Tag: airline

DLX Pay & Air Transat in Action

Since going live with DLX Pay, Air Transat has rapidly transformed its payment operations – capturing 6.6% of failed transactions through intelligent, dynamic retry capabilities, successfully onboarded a new payment service provider (PSP) in time for go-live to demonstrate the platform’s agility, and proving DLX Pay’s scalability by processing over $400 million in transactions within the first three months of deployment.
Following the launch of DLX Pay in 2025, Air Transat became the first airline to sign up and go-live with it just months later. A modular, next-generation payment platform designed to improve payment performance and agility, it strengthens operational resilience and delivers greater control to airlines to ultimately enhance the end-to-end customer experience while increasing conversion and revenue opportunities.
The Challenge:
Like many airlines across the globe, Air Transat faced the complexity of managing payments across multiple markets, currencies, and payment methods. Combined with the need to integrate with numerous PSPs, typically at high costs, created a significant challenge. Legacy technology tends to lack the flexibility to quickly onboard new providers, leading to lengthy delivery cycles driving up costs. Additionally, Air Transat experienced limited retry capabilities for failed transactions, restricted visibility of controls and analytics, and a need to support local payment preferences while simultaneously maintaining robust fraud controls.
Solution & Results:
To tackle these challenges, Air Transat implemented DLX Pay for greater control over its payment processes which improved conversion rates, reduced costs, system stability and provided valuable insights through advanced reporting. DLX Pay proved its scalability from the outset, processing over US$400 million in the first 3 months.
  • Dynamic Retries Capturing Lost Revenue
DLX Pay introduced intelligent retry capabilities that were previously unavailable to Air Transat. Over the last three months, this functionality has automatically recovered 6.6% of declined sales by intelligently retrying soft declines from one PSP to be retried with an alternative. This capability works to prevent Air Transat from losing revenue due to failed transactions.
  • No Code Configuration
 With DLX Pay’s configurator and insights dashboard, Air Transat can identify suspected fraudulent activity and optimise fraud prevention and authentication through rule-based flows that trigger appropriate countermeasures. Air Transat can make changes in production via the self-service configuration portal without code changes.
  • Rapid Onboarding new PSPs for Faster Time to Market
With 50+ PSPs already available, DLX Pay drastically accelerates the onboarding of new payment methods and integrations. What previously took months now takes a matter of weeks, meaning reduced complexity and cost and the ability to confidently engage with new and innovative payment methods.
The rapid onboarding of new PSPs was proven at launch when DLX Pay was activated and, at the same time, the platform seamlessly added a new PSP in the background, which went live alongside DLX Pay.
  • More Actionable Insights, More Readily Available
Access to real-time insights in the DLX Pay Configurator, DLX Pay’s dedicated no-code dashboard, offers a consolidated view of payment performance across providers and markets. This enhanced visibility has shifted Air Transat’s approach to managing payments from a reactive function to a proactive, data-driven strategy leading to continuous optimisation and informed decision-making.
Additionally, Air Transat can use the DLX Pay Configurator to implement new payment routing rules or adjust existing ones without any development resources. Through the insight portal, Air Transat can easily identify fraudulent transactions and associated amounts. Likewise, the dashboard delivers data and analytics that are not available from PSPs alone, enabling deeper analysis and more effective troubleshooting.
Future Capabilities & Roadmap:
Building on the initial success, Air Transat and Datalex have a strong roadmap in place for the coming 12 months. Key areas of focus which can be achieved with minimal investment:
  • Adding further Forms of Payments and exploring new Payment Connectors
  • Evolving the usage of Dynamic Routing to further optimise costs
  • Driving down fraud levels using Dynamic Routing driven by insights
  • Exploring Network Tokens to improve authorisation rates
Conclusion
Activating DLX Pay has transformed Air Transat’s payment operations, driven improved performance and restored control of its payment ecosystem, all while reducing complexities and operational costs. With enhanced visibility, intelligent retry and routing capabilities, and the ability to rapidly onboard new PSPs, Air Transat is positioned to flexibly and continuously respond to evolving customer and market demands. The scalability and future-focus of DLX Pay means Air Transat can continue to deliver a seamless and secure customer experience while being at the forefront of payment innovations.
“DLX Pay has improved significantly the way we manage payments on Air Transat.com, giving us much greater control, flexibility, and visibility. Intelligent retry capabilities are helping us recover revenue that was previously lost, while the ability to rapidly onboard new PSPs enables us to optimise costs, increase conversion, and ultimately deliver a seamless booking experience for our passengers.” said Bamba Sissoko, CIO at Air Transat.
“We developed DLX Pay to address the challenges that airlines face on a day-to-day basis when it comes to payments. Seeing the immediate results achieved by Air Transat after go-live – from revenue recovered from successful retries to rapid scalability – demonstrates the power of an airline-specific payment orchestration platform to drive growth. DLX Pay empowers Air Transat with the control, agility, and insights required to elevate the customer experience and adapt quickly to market changes” said Jonathan Rockett, CEO of Datalex.

Emirates named as the world’s first Autism Certified Airline

As part of Autism Awareness month, several milestones have been achieved on Emirates’ journey to make travel more accessible for all. One year after Emirates’ first successful ‘travel rehearsal’, the programme is now being rolled out across 17 cities – allowing children with autism to practice the journey through the airport in order to prepare for real flights. Emirates has also achieved its designation as the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™, with more than 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff now trained to support customers with autism. For the month of April, Emirates highlighted autism awareness to millions of passengers globally, showcasing a selection of movies, podcasts and TV shows about neurodiversity on its inflight entertainment system, ice.

Adel al Redha, Deputy President and COO, Emirates, said:

“Emirates has been driving and facilitating good progress in accessible travel, and it is part of our operational strategy. We continue to work on this mission to make travel more inclusive. At the beginning of 2024, we were recognised as a Certified Autism Center™. We have upskilled our teams and I am pleased to say that we are now the world’s first autism-certified airline, with 30, 000 frontline staff and cabin crew trained to support our customers with autism. Now we are also rolling out our Travel Rehearsal programme in cities across the globe, to break barriers and make travel accessible for everyone. This is part of our social and professional responsibility.”

Emirates’ Travel Rehearsals activated across 17 cities

Globally, Emirates has started rolling out its travel rehearsal programme to 17 cities including Barcelona, Brisbane, Budapest, Cebu, Christchurch, Dubai, Durban, Luanda, Madrid, Manila, Mauritius, Manchester, Montreal, Nice, Oslo, Paris and Toronto, with more destinations committing to the programme every month.

The Travel Rehearsal concept first began in 2023, as a community collaboration between Emirates, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai Airports, the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai Police and Dubai Customs, and several schools and centres for autism in Dubai, whose feedback was invaluable to the process.

The local schools and centres for autism including Safe Center for Autism, The New England Center for Children’s® (NECC®) Clinic, Rashid Center for People of Determination and Dubai Autism Centre were invited to Dubai International (DXB) to experience a simulation of an airport journey. The children and their teachers and carers got to practice checking in, dropping baggage, going through immigration and security, experiencing the hustle and bustle of Duty Free and familiarising themselves with the airport, boarding passes, and the many individuals encountered along the way.

Now on an international level, parents, therapists and teachers involved in the travel rehearsals have reported to Emirates that the experience has been invaluable in helping their child to have a safe and successful flight, by offering the comfort of preparation and familiarity, as well as trained staff to support.

Emirates is introducing the travel rehearsal initiative in many cities on its network, with partnering airports, authorities, local centers, and foundations. Currently, this is not a bookable service and is available on an invitation basis in collaboration with accredited centers.

Emirates is the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™

Emirates has achieved its goal of becoming the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™, by completing the training of 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff to understand and support customers with autism. The new training on autism and sensory awareness equips Emirates’ frontline staff with the understanding and skills to address needs of autistic and sensory sensitive travellers, along with their families. It aims to educate Emirates’ teams on the spectrum of autism, misconceptions and challenges faced, the myriad ways to assist customers dependent on their individual needs, and potential stimulus and triggers that staff should be aware of.

The inaugural designation will be awarded by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), a leading organization in autism and neurodiversity training and certification. Emirates worked collaboratively with IBCCES for more than a year, to create the training after detailed reviews and a comprehensive audit. Using a data-driven approach, Emirates and IBCCES created a new blueprint for serving passengers with accessibility requirements, encompassing the entire journey – from ground services to in-flight services.

Emirates’ highlights Autism Awareness globally on ice

Throughout April, Emirates highlighted autism awareness to millions of global passengers on its award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice. The content included movies like Temple Grandin, Ezra and The Flight of Bryan, as well as podcasts about Dubai’s autism-friendly mission, documentaries like Copa 71, BBC docuseries Inside Our Autistic Minds, and Carl the Collector – a cartoon about a racoon character with autism.

The Year of Community – Dubai entities work together for Accessible Travel

For many people with autism, air travel is a challenging experience or something to be avoided completely, due to the high level of sensory stimuli that can be involved. A survey on AutismTravel.com revealed that 78% of families are hesitant to travel or visit new locations, and that 94% of respondents would take more vacations if they had access to places where staff are autism-trained and certified. Through global training and international initiatives, Emirates’ mission to make travel more inclusive and accessible for all also supports Dubai’s ambition to become the most accessible destination in the world.

Continuing to drive the accessible travel agenda forward, Emirates works in close collaboration with all its partners, which includes Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) to Dubai Airports, General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai Police and Dubai Customs, working together to achieve important goals in inclusive and accessible travel.

Emirates’ Accessible Travel Information

Emirates joins IATA’s Turbulence Aware Platform

Emirates has joined the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Turbulence Aware Platform. It will also be the first airline to integrate the IATA platform within the latest version of Lido mPilot, the mobile navigation solution from Lufthansa Systems.

Bringing these platforms together offers a wealth of data, combined with new technologies that make up-to-the-minute, highly accurate turbulence information and forecasts available for pilots, equipping them with the means to plot the best paths around affected areas for enhanced safety, efficient navigation, and optimisation of flight plans.

In conjunction with the IATA Turbulence Aware Platform, the airline has equipped more than 140 aircraft with the required onboard software to automatically share turbulence reports with all airlines contributing data to the platform. All new aircraft joining the Emirates fleet over the course of the next few years, such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777-9, 777-8 and B787, will be enabled to participate in the programme.

Captain Hassan Alhammadi, Divisional Senior Vice President, Flight Operations Emirates Airline said: “Actively participating in IATA’s Turbulence Aware platform and equipping our pilots with a complement of the latest industry technologies such as the mobile navigation solution Lido mPilot from Lufthansa Systems are part of our commitment to ensure operational safety, efficiency, and customer comfort on every flight. We’re also proud to contribute data around turbulence through our Middle East network and extensive links across Africa, Asia, Australia, and other regions. It will help build sophisticated industry knowledge to effectively manage turbulence and evolving weather patterns with even more precision. This is only the beginning, and we are progressing with plans to integrate more cutting-edge technologies to elevate the flying experience even further, so our customers can enjoy smoother journeys.”

“Mitigating the adverse effects of turbulence is an industry wide challenge and obtaining accurate and live data is key in this endeavour. The cooperation between IATA Turbulence Aware, Emirates and Lufthansa Systems will further improve the quality and quantity of real time data made available to the industry, allowing for smoother and safer air travel for all,” said Frederic Leger, IATA’s Senior Vice President Commercial Products and Services.

“IATA Turbulence Aware data enhances the value of Lido mPilot by providing pilots with real-time, accurate and comprehensive information on turbulence, enabling them to make informed decisions and navigate more efficiently. By integrating this data into Lido mPilot, Emirates Airline can increase safety, reduce fuel consumption and minimize passenger discomfort, ultimately improving their operational efficiency and customer satisfaction,” said Andreas Medlhammer, Product Owner Pilot Charting Apps at Lufthansa Systems.

IATA’s Turbulence Aware is a global, real-time detailed and objective information resource for pilots and aviation professionals to manage and mitigate the impact of turbulence on operations. Turbulence is the main cause of passenger and crew injuries and leads to higher fuel usage. The platform pools anonymized turbulence data from thousands of flights operated around the world. The information generated from this data enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoiding turbulence and flying at peak levels and altitudes to maximize fuel efficiency, ultimately reducing carbon emissions. Till date, Turbulence Aware ensured a safer flight for over 700 million passengers, a number that will continue to rise as new airlines join the program.

Lido mPilot is an all-in-one mobile navigational charting application from Lufthansa Systems and has been configured based on Emirates’ specific operational requirements. Lido mPilot provides pilots with easy access to terminal charts, a dynamically generated enroute map, and an Airport Moving Map (AMM).  Its data-driven, interactive maps, and the latest weather features relevant to each flight being operated ensure enhanced situational awareness and the most pertinent information for pilots.