By Curtis Kopf, Alaska Airlines

1. Innovation at Alaska Airlines
Curtis Kopf
Managing Director, Ecommerce and
Customer Innovation
March 20, 2013

2. Where I come from…
• Amazon.com
– “It’s Day One.”
– “Start with the customer and work backwards.”
– Two pizza team
• Microsoft
– Passion for technology that makes peoples lives
better.
• Alaska Airlines, MD, Ecommerce & Customer
Innovation
– Innovating on behalf of the customer
– Following the spirit of Mac McGee
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3. Who is Linious “Mac” McGee?
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4. Alaska Airlines
• Started in the state of Alaska in 1932
• Today based in Seattle
• 13,000 employees
• Fly to more than 90 destinations
• #1 in on-time performance -- 3 consecutive
years
• #1 in Customer Sat among traditional airlines -
- 5 consecutive years (J.D. Powers)
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5. Daring To Be First
• 1932: Founded by bush pilots in Alaska
• 1995: First US airline to book flights online
• 1996: Pioneered use of satellite navigation
• 1999: First U.S. web check-in
• 2004: Airport of the Future
• 2008: First virtual assistant --“Ask Jenn”
• 2010: Innovation Team formed
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6. Innovation
• What?
• Why?
• How?
• Key Takeaways
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7. What is Innovation?
• There are many definitions of innovation.
• Amazon.com has 55,000+ books on
innovation!
• Get clear on what:
– Innovation is solving a problem or delivering value
in a new way.
– Innovation is often born from constraint or
dissatisfaction with the status quo.
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8. Ask Jenn
•Originally conceived to
replace paper manuals used
by customer service
•“Aha” moment – Give Jenn
to customers!
•Since 2008, Jenn has
answered >20M questions
•Jenn’s face and voice are
actual Alaska employees
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9. Biofuel & Inflight Recycling
• Innovation on behalf of the planet
• First US airline to use wind and solar to help
power an airport (Nome, 2011)
• 75 flights with biofuel blend in 2011
• Leads industry in onboard recycling, begun in
2010
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10. Why innovate?
• Innovation matters more now than ever.
• Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook are innovation
engines.
• Customers are embracing these innovations and we are
all racing to catch up.
• Market leaders are being challenged by disrupters across
industries – be it Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, RIM, record
labels or Blockbuster.
• As a result, traditional companies are seeking new
approaches to innovation.
• Innovation is increasingly “must have” vs. “nice to have.”
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11. Pacific Northwest Advantage
• We are lucky!
• Pacific Northwest is a center of innovation.
• Amazon is one of the most innovative
companies on the planet.
• If you want to experience innovation, just
head to Starbucks, Nordstrom or REI.
• The PNW is a hotbed for start-ups.
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12. How?
• There is no “right” way to do it.
• Some companies have started labs –
Nordstrom, Walmart, Intuit.
• Others are working with or acquiring start-
ups.
• Others partner with companies outside their
industry to gain a different perspective.
• The best approach depends on your (or your
clients’) culture, business model and goals.
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13. Customer & Organizational Context
• Understand what problems your customer is trying to
solve.
• Organizational context is key:
– What is your client or company’s strategy?
– What is the culture?
– Are you aligned with your sponsor on the purpose of
innovation?
• Innovation can enable many strategies -- be it
efficiency/low cost, customer satisfaction or
developing break-through products.
• Assess your organization or clients’ strengths and
challenges around innovation to find the right starting
point and understand the obstacles.
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14. Our Innovation Team Approach
Traveler Friendly Innovation
Enhance the traveler experience from “Home to Home”
Start with
an idea Transfer to
around a Cross-functional Create a
sponsor who
technology team generates prototype.
takes to market.
or a solutions.
customer
problem.
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15. Customers scan the QR Code with their
smartphone to find out the entertainment
options on the current flight.
With the service, a Customer can text a message to Alaska Air
Cargo with their air waybill number and receive a text
response with tracking information regarding their shipment.
With the new app, users can view a map
populated with photos of their Facebook
friends located in cities Alaska Airlines flies
and, with a click, can view one-way fares or
mileage award levels to the closest airport
near their friend's hometown.
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16. Mobile is about solving problems in new
ways.
“Alaska is hitting home
runs with its mobile apps.”
- Patricia Seybold, author,
Customers.com
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17. Alaska Mobile Strategy
• What:
– Start with the customer and work backwards.
– Make the customer’s “Day of Flight” hassle-free.
• Act like a start-up:
– Two-pizza team
– Iterate and improve: More releases, more efficiently.
– Speed is a differentiator.
• Learn faster:
– We know 1% of what there is to know about mobile.
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18. “If we aren’t always at least a
little scared, we’re not doing our
job.”
Ed Catmull, Pixar
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19. Windows 8 Challenge
• Create simple app on new platform in 5 weeks
• Build innovation “muscle”
• Worked closely with MS team
• Time constraint forced new approaches
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20. Key Takeaways
• We view innovation as solving problems in new ways.
• Innovation is often born from constraints or a
dissatisfaction with the status quo.
• Your approach to innovation should be informed by
your organizational context. Be aligned with sponsors
on the purpose of innovation.
• The Amazon approach: Start with your customer and
work backwards.
• “How” is key: Fast iteration, outlearn your
competition.
• Do something that scares you!
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21. THANK YOU!
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