United Airlines is launching a suite of iOS mobile applications for use by its employees to improve their ability to track customer information and improve the customer experience.

The apps are being designed with the help of IBM. United Airlines is taking advantage of the other side of mobile that uses mobile devices to improve the employee’s ability to help the customer and not just the customer’s ability to help themselves.

“United Airlines is committed to delivering positive traveler experiences that begin with front line engagements during all points of the passenger journey – from check-in to departure to destination,” said Dee Waddell, global managing director of travel & transportation industries at IBM. “This enhanced strategy with mobile solutions from IBM and Apple allows United Airlines employees to tap into the right information at the right time to instantaneously address the needs that matter most to passengers.”

Employee mobility
While retailers and brands have long understood the power that mobile puts in the hands of consumers, giving them control over their retail experience in a way they did not have before, less fuss has been made over how mobile can help employees.

Some brands have taken advantage of this idea though, giving their employees access to mobile devices and in-house apps that help them keep stock of inventory and customer information.

The latest brand to attempt such as move is United Airlines, which is working with IBM to create a suite of enterprise apps that will be used by its employees.

The apps will be iOS exclusive, with every employee getting their own iPhone or iPad to use them on.

The partnership will take advantage of the 500,000 devices already currently employed by United Airline’s employees.

United Airlines wants employees to be able to meet consumers’ needs in real-time. These apps will provide them with the ability to do so.

Airline employees can use the apps to quickly look up customer information or scan a ticket in order to direct travelers to their proper gates or to other required services.

Airline apps
While mobile has created a level of freedom for customers that no longer have to be tethered to a desktop computer for their Internet needs, the same is now happening for employees.

Many of the workers at United Airlines who would otherwise have to be stuck at kiosks and desks where they can search for customer information can now move freely, confident that they can find whatever information they need immediately.

But United Airlines is not the only airlines using mobile to improve the customer experience. Delta is also using mobile to deal with the age-old traveling problem of lost luggage (see story).

Meanwhile, IBM has been slowly but surely expanding its partnerships with brands and retailers around the world, particularly in the travel industry. Thanks to a partnership with Panasonic, IBM is also bringing its technology to hotels as well as airlines (see story).

This partnership signals the wide swath of mobile use cases that are still available, once brands and retailers invest the resources to explore them.

“We want to put our employees in a position to deliver exceptional service at every step of the travel experience,” said United’s vice president of operations technology Jason Birnbaum. “We have incredible employees out in the field who rely on technology to help our customers. The mobile solutions and working closely with IBM and Apple enables us to provide innovative solutions for them on an unprecedented scale.”