S7 Airlines, the largest domestic airline in Russia, now offers customers the ability to skip the lines and buy tickets on their mobile devices for high-speed Aeroexpress trains between Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport and Paveletsky Railway Station.

Developed by Dublin-based specialist Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd., the Aeroexpress rail integration means customers can arrange convenient ground transportation with just a few easy clicks, saving themselves valuable time. S7 is the first airline in Russia to offer mobile booking for rail tickets.

“Airlines are increasingly interested in providing end to end service and mobile provides great opportunities to do that,” said Gerry Samuels, founder and executive director of MTT, Dublin, Ireland. “S7 had an existing relationship with Aeroexpress and wanted to build on that.

“There are no automated kiosks in Domodedovo airport like there are at Heathrow and Paddington, the only option to buy tickets is at a manned counter,” he said. “So the queues can get very very long. Mobile is a great fit.

“Guests can buy rail tickets when they book their flights, on the way to the station, at the station and after disembarking from the plane.”

No more paper
Once the Aeroexpress trip has been purchased an electronic ticket including bar code is sent to the customer via SMS and email. A paper ticket is not required to board the train.

The ability to purchase Aeroexpress rail tickets is the latest feature to be added to the MTT-powered S7 mobile Web and iPhone application.

Services already available to customers in Russian (Cyrillic), English and German via S7 iPhone include:

•    Best Fare Search
•    Real-time Booking
•    Seat Selection
•    Online Check-in
•    Flight Info
•    Access to S7 Priority Frequent Flyer Program
•    Click to Call and Click to Email access to Customer Service

Mobile booking on the rise
Mobile ticketing is growing quickly.

A recent survey sponsored by Airline Business magazine suggests that fewer than 20 percent of airlines currently offer mobile ticketing. 

The same survey reports that by 2013, 70 percent of airlines expect to sell tickets via mobile and 12 percent intend to offer mobile check-in services.

Morgan Stanley predicts that the mobile Web will be bigger than the desktop Internet as early at 2015.

“We believe there’s a good likelihood that mobile will become the most common channel for accessing travel services,” Mr. Samuels said. “Right now rail tickets can only be paid for via credit card.

“Air fares booked via the S7 mobile site can be paid for via credit card at the time of booking, or customers can book a ticket and then pay at one of the many Kiosk/ATM systems in Russia,” he said.

“For example, customers can pay at Qiwi kiosks, Euroset shops and Eleksnet terminals.”