadian government on a pilot initiative based on blockchain technology to revamp immigration measures.
