Virgin partners with Delta with new passenger service suite

Virgin Atlantic will start using the AIR4 suit of passenger service systems (PSS) from 2016, improving the whole booking, ticketing and check-in experience for passengers.

Access Information Real-time for Customers (AIR4) is already being used by Virgin Atlantic's partner Delta and offers a number of features to streamline the travel process, including improved reservation, ticketing and departure control functionality and as the departure date looms, better web, kiosk and mobile capabilities.

Virgin says its move away frrom its current SHARES reservation service will benefit its customers, as it switches its approach to embrace new technologies from a passenger's point of view. The move will introduce features such as automated bag drop and disruption management to improve the passenger travel experience.

Joe Thompson, Virgin Atlantic's director of network and alliances, said: "This is a further example of how our partnership with Delta Air Lines can bring huge benefits both to our customers and to our business. AIR4 will significantly improve our customers' experiences when booking and travelling with Virgin Atlantic across our network.

"By accessing Delta's expertise and development plan we can build even better customer journeys, and offer an even more joined-up experience for customers travelling on our joint venture services."

Delta's senior vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Perry Cantarutti, added: "Virgin Atlantic's decision to use Delta's core customer service technology platforms will simultaneously eliminate passenger experience seams and share long-term IT investments and direction which are key differentiators for our joint venture."