British Airways embraces Apple Watch technology

The use of the British Airways Apple Watch app has quadrupled in just four months, and in response the airline is introducing new scanners to make them easier, and faster to use.

Customers will be able to slide their wrists under the new ‘Scan and Go’ devices to scan their boarding pass, print their own bag tags and speed through the airport. 

Some 136 of the new gadgets are being installed at check in desks across Heathrow’s Terminal 3 and 5, and will be ready for use on December 15th.

Apple watches now account for more than five per cent of app usage, giving customers access to real-time flight status, gate information, a countdown to the departure time and the weather at their destination.

When the Apple watch launched, British Airways was one of only a few companies to have a specially developed app on the new smartwatch, making travel even easier for customers of the airline.

Kevin McQuillan, British Airways head of mobile said: “We are always striving to make our customers’ journeys easier through use of technology. 

“When we saw the dramatic rise in the number of people using the app on their Apple watches we knew we needed to create new features in the terminal which would make the experience even better for them.”

The scanners can also be used by the five million customers who have downloaded the app onto their mobile phones. 

Early next year British Airways will also launch a new version of the app for iPads to give customers access to all the existing functionality of the mobile app and include Highlife Entertainment listings.