This document discusses innovation at Alaska Airlines. It begins by introducing Curtis Kopf, the Managing Director of Ecommerce and Customer Innovation at Alaska Airlines. It then provides background on Alaska Airlines, highlighting its history and achievements. The document defines innovation as solving problems or delivering value in new ways. It discusses Alaska Airlines' approach to innovation, which includes forming cross-functional teams to generate solutions and creating prototypes. The document also emphasizes the importance of understanding customer problems and organizational context when innovating. Overall, the document advocates for an innovation approach that starts with the customer and involves fast iteration.

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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