CS/17CASE STUDY

Mobile App Transformation
for a Leading European Airline

A leading European airline partnered with We As Web to completely transform its mobile app experience — modernizing the Android and iOS apps, restructuring booking flows, and increasing test automation coverage by 40%. The result: a highly enhanced user experience and reliable three-week release cycles.

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At a Glance
Capabilities
Native Android (Kotlin) & iOS (Swift) Modernization
QA Automation (Appium + Sauce Labs)
Iterative UX/UI Redesign
Three-Week Release Cadence
Technologies
Kotlin (Android)Swift (iOS)AppiumSauce Labs
Delivery Model
Augmented team · iOS + Android devs + QA + Scrum Master + DevOps · 8 months
[01]Business Context

A leading European airline losing travelers to its own web platform

In today's highly competitive air travel industry, mobile accessibility is absolutely crucial for maintaining customer loyalty and operational efficiency. A leading European airline, widely recognized for its extensive route network and commitment to service, undertook a significant digital project to completely transform its mobile app experience. The primary goal was to keep pace with evolving customer expectations, better support its expansion plans, and create an intuitive digital touchpoint for the millions of travelers it serves annually.

Key Context
Outdated tech stack and legacy systems limiting capabilities
Complex user flows and outdated design causing friction during booking and check-in
Many users abandoning the mobile app in favor of the airline's web platform
Lack of efficient automation for cross-device testing and release
[02]Client Needs

What prompted the project

To better support customers throughout their travel journey, the airline required a solution that could modernize the experience, release faster, and validate reliably.

N/01

Modernized Design

A responsive, user-friendly app that simplifies core processes like booking, check-in, and travel management.

N/02

Rapid Release Cycles

The infrastructure to support regular updates every three weeks, allowing the airline to continuously roll out new features and improvements.

N/03

Reliable Automation

Stronger automation processes to enhance app validation, error handling, and cross-device compatibility — ensuring a reliable experience for end-users.

[03]The Challenges

Why an expert partner was required

The airline's digital expansion was hindered by its existing application, which presented three major roadblocks.

Pre-Project ChallengeLegacy Infrastructure
Outdated Tech Stack
The app relied heavily on an outdated tech stack and legacy systems.
Severe Capability Limits
Limited capabilities and adaptability blocked the addition of modern features.
Impact
No path to shipping the experience modern travelers expected.
Pre-Project ChallengeUser Friction
Complex Booking & Check-In
Complex user flows and an outdated design caused significant friction during booking and check-in.
Abandonment to Web
Many users abandoned the mobile app in favor of the airline's web platform.
Impact
A mobile app that loses to its own web platform is failing at its core job.
Pre-Project ChallengeTesting Bottlenecks
No Efficient Automation
A lack of efficient automation made it difficult to reliably test and release new features.
Wide Device Range
Testing across a wide range of mobile devices in a timely manner was the bottleneck.
Impact
Releases were slow and risk-averse — the opposite of what mobile demands.
[04]Solutions Provided

What We As Web delivered

To meet the airline's objectives, a strategic, multi-phased approach was adopted — involving code migration, a complete redesign, and rigorous automation enhancements.

S/01

Targeted Team Augmentation

A specialized team focused on both UI and backend operations, ensuring the project moved forward with precision and agility.

Onboarded a specialized team focused on both the user interface and backend operations.
Ensured the project moved forward with precision and agility — without disrupting the existing app team.
S/02

Tech Stack Modernization

80% shift away from legacy code to modern frameworks — Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS.

Executed an 80% shift away from legacy code to modern, robust frameworks.
Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS — providing the necessary infrastructure to support complex functionalities.
S/03

QA Automation Implementation

40% increase in test automation coverage using Appium and Sauce Labs — much quicker feedback loops.

Increased test automation coverage by 40% by utilizing tools like Appium and Sauce Labs.
This setup created much quicker feedback loops, drastically reducing the time needed for cross-platform testing and error detection.
S/04

Iterative UX/UI Redesign

Completely restructured booking flows and improved navigation based on direct user feedback.

Completely restructured the booking flows and improved navigation based on direct user feedback.
The new, visually intuitive features were designed specifically to eliminate the pain points that previously drove users to the web.
[05]Results Achieved

A mobile app that wins travelers back from the web

The ongoing transformation project successfully revitalized the airline's mobile presence — with measurable user experience and release velocity improvements.

R/01
Significantly enhanced usability

The modernized design and improved performance have created a significantly more user-friendly experience that easily meets modern traveler expectations.

R/02
Consistent 3-week release cadence

The increased automation coverage and reduced testing times have enabled the airline to maintain a highly reliable, consistent release schedule for new app updates.

R/03
Strategic digital growth foundation

The newly transformed app is now positioned to play a crucial role in the airline's long-term digital strategy, heavily supporting customer engagement across its expanding network.

R/04
40% more test automation coverage

Test automation coverage increased by 40%, drastically reducing the time needed for cross-platform testing and error detection across the airline's device fleet.

[06]Technology & Team

Native mobile, modernized for airline travelers

A native-first mobile stack — Kotlin and Swift for the apps, Appium and Sauce Labs for automated cross-device validation.

Technology Stack
Kotlin (Android)Swift (iOS)Appium (Mobile Automation)Sauce Labs (Cross-Device Testing)CI/CD PipelinesIterative UX/UI Layer
Team Composition
iOS DevelopersAndroid DevelopersManual QA SpecialistsAutomation SpecialistsScrum MasterDevOps Professionals
[07]Conclusion

When the mobile app loses to the web platform, the mobile app is failing

A leading European airline watching travelers abandon its mobile app for its own web platform has a digital problem, not a marketing one. By modernizing the Android and iOS apps, restructuring the booking and check-in flows, and increasing test automation coverage by 40%, we gave this airline a mobile app that wins travelers back — and ships improvements every three weeks.

The result is a significantly enhanced user experience, a reliable release cadence, and a strategic foundation for long-term digital growth. For any airline held back by legacy mobile infrastructure, this is what a full mobile transformation looks like in production — native, modernized, and continuously delivered.