After establishing a CLV framework that enabled customer strategies to drive value development, we strengthened the underlying data foundation. A critical gap emerged: limited insight into customers’ interests in destinations and in-flight preferences.

Analysis of the customer journey revealed that the programme, and the airline, primarily focused on the functional aspects of travel: booking a ticket and ensuring a safe and smooth journey from A to B. But many airlines offer the same. The question became: how can travellers be engaged earlier in the process? Often, the moment of travel is also the moment people begin thinking about their next trip, especially if the current journey is a positive experience. Based on this, the journey was redesigned into an always-on process, incorporating the phases of inspiration and orientation for the next trip.

KLM already had iFly Magazine, a visually inspiring digital brochure showcasing destinations selected by the airline. We reversed this approach, creating a platform where travellers could explore destinations worldwide based on their personal interests. For example, if scuba diving was your passion, you would discover the world’s top dive spots with stunning imagery to spark inspiration. If dancing was your focus, South and Central American destinations were highlighted. Gen AI was leveraged to surface rich content about destinations. When interest led to intent, users could seamlessly click through to book a flight. The platform is live at Ask Atlas.

The platform was initially launched as a Beta version under the name Trvlr. At the time, performance of online search technology (a decade ago) limited its scalability. However, the concept has since been revived in a simplified form, delivering strong results and an engaging customer experience.

Today, thousands of visitors each month enter the customer journey at an earlier stage, leaving behind valuable behavioural data and being guided in an inspiring way toward their next flight with KLM.