Finalists for Battle of the Airline Apps revealed

Five carriers to compete for gong at World Aviation Festival

Five airlines have been shortlisted as finalists for the World Aviation Festival’s Battle of the Airline Apps competition.

The competition challenges airlines to showcase how their apps are transforming the passenger journey, from booking and check-in to in-flight entertainment and post-travel loyalty.

Audiences at the event, in Lisbon, Portugal, in October, will see each of the carriers’ present and defend its mobile app strategy before a panel of industry experts.

The five airlines shortlisted for the final are: Qatar Airways, Copa Airlines, Air India, Saudia and Air Canada.

The industry experts responsible for judging the competition are: Anne De Hauw, founder of In Air Travel Experience; Oliver Schmitt, managing director of Digital Hangar and senior vice president of digital customer solutions at Lufthansa Group; and Seth Miller, founder of PaxExAero, Mark Lenahan, director of Lenahan Consulting Ltd.

The event will be hosted by Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research.

The World Aviation Festival (WAF) takes place from October 7-9 at FIL, Lisbon. There will be 600 speakers, more than 400 exhibitors and more than 4,500 aviation professionals present.

It will explore the impact of AI and machine learning, digital transformation, airline retailing, customer experience, and sustainability in aviation.

“The Battle of the Airline Apps is more than a competition; it’s a live case study in how airlines are reimagining the digital passenger journey,” said Daniel Boyle, general manager of transport at WAF organiser Terrapinn.

“With this year’s stellar line-up of finalists and judges, we expect bold ideas, healthy debate, and plenty of inspiration for the aviation industry and beyond.”