In 2025, Azerbaijan Airlines, part of AZCON Holding, made
digital transformation one of the key pillars of its development
strategy, focusing on enhancing passenger comfort, strengthening
the resilience of its digital infrastructure, and expanding its
direct online sales channels. Throughout the year, the airline
introduced a range of new technological solutions across every
stage of the customer journey, from ticket booking and payment to a
variety of travel-related services. In this interview, Vasif
Mammadov, Head of Digital Commerce at Azerbaijan Airlines,
discusses the airline's key e-commerce initiatives, their impact on
passenger behavior, and the strategic priorities for 2026.
Last year was a productive one for Azerbaijan Airlines
in terms of implementing digital solutions. What was the key
approach behind these changes?
These achievements were driven by clear strategic objectives and
a highly motivated professional team. Thanks to effective
coordination and collaboration, we were able to implement numerous
initiatives within a single year.
Our guiding principle is a customer-centric approach. We strive
to make the digital experience simple, convenient, and accessible
at every stage of the passenger journey. Throughout the year, we
systematically enhanced our e-commerce platform, enabling
passengers to manage their travel independently and with greater
flexibility, from purchasing tickets and selecting ancillary
services to accessing real-time flight information.
What new features have been introduced to enhance
customers' self-service capabilities and the online ticket booking
process?
We have introduced the ability for passengers to change or
refund tickets purchased through the Azerbaijan Airlines website or
mobile application without having to contact our Call Center. By
accessing the "Manage Booking" section, customers
can modify their travel dates or request a refund in accordance
with the applicable fare rules. During 2025, nearly 25,000
passengers used these self-service features, saving valuable time
for our customers while significantly reducing the workload of the
airline's Call Center.
Another important enhancement is our real-time passenger
notification system. Since 2025, passengers have been automatically
informed via email, WhatsApp, and the AZAL mobile application about
flight cancellations or delays, as well as changes to terminals and
boarding gates. This allows customers to monitor flight updates in
real time, make timely travel decisions, and plan their journeys
more efficiently.
We have also significantly enhanced the online booking
experience. The interface has become more intuitive, while search
and filtering capabilities have been expanded, enabling passengers
to select flights based on fare, departure time, and flight
duration with greater flexibility.
One example is our Fare Lock service, which allows customers to
lock a ticket price for either 24 or 72 hours. This provides
additional flexibility during the booking process, giving
passengers more time to finalize their travel plans without
worrying about losing their seats or facing fare increases. Once
they decide to proceed, they can simply return to the "Manage
Booking" section and complete their purchase.
In addition, we integrated Apple Pay and Google Pay into our
payment process. Today, more than 20% of all payments made through
the AZAL mobile application are completed using these digital
wallets.
What new ancillary services are available to customers
booking tickets through the AZAL website and mobile
application?
Today, passengers expect much more than simply purchasing an
airline ticket online. Alongside flights, baggage, and seat
selection, they also want access to airport lounges, hotels,
airport transfers, car rentals, tours, and other travel services
through a single platform.
Global aviation trends clearly show that airlines are evolving
toward a retailing model, offering personalized products and
ancillary services directly through their own digital platforms.
This approach enables customers to plan their entire journey in one
place and purchase all the services they need through a single
application.
As part of this strategy, we analyzed international best
practices and carefully assessed passengers' needs throughout their
travel journey. Based on these insights, we introduced ten new
ancillary services across our digital platforms during 2025.
Among them, the AZAL Upgrade program has attracted particularly
strong customer interest. It allows Economy Class passengers to
upgrade to Premium Economy or Business Class at preferential rates.
Less than a year after its launch, the service has already been
used by more than 20,000 passengers.
Other recently introduced services include Extra Seat Blocker,
which provides additional comfort on long-haul flights by allowing
passengers to reserve the adjacent seat; Junior Traveller, which
enables online booking for children travelling unaccompanied by
their parents, making the process simpler and more convenient; and
Air Tastes, which allows passengers to pre-order personalized
premium meals before departure. Each of these services has been
designed to meet the specific needs of different passenger segments
and is already being widely used.
Through partnerships with leading international companies,
passengers booking via AZAL's digital platforms can also benefit
from a range of travel services on preferential terms,
including:
- eSIM services provided by Airalo;
- hotel reservations and car rentals through Booking.com;
- airport transfer services via GetTransfer;
- tours and travel experiences through GetYourGuide.
In addition, through our partnership with HTS (Hopper Technology
Solutions), we introduced our latest digital service, DAFAR
(Disruption Assistance For Any Reason). This solution provides
passengers with alternative travel options and immediate assistance
in the event of flight delays or cancellations, helping minimize
travel disruptions and reducing uncertainty throughout the
journey.
We have also made significant progress in implementing localized
payment solutions for international markets. In China, Alipay and
WeChat Pay have been integrated into AZAL's digital platforms,
enabling customers to pay using their preferred payment methods. In
Uzbekistan, our partnership with Uzum Bank allows customers to
purchase tickets using HUMO and UZCARD payment cards. These
initiatives enable us to better accommodate local payment
preferences while continuously improving the customer experience
across international markets.
How has the role of the AZAL mobile application evolved
for users?
The AZAL mobile application has evolved far beyond being simply
an alternative sales channel. Today, it serves as the primary
platform for maintaining continuous engagement with our passengers
and encouraging ongoing user interaction.
Over the past year, the number of application users has doubled,
driven by continuous feature enhancements and active promotion. The
app has received outstanding customer ratings on both the iOS App
Store and Google Play, scoring 4.9 and 4.7 out of 5, respectively,
based on thousands of user reviews. While these ratings reflect a
high level of customer satisfaction, we continuously improve the
application by carefully analyzing user feedback.
The mobile application also plays an important role in
increasing customer engagement. During promotional campaigns, users
receive real-time push notifications about special offers,
discounted destinations, and limited-time promotions. This approach
not only keeps customers informed but also encourages higher
engagement and increases repeat visits to the platform.
The Personal Account functionality transforms the AZAL mobile
application from a booking platform into a personalized travel
management tool. Registered users can view both their past and
upcoming journeys in the "My Trips" section, while also managing
their AZAL Miles account directly within the application.
Additional features, such as the ability to add electronic
boarding passes to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet during online
check-in, together with real-time flight status notifications,
ensure continuous digital engagement with passengers throughout
their entire journey.
Ultimately, for us, the mobile application is not simply a sales
channel. It is the cornerstone of our long-term digital
relationship with our customers.
What are your key priorities for this year?
One of our key priorities for 2026 is to further enhance the
digital customer experience.
To support this objective, we have launched a large-scale UX/UI
transformation of both the azal.az website and the AZAL mobile
application. Our goal is to deliver more intuitive navigation, a
faster booking process, and highly personalized user journeys.
As part of this initiative, we are partnering with a global
design company that has successfully delivered similar
transformation projects for international airlines. Together, we
are developing a new user experience based on international best
practices, with a strong focus on making our digital platforms even
more intuitive and customer-friendly. We expect to complete the
design phase in the coming months, after which development of the
new versions of both the website and the mobile application will
begin.
In parallel, throughout 2026 we will continue strengthening the
scalability and resilience of our digital platforms, expanding
available payment methods, and further growing our presence across
international markets.
We also plan to gradually introduce artificial intelligence
technologies across our digital ecosystem. Our primary focus will
be on deeper analysis of customer behavior, the development of
personalized offers and recommendation engines, optimization of
dynamic content and marketing campaigns, and making customer
support faster, smarter, and more efficient.
