Air NZ tests blockchain with Swiss startup
"Blockchain may offer a streamlined way to retail airfares and ancillary products alongside our current channels."
Air New Zealand chief digital officer Avi Golan
Air New Zealand is teaming up with Swiss travel startup Winding Tree to explore applications based on blockchain technology that could help the national carrier improve the efficiency and security of services such as booking and baggage tracking.
Blockchain, a digital ledger of transactions that has underpinned the virtual currency bitcoin, has permeated every aspect of the business and financial landscape.
Almost all global corporations in the world have some sort of blockchain initiative.
Air New Zealand chief digital officer Avi Golan said the airline is looking at a number of potential blockchain uses such as cargo and baggage tracking, retail, distribution, and loyalty programme opportunities.
‘‘While we are still exploring its benefits, blockchain may offer a streamlined way to retail airfares and ancillary products alongside our current channels.’’
In making the sales process less complex, Air New Zealand customers can benefit from reduced transactional costs, while the airline can take advantage of the swift and secure sharing of information, he said.
Air New Zealand said it has worked with a range of technology partners to introduce innovations. These include chatbot Oscar, which helps customers with queries online and through Air New Zealand’s mobile app.
Blockchain involves distributing records of transactions – such as bitcoin payments – across many interlinked computers, each of which keeps a complete history of past transactions.
The result is a distributed ledger that is less prone to errors and falsification than a traditional database. For example, if car yards entered odometer readings into a blockchain each time a vehicle was serviced or sold, they would be nigh on impossible to doctor.
Air New Zealand said it is investing in Winding Tree’s token sale slated for January next year but did not disclose how much it intends to invest.
Token sales or initial coin offerings have become a way for blockchain startups around the world to raise funds quickly and without regulatory oversight.
Last year, energy and technology company Vector inked a deal with Australian blockchain energy company Power Ledger for a trial to let customers buy and sell power without using an electricity retailer.