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Lufthansa joins the Apple Watch party, offering flight information & boarding pass app

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As someone who still mostly views my Apple Watch as a gimmick, I have to admit that airline apps do make a good case for the device, making viewing alerts and directions as easy as glancing at the time. American Airlines, BA and EasyJet were among the front-runners in offering Apple Watch apps, and now Lufthansa has joined the party too, reports Forbes.

Use your watch as a boarding pass and have your essential flight information displayed on your wrist. It reminds passengers of their flight the day prior to their departure, provides continuous updates about the status of the flight and displays the boarding time, terminal, gate and seat number. Just like a timer, it enables passengers to see – down to the very minute – how long is left until their scheduled boarding time

The app is currently available only to members of Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program, Miles & More, with a general rollout expected later in the year.

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EasyJet’s new app provides end-to-end proactive guidance to air passengers

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European no-frills airline EasyJet seems to have taken a full-service approach to its new app, dubbed Mobile Host. The app aims to provide proactive, location-based guidance to passengers from one end of their journey to the other.

The app begins with check-in reminders, guides you to the baggage-drop if you have luggage, tells you when your gate is open and navigates you there, opens your boarding pass when you get there, and directs you to the correct baggage carousel on arrival. The service goes live at London Gatwick Airport today, with other airports to follow.

easyJet’s Mobile Host is a joint initiative with Gatwick and combines live data from the airports information systems, using Google indoor maps, together with a passenger’s booking details, location and flight time.  The result is personalised instructions and updates for passengers during their journey.

The app is currently iPhone-only, and is available in seven languages. The new app was not on the App Store at the time of writing, but if you download the current app, it should update.

EasyJet last updated the app a few weeks ago to add support for the Apple Watch. It was one of the first European airlines to support Passbook boarding passes, and started using iBeacons for location-based alerts last summer.

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European airline easyJet rolling out iBeacon support to select airports

Since Apple introduced iBeacon functionality alongside iOS 7, several different use cases have popped up allowing various retailers, sporting venues, and others to interact with visitors’ devices using the technology. Deploying iBeacon support enables iPhone users to receive relevant information through apps based on very specific location without taking a major hit to the device battery.
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Apple’s new retail SVP and why he was chosen to replace Ron Johnson

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNcaMqiD64g]

We reported last night that Apple officially appointed CEO of Dixons John Browett as its senior vice president of Retail following Ron Johnson’s departure in October of last year. Browett is leaving his position at Dixons Retail, which operates various United Kingdom-based retail stores including Currys, Currys.digital, and PC World. Dixons is one of the largest electronics chains in Europe, and PC World, the last on that list,  is one of the largest computer/consumer electronic retailers in the U.K. It also has a reputation of being a big-box consumer electronic store that consumers describe as “the worst of Best Buy and Radio Shack combined.”

While U.K. product-testing and consumer advocacy group Which? consistently ranked both Currys Digital and PC World at the bottom of its research regarding the Top 100 retail chains, a report from Financial Times explained “Apple has mystery shopped and been impressed.” Specifically, the report mentioned “a system of decision trees to match customers with products” that Browett has implemented while at Dixons.

The calculation of Mr Cook may be that if Mr Browett is good at selling people products that bore them, he will do even better selling them i-gadgets that they lust after.

According to reports in November from BBC, Browett recently renovated more than 250 stores, implemented new service, and customer support strategies. However, the company reported first-half losses of just over £25 million (slightly lower than expected, but higher than losses of £6.9 million the year prior). In 2009, Retail Week (via GigaOm) profiled Browett, calling him “affable and intellectual” and describing his “schoolboy enthusiasm” for technology during a trip to PC World. Here is an excerpt:

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