In the second episode of the How Airlines Become Data Driven series, we move from the big picture to the first practical step of building a more data-driven airline ecommerce and digital marketing team.

In my experience, every airline analytics project starts in the same place: understanding how accurate your digital data really is.

Before optimizing campaigns, running experiments, evaluating the impact of digital spend, or making strategic marketing decisions, you need to know whether you can trust the data you're looking at.

Drawing on five years of hands-on consulting with airline ecommerce and digital marketing teams, I explain why measuring data accuracy and tracking discrepancies between digital analytics platforms and backend systems should become one of the first habits every airline digital team builds.

In this episode, we talk about:

Why data accuracy is the foundation of every analytics and optimization project

Why many airline teams don't know how accurate their digital analytics data really is

How digital measurement has changed with GA4, privacy regulations, consent management, browser restrictions, and server-side tracking

Why there is no single "correct" analytics architecture for every airline

Why measuring tracking discrepancy is more important than chasing perfect tracking

Practical approaches to measuring discrepancies between GA4, server-side tracking, and backend systems

Why regular discrepancy tracking should become one of the first habits every airline digital team builds

How to investigate discrepancies by segmenting data across countries, devices, browsers, and customer groups

A real-world example of identifying a major tracking issue following a GA3 to GA4 migration

Whether you use GA4, Adobe Analytics, server-side tracking, or a custom analytics platform, the principles are the same: understand the limitations of your measurement, validate it against a trusted source of truth, and build confidence in your data before making important business decisions.

RESOURCES:

Full article with practical examples, charts, and key takeaways from this episode:

https://diggintravel.com/why-airline-digital-tracking-is-never-perfect/

After a six-month break, the Diggintravel Podcast is back with the start of a new series: How Airlines Become Data Driven.

Over the last five years, alongside hosting more than 70 conversations with airline leaders, digital executives, UX experts, and industry practitioners, I have also spent much of my time working directly with airline ecommerce and digital marketing teams.

These projects ranged from helping airlines improve digital measurement and analytics foundations, to building joined views of marketing and ecommerce performance, to more advanced experimentation and data science initiatives designed to better understand what actually drives airline business results.

In this first episode of the series, I share some of the biggest lessons and observations from those consulting engagements and explain why becoming data driven is often much harder than it looks.

In this episode, we talk about:

This episode serves as an introduction to the broader How Airlines Become Data Driven series and lays the foundation for the topics we'll explore in future episodes, including measurement, analytics, experimentation, organizational learning, and AI-driven change.

If you're involved in airline ecommerce, digital marketing, analytics, data science, or digital transformation, this episode provides a practical perspective on what it really takes to build a more data-driven organization.

This episode closes out the 2025 Diggintravel Podcast season with a deep dive into one of the topics that kept coming up in our Airline Leaders Series conversations: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

After a year of interviews with airline CMOs, CDOs, and digital leaders in partnership with 815Labs, we wanted to switch gears and dig into a very specific subject that sits high on many airline agendas and that many of you asked us to explore in more detail.

For this episode, I traveled to Budapest to sit down with David Minorics, Business Development Director at Mito Performance. Through Mito’s airline-focused branch 815Labs, David has worked on numerous airline digital marketing and SEO projects and is now leading GEO pilots and initiatives for airlines and other travel brands.

In this episode, we talk about:

What Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is and how it differs from traditional SEO

Why GEO is about being recommended by AI, not just being found

How AI-powered search synthesizes information and what query fan-out means in practice

The key elements of the GEO playbook for airlines

How airlines can benchmark GEO visibility and sentiment

What GEO metrics and KPIs actually matter

How airline marketing teams can start GEO pilot projects

Early learnings from GEO pilots, including projects with airlines

This episode is a practical, no-hype conversation about how AI-powered search is changing airline visibility, marketing, and digital strategy. David shares hands-on insights that make this a must-listen for airline marketers, digital teams, and anyone responsible for airline distribution and brand presence.

RESOURCES:

This is the fifth episode of our 2025 Airline Leaders Series, brought to you in partnership with 815Labs!

For this episode, we traveled to Lisbon during the World Aviation Festival to meet with Jason Ward, Vice President of Marketing and People at Azul Airlines.

In this episode, we talk about:

How Jason’s journey across Morris Air, Southwest, JetBlue, TAP Portugal, and Azul shaped his people-first leadership style

Why empathy and culture are the foundations of brand loyalty

The OPA (Observe, Perceive, Attend) model and how it drives great service at Azul

How technology and AI can enhance, not replace, the human touch

Azul’s community-driven purpose and a breakdown of their special “O Céu do Brasil é Azul” (“The Sky of Brazil is Blue”) campaign

Why curiosity and learning are still the most important skills for the future of airline leadership

This episode offers a refreshing perspective on leadership, culture, and airline customer experience from one of the industry’s most experienced voices.

RESOURCES:

https://diggintravel.com/airline-leaders-jason-ward-azul-airlines/

This is the fourth episode of our 2025 Airline Leaders Series, brought to you in partnership with 815Labs!

In this series, we speak with top airline digital and ecommerce leaders to uncover how they drive growth, optimize digital performance, and build smarter strategies for the future.

For this episode, we traveled to Lisbon during the World Aviation Festival to meet with Juliana Ramirez, Chief Digital Officer at Flair Airlines.

In this episode, we talk about:

Building a “team of builders” and creating a culture of ownership

Balancing startup agility with corporate focus

The Flair FWD initiative and using digital products to rebuild customer trust

How guarantees like On-Time, Checked Bag, Travel Flex, and Disruption remove friction and build brand trust

The value of direct customer feedback through Flair’s Feedback Forums

Why curiosity and learning are the key skills for digital professionals in the age of AI

This episode is packed with insights on leadership, digital transformation, and culture for airline digital, product, and marketing professionals who want to learn how to move fast while building trust.

RESOURCES:

https://diggintravel.com/airline-leaders-juliana-ramirez-flair-airlines/

This is the third episode of our 2025 Airline Leaders Series, brought to you in partnership with 815Labs!

In this series, we speak with top airline digital and ecommerce leaders to uncover how they drive growth, optimize digital performance, and build smarter strategies for the future.

For this episode, we traveled to Lisbon to meet with Sara Walter de Freitas, Head of Digital & eCommerce at TAP Air Portugal.

In this episode, we talk about:

Sara’s unique journey—from a marketing intern at TAP to leading its digital transformation

The 3-year transformation model: Assess – Fix – Accelerate

Why cultural change is harder (and more important) than tech upgrades

How consistency, trust, and resilience shape better airline digital experiences

The role of experimentation, data, and collaboration in driving smarter decisions

This episode is full of actionable insights for airline digital, UX, product, and ecommerce professionals navigating complex transformation and customer experience challenges.

RESOURCES:

This is the second episode of our 2025 Airline Leaders Series, brought to you in partnership with 815Labs!

In this series, we speak with top airline digital and ecommerce leaders to uncover how they drive growth, optimize digital performance, and build smarter strategies for the future.

For this episode, we traveled to Istanbul to meet with Sevilay Gökduman, Group Head of Digital Channel Management & e-Commerce at Pegasus Airlines.

In this episode, we talk about:

Sevilay’s 16-year journey from revenue management to leading digital team at Pegasus

How Pegasus is using gamification and loyalty to boost mobile app engagement

Why the BolBol program is at the heart of their digital strategy

Personalization and the challenges of building a smarter booking flow

The role of testing, CRO, and agile teams in Pegasus’ digital growth

This episode is full of practical insights for airline digital, UX, loyalty, and ecommerce professionals looking to create better user experiences and long-term engagement.

RESOURCES:

https://diggintravel.com/airline-leaders-pegasus-digital-loyalty/

This is the kickoff episode of our 2025 Airline Leaders Series, brought to you in partnership with 815Labs!

In this series, we speak with top airline digital and ecommerce leaders to uncover how they drive growth, optimize digital performance, and build smarter strategies for the future.

We’re starting strong with Ismael Monzón, Head of Digital Growth at Air Europa—a longtime friend of the Diggintravel Podcast and one of our earliest collaborators.

In this episode, recorded live in Palma de Mallorca, we talk about:

How Air Europa’s digital growth team evolved post-COVID

Optimizing landing pages and value propositions for 30+ markets

Personalization, CDPs, and a test-and-learn approach to AI

Balancing day-to-day execution with long-term strategic thinking

Lessons from Ismael’s journey from CRO expert to digital leader

This episode is full of insights for airline digital, marketing, data, and ecommerce professionals looking to grow both their results and their leadership skills.

RESOURCES:

https://diggintravel.com/airline-leaders-air-europa-digita-growth/

This is the latest episode in our Airline UX Series in partnership with 815Labs!

In this series, we’re speaking with top airline and travel UX leaders to uncover the secrets behind building exceptional digital experiences.

This time, we explore airline digital platforms, product teams, and the build vs. buy dilemma with insights from Remus Moraru, an ecommerce leader who spent seven years building digital products, UX teams, and airline ecommerce at Wizz Air.

This episode covers:

This episode is packed with valuable takeaways for airline UX, digital retailing, and product strategy leaders looking to build better digital experiences and platforms.

RESOURCES:

https://diggintravel.com/airline-ux-series-digital-products-ux-teams/

This is the fifth podcast in our Airline UX Series in partnership with 815Labs!

In this series, we’re speaking with top airline and travel UX leaders to uncover the secrets behind building exceptional digital experiences.

This time, we dive into the world of digital analytics and data-driven UX with Kamran Emre Sayin, Digital Analytics and MarTech Leader at Turkish Airlines Technology. His team recently implemented a sophisticated analytics framework that helps measure and optimize user experience across Turkish Airlines’ digital platforms.

Kamran shares insights on:

This episode is packed with actionable takeaways for airline digital and UX leaders looking to leverage analytics for better user experiences and business results.

You can find the full article with key insights, quotes, and takeaways from this episode here:

https://diggintravel.com/airline-data-driven-ux-turkish-airlines/