Product-based IT fuels Lufthansa’s digital CX transformation

“How
much
can
you
control
your
journey
through
the
digital
space?
That’s
something
that
we
lacked
in
the
past
and
we
don’t
want
to
in
the
future,”
Rückert
says.
“Also,
how
do
we
enable
our
people
in
the
service,
in
the
cockpit,
and
in
the
cabin
or
on
the
ground
to
provide
a
better
service
to
the
people?
We
strongly
believe
and
focus
a
lot
on
how
we
can
give
better
data
to
cabin
crews
so
they
can,
for
instance,
welcome
you.”

Standardizing
platforms,
shifting
to
product-based
IT

The
pandemic
accelerated
a
general
trend
in
the
airline
industry
toward
digital
transformation,
Rückert
says,
as
it
was
already
clear
the
public
wanted
more
control
of
their
travel
experiences
through
their
mobile
devices.
“That
is
a
trend
that
started
much
before
the
crisis,
but
it
has
accelerated
significantly,”
he
says.

At
the
same
time,
airport
and
air
traffic
control
staff
are
much
reduced
from
pre-pandemic
levels,
which
has
put
additional
pressures
on
the
travel
experience
that
are
sometimes
outside
an
airline’s
control.
That,
in
turn,
leads
to
more
disruptions
and
more
need
to
rebook
travelers
on
flights
—
a
volume
issue
for
airlines,
and
one
that
many
travelers
want
to
handle
by
themselves,
Rückert
says.
“Self-service
is
now
much
more
important.”

Getting
there
has
been
easier
said
than
done
for
Lufthansa,
which
was
among
the
first
airlines
to
build
a
data
warehouse
for
its
customer
data,
but
much
of
that
technology
is
now
decades
old.

“We
had
a
few
tough
nuts
to
crack
because
our
backend
technology
is
quite
complex,
so
finding
a
way
to
turn
that
into
a
modernized
platform
detached
from
the
back
end
is
really
a
difficult
problem,”
Rückert
says.
“But
it’s
much
easier
than
solving
the
other
end
of
the
problem,
which
is
to
get
the
business
to
let
go
of
decision
power
a
little
bit.
If
you
don’t
give
that
to
the
developers
together
with
some
business
product
owners,
you
don’t
get
speed.”

Rückert
took
the
reins
as
CIO
in
January
2021,
promoted
internally
from
vice
president
of
Base
Maintenance
Services
at
Lufthansa
Technik,
where
he
helped
overhaul
the
subsidiary’s
worldwide
overhaul
network.
When
Rückert
stepped
into
the
role
following
the
departure
of
predecessor
Roland
Schütz,
Lufthansa
was
already
a
year
into
a
digital
transformation
journey,
one
that
started
with
an
effort
to
standardize
its
various
platforms.

About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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