Review: Apple Watch for frequent travellers

My first trip with the Apple Watch

It was with great anticipation that I opened the package from Apple the day after the first Apple Watches were sent out to customers. Apple have indeed built up expectations, and I was not disappointed when I unpacked the relatively simple looking watch from the well packaged oblong box.

Apple Watch box At first I had trouble getting notifications to work and required a reset before everything worked perfectly, and I mean perfect. I was pretty skeptical about whether I would want to give up my beloved Pebble for the Apple Watch, especially as I had read quite a few reviews which said that we should wait for version 2 of the Apple Watch, but I disagree. It is true that it takes a while for the watch to start up, but how often do you turn off a watch? Due to my role at Sabre focusing on Travel Apps, I quickly installed the relevant apps that are currently available for Apple Watch: tripCase, British Airways, United and SAS.

Fittingly enough, I had a flight booked to Oslo on Monday, so I charged my Apple Watch over night to ensure I would have enough battery for the upcoming trip. For this flight I used the TripCase and British Airways apps, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised how my Apple Watch very quickly became a travel partner I could count on. Clear notifications and very intuitive to use. Some hours before departure I received a notification from Passbook regarding my upcoming flight.

When you open the BA app on the watch you get info on the upcoming flight, as well as the weather forecast.

When flying from London T5 with British Airways, gate and flight status can be accessed via the app, which means no need to stand and wait in front of the flight information boards to find out where to go.

Before boarding I checked my EuroBonus balance in the SAS app,which worked great.

Upon boarding, I opened my boarding pass in Passbook, which is built into Apple Watch platform.

The only problem was that the boarding pass readers at British Airways are too small to fit your hand and watch under, so I had to use my phone to scan the code on my mobile boarding pass! On the way home to London from Oslo, I received a notification from TripCase that my flight had been cancelled, but it explained in that as I was upgraded to business class, my PNR from the travel agency had been cancelled and re-created in the BA systems. It was, therefore, necessary to send a notification. I then confirmed to TripCase that all was well.

As I sat and waited to board my flight home to London, I took the opportunity to check my next flight to Dubai via the TripCase app

Conclusion

Overall, I can highly recommend the Apple Watch to frequent travellers; The apps are well designed and send the right information at the right time during your trip.