Two of Germany’s leading global companies, Lufthansa Airlines and SAP software developer, have teamed up to develop and implement blockchain technologies and other related innovations to add value to the commercial aviation industry. In this regard, Lufthansa Innovation Hub and SAP.iO Foundry launched the “Aviation Blockchain Challenge,” a competition to draw attention to the potential of blockchain in the industry and to discover projects aimed at improving processes in different areas.
According to a statement published by SAP, the proceeding emerged from the belief that blockchain technologies can transform processes and increase the value of the aviation industry, in this case.
The impact of blockchain technologies on the aviation sector is not yet felt. We want to change that along with SAP and see substantial potential in our industry to use blockchain and other decentralized networking systems.
Gleb Tritus, Managing Director at Lufthansa Innovation Hub
Regarding the partnership between Lufthansa and SAP, Tritus said the collaboration of the two multinationals with a strong culture of innovation provides the best possible framework for attracting talent on a global scale.
Lufthansa and SAP teamed up to sponsor a blockchain technology project to revolutionize the aviation industry
Deepak Krishnamurthy, chief strategy officer and executive vice president of SAP, said participants would compete in three categories in which to focus solutions. These include user-focused ideas, with the goal of achieving a more optimal travel experience for travelers. The relationship with the airline, where they will evaluate projects focused on operations, and, finally, proposals focused on maintenance of the supply chain in the aviation industry.
The winning idea could become a pilot project of the Lufthansa Group, and the team would have up to 3 months to work on its development in Berlin, Germany. Also, they will be able to access SAP’s Blockchain-as-a-Service platform to build or improve their project.
The possible applications of blockchain technology in the aviation industry have been under discussion since 2017. In late-2017, the Accenture consulting firm pointed out in an article that areas such as maintenance, ticketing and security would be susceptible to optimization through a blockchain technology.
Air France KLM Group also discussed the possibility of applying blockchain technology for tracking aircraft spare parts. More recently, it became known that specialist security controls and supply chain companies in the aviation industry, such as Moog, Rolls Royce, Sabre and Air Bus, are exploring the application of blockchain in supply chains.
