Booking Platform for Additional Flight Services
The replacement of the less flexible booking platform for additional services was urgent for Edelweiss Air. With agile methods and the in-house FAST Framework behind it, 1stQuad implemented an attractive web application in record time despite various challenges and a complex IT environment.
Edelweiss Air AG
Edelweiss Air is a Swiss leisure airline that is 100% owned by Swiss International Air Lines and is, therefore, part of the Lufthansa Group. It operates flights from its base at Zurich Airport to European and intercontinental destinations.
The existing booking platform for additional services – seat reservations, special meal requests, special baggage, and other services – was difficult to adapt to new requirements and did not run with the desired stability. The Swiss airline Edelweiss Air, therefore, decided to launch a project with a short time horizon in order to rapidly improve the unsatisfactory booking situation for additional services: As new products were about to be launched, the new “B2S” platform had to be available within three months.
Mobile-ready booking platform
1stQuad received the order to develop a mobile-capable web solution. Besides flexibility and reliability, an attractive user interface was the focus of the requirements – a specialized agency was responsible for this. The actual web application was implemented by 1stQuad on the basis of the in-house FAST-Framework in a short time with an agile development method that included weekly meetings with the client.
Mastering crucial points with the FAST framework
One of the sticking points was the numerous peripheral systems involved – the information required comes from different sources depending on the flight and seat. A payment provider for credit card payments also had to be integrated. Time delays between booking and payment had to be taken into account in order to avoid, for example, assigning a seat twice. The coordination with the UI agency also presented certain challenges. However, the application and the interface were ready to go live and B2S went live as planned.
The additional services sold have a direct impact on the business success of Edelweiss Air. Accordingly, B2S is a decisive factor in the company’s success. The solution worked perfectly right from the start. It represents the first milestone in Edelweiss Air’s digitalization campaign and has already triggered various follow-up projects.
