Qatar Airways, Saudia, Air India in the big 'Battle of the Airline Apps'

02/09/2025 05:38 AST

Leading international airlines will go head-to-head for the best app in 'Battle of the Airline Apps' at the World Aviation Festival 2025, a major aviation technology event, to be held next month in Lisbon, Portugal.

Launched to spotlight innovation in airline mobile technology, the Battle of the Airline Apps challenges carriers to showcase how their apps are transforming the passenger journey - from booking and check-in to in flight engagement and post travel loyalty.

The live format gives audiences an unfiltered look at the strategies, design choices, and digital investments shaping the future of airline-customer interaction, while fostering healthy competition and knowledge sharing across the industry.

To be held from October 7 to 9 at FIL, Lisbon, the event will see these five flag-carriers compete in live app showdown judged by leading passenger experience experts.

Revealing the finalists for its highly anticipated Battle of the Airline Apps competition, today (September 1), The World Aviation Festival (WAF) said this year's line-up brings together five global carriers known for their digital innovation:

*Qatar Airways - Christoph Guittard, SVP Business to Customer
*Copa Airlines - speaker to be confirmed
*Air India - Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer
*Saudia - speaker to be confirmed
*Air Canada - Carlos Faxas, Managing Director, Ops Mod and Tech Enablement

The live competition will see each airline present and defend its mobile app strategy before a panel of industry experts including Anne De Hauw, Founder, In Air Travel Experience; Oliver Schmitt, MD Digital Hangar and SVP Digital Customer Solutions, Lufthansa Group; Seth Miller, Founder, PaxExAero and Mark Lenahan, Consultant, Director, Lenahan Consulting.

It is being hosted by Henry Harteveldt, Travel Industry Analyst, Atmosphere Research.

Now in its latest edition, the Battle of the Airline Apps has become a WAF highlight, offering a rare, side-by-side look at how leading carriers are using mobile platforms to enhance passenger experience, drive loyalty, and streamline operations, said the organisers.

"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," stated Boyle.

The competition is part of a packed WAF 2025 programme featuring 600 speakers, 400+ exhibitors, and more than 4,500 aviation professionals.

Taking place across 16 conference tracks, the event will explore the impact of AI and machine learning, digital transformation, airline retailing, customer experience, and sustainability in aviation.

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