In the latest sign that the future of travel is now, Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, is rolling out a touchless customer experience for – notably – frequent flyer customers of its member airlines.
The Star Alliance Biometrics platform, an interoperable biometric identity and identification technology, is designed to deliver a safe, seamless customer journey and, at the same time, strengthen the loyalty value proposition within the alliance’s travel ecosystem.
Lufthansa Group (LHG) airlines, including Lufthansa (a founding member of Star Alliance) and SWISS, will be the first to use the system for selected flights starting this month. Specific infrastructure is being installed at hub airports Frankfurt and Munich.
Members of the Lufthansa and SWISS Miles & More Frequent Flyer Program who opt-in to biometrics will be able to pass through both security access and boarding gates in a touchless manner, an important health and hygiene safety measure in times of COVID-19.
In keeping with the requirement to wear masks in the airport terminal, it is not required to remove the mask for the biometric identity check. The identification process works for passengers wearing masks.
The Star Alliance Biometrics secure service is available at no cost to customers of the Miles & More program who have consented to share their biometric data with stakeholders of their choice during travel.
How does enrolment work?
With a few easy steps on their mobile device, Miles & More customers will have the option to enrol in Star Alliance Biometrics, accessed via a link within the Lufthansa app. Customers enrolling are asked to take a selfie, verify their identity with their passport, and opt-in to the airlines and airports where they want to use the service.
Enrol once, use often
They only need to enrol once and can then use their biometrics data multiple times at biometrics touchpoints of any participating airport whenever they travel with a Star Alliance member airline that has implemented Star Alliance Biometrics.
Data privacy and security
Personal data, such as photo and other identification details, are encrypted and safely stored within the platform. From the outset, the system has been designed in compliance with applicable data protection laws making use of the latest facial recognition technology. Storage of personal data is kept to a minimum – for example, no customer names are stored.
“This is a customer-centric solution that furthers our credentials in innovation, particularly its multi-airline and multi-airport capability,” says Star Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh. “Whilst it offers a seamless customer travel experience, it is also a critical development that addresses the expectation of customers for a more touchless and hygienically safer experience. Star Alliance Biometrics is a key part of our strategy to be the most digitally advanced global airline alliance.”
Lufthansa Group board member Christina Foerster says, “The topic of biometrics will become increasingly important when travelling in the future. Especially during the pandemic, such touchless processes at the airport are a big plus. In the Lufthansa Group, biometric technology and solutions will increasingly ensure simplified and more efficient processes at airports, thereby significantly improving the travel experience of our passengers.
“With Star Alliance Biometrics we will be able to offer interested frequent flyers biometric security checkpoint access and boarding via facial recognition at our Frankfurt and Munich hubs” she adds. “This is an important milestone for us.”
The Star Alliance network, which includes Air Canada, currently offers more than 19,000 daily flights to over 1,300 airports in 195 countries.