In an effort to boost user convenience and potentially cut distribution costs, Delta Air Lines earlier this month became the first U.S.-based carrier to allow customers to pay for airline tickets through Apple Pay, Apple's mobile-payment feature.
The carrier on Oct. 8 said prospective customers could start using the Fly Delta app to access the Apple Pay feature. Apple Pay stores customers' credit card or debit card information, then accepts payments via the Apple Pay app.
The service enables customers to link their iPhones to accounts at Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Chase and Citibank, among other financial institutions, then pay with either their phone or a connected Apple Watch.
While JetBlue Airways in February started accepting Apple Pay for onboard purchases, Delta is now the second global airline to accept it for ticket purchases. Emirates enacted a similar feature last month.
In a statement, Rhonda Crawford, Delta's vice president for e-commerce, said the airline's goal was to "optimize our robust mobile channels and provide an easy-to-use and seamless digital experience for our customers."
By accepting Apple Pay for ticket purchases, Delta appears to be trying to further chip away at the number of fares sold through OTAs and GDSs, both of which are costlier forms of distribution for carriers than their own websites.
Between 2012 and 2016, the OTAs' share of airlines' online revenue from U.S. travelers will have fallen to 25% from 27%, Phocuswright predicted in a report released last November. In contrast, OTAs account for about 48% of hoteliers' online revenue, and that share has steadily widened in recent years.
Chris Anderson, assistant professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, said the goal was also to "move more of the ancillary purchase process earlier in the travel phase, with many of the ancillaries sold at time of ticket purchase. This is not possible at all OTAs, so this streamlines this process."
Anderson added: "Apple Pay also offers a reduction in credit card fees as it allows debit card use and a movement to direct withdrawals from bank accounts, which will offer significant savings for airlines."
Both Anderson and Bob Offutt, senior technology analyst at Phocuswright, predicted that more airlines were likely to follow suit because of both the cost benefits and the fact that bookings through mobile-device apps are set to surge during the next few years.
Phocuswright forecasted in June that in the U.S. market, the percentage of online travel bookings conducted on a smartphone or tablet computer will rise to 18% in 2016, from 5% in 2012.
"Where it's really going to hit home is when mobile becomes the predominant channel to book air," Offutt said. "When that happens and people get comfortable with that, then Apple Pay and things like that will clinch the deal."
Last year, Delta generated $40.4 billion in revenue, which was second among U.S. carriers to American Airlines' $42.7 billion.
For the year ended in June, Delta accounted for 17% of domestic revenue passenger miles, second only to Southwest's 18%, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.