Where’s My Plane?

On Friday I flew from SF to LA. Before flying out, I had an impromptu meetup with two of my close friends from college at SFO. They were coming, I was going. Our timing lined up almost perfectly, I just needed to get to the airport an hour earlier than I normally would. 

Meeting up with old friends is so magical. I was instantly transported to our days in college. We didn’t miss a beat. Catching up, laughing, sharing stories and hearing about their lives. 

I headed to my gate as they grabbed an Uber back to the city. While walking I got a text that my flight was delayed. I checked the Delta app when I got to the gate and saw that I was an hour delayed, not bad. 

My flight kept getting bumped back. Getting delayed is not fun. But, having real time information about your flight is very helpful. Delta achieves this with an in app feature called, ​“where’s my plane”. There was fog in SF and our plane was grounded in LA. Throughout the day I was able to open the app and see details about the plane’s status, estimated arrival time and my estimated departure time. 

While not ideal, I used the day as a work day from the airport and felt confident knowing the status of our plane. 

Technology opens up communication. It provides information in real time. When used well it can improve customer experiences, enhancing loyalty and connection customers have with a brand.