Smartphones: Genie in a Bottle for Business Travelers

With the way that the world has advanced today, it is no surprise that most processes have been adjusted to meet its pace. Like booking a flight, for example. Back in the day, it used to concern a number of steps. First, you had to find the right one for you. Then, you had to go to the store that sold the tickets. But with the way technology has progressed, all of that can be but a thing of the past. The trend now is to reserve a seat through your Blackberry or iPhone.

The smartphone is a truly wonderful gadget of the future. It surpasses whatever a contemporary mobile phone could ever do for you. Not only can it be used for making calls and sending text messages, but it can also access the Internet. Plus, along with its built-in programs, numerous applications can be downloaded on to it. A particular kind that may catch the attention of any traveler is one that allows him or her to book flights online.

Rummaging through your bag for your boarding pass is no longer a problem as many airline companies today give out electronic ones. These basically work like a bar code where they are scanned and are accepted into the system. Another advantage to this nifty little gadget is that it can, with the right application, update you with your flight status in real time which is helpful not only to you but to whoever is waiting for you at your destination. Smartphone air travel apps have been designed with all phases of your trip in mind. From finding a flight to finding a good cup of coffee during your layover. They take the guesswork out of finding an ATM, or a 10-minute massage station. In addition to storing and tracking your flights, you will also be able to find info like gate changes and weather reports for 5,000 airports and 1,400 airlines. If your flight is canceled or delayed, it's easy to search for other connections while you're standing in line for the gate agent or even from 30,000 feet -- you can access the app's route-maps feature offline when you're in the air.

The Introduction of American's applications for BlackBerry and Windows Phone smartphones also means that American's mobile apps are available to a large majority of smartphone users. According to a recent Nielsen report, BlackBerry, Android, Apple and Windows Phone make up 87 percent of the smartphone market.

Available for the BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Torch, BlackBerry Tour, BlackBerry Bold and Windows Phone smartphones, the new applications offer many of the same convenient mobile tools that are available in America's previously released applications for Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and the Barnes & Noble NOOK Color Reader's Tablet. These useful features, which are designed to simplify travel for America's customers on the go, include the ability to: Book Flights-book flights on Continental and United directly from the application on your mobile device; Create flight status notifications-receive automatic updates on your mobile device for selected flights; Check flight status and schedules-check your upgrade status and view in flight amenities and departure gates; View personal flight detail-view your arrival and departure times, check your layovers and view flight changes; Check in for flights-store your mobile boarding document for easy access at security and during boarding; Seat maps-select seats allowing you to choose Economy Plus and extra legroom seating; Frequent flyer account access-check your Mileage Plus and One Pass account information; Airport maps-zoom in on terminal maps for help navigating through the airport; and flight view-see real-time maps of flight paths and weather conditions. You may choose to have your boarding document sent directly to your mobile device via email. No printing is necessary. Once you receive your boarding document, simply scan the barcode on the screen at airport security checkpoints and at the gate during boarding. If a seat change, upgrade or change in departure gate occurs, your boarding document can be refreshed to display the new information. (www.united.com)

Global adoption of mobile technology has soared in the last decade. Mobile phone subscriptions will reach 5 billion worldwide by the end of 2012. Of that number, more than one billion mobile devices will have mobile broadband access to the Internet. Overall shipments of smartphones are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25.9 percent through 2015. There is overwhelming evidence that over the next three to five years, broadband consumption habits will change dramatically, with Internet access occurring via mobile devices rather than through PCs (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Internet Use via Mobile Devices Versus Desktop PCs, 2007-2015 (estimates)

Source: Morgan Stanley, 2009

This massive shift in mobile adoption makes the mobile phone a critical platform for developing new services and content that improves interactions and operations, increases personalization, and empowers both passengers and employees. With new mobile communications technologies and standards, such as 3G, 3.5G, and 4G, either available or on the horizon, smartphones will play a prominent role in broadband data communication. Large investments by service providers in these technologies will hasten the age of the mobile Internet. With broadband speeds increasing significantly for Mobile Cellular Subscriptions, expect usage to reach 5 Billion Worldwide in 2011(ITU News, International Telecommunications Union, March 2010, http://www.itu.int/net/itunews/issues/2010/02/23.aspx.). (IDC Predictions 2010: Recovery and Transformation, International Data Corporation, December 2009,

http://www.idc.com/research/predictions10/predictions10.jsp) by 2015, the United States will have 149 Million Wi-Fi-Enabled Mobile Phones (WorldTech 24.com, February

12, 2010), http://www.worldtech24.com/phones/2015-us-will-have-149-million-wifi-enabled-mobile-phones). For example, Long Term Evolution, or LTE, deployments will lead to data rates of at least 100

Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink, there are few limitations for rich, immersive applications that can be deployed over mobile devices. To hasten this explosive growth, many countries will focus on boosting development of national broadband infrastructures and increasing mobile broadband services over the next five years. Like the retail, hospitality, financial services, and other customer-facing industries, airlines stand to gain enormous benefits from mobile devices in terms of operational and service innovation. Increased passenger adoption of mobility, coupled with an array of applications and high-broadband capabilities, is creating new passenger touch points, experiences, and capabilities to deliver relevant and personalized