Tunisian Nouvelair Airline Enables Online Check-In with Regula and Hitit Technologies

Nouvelair is Tunisia's first private airline. Operating since 1989, the company offers flights to more than 130 airports in 30 countries on 3 continents. One of its top priorities is ensuring customer comfort, both pre- and on-flight.

Challenge

Nouvelair was determined to reimagine its check-in and boarding processes. The established workflow entirely relied on manual document verification, seat allocation, and paper boarding pass printing at the airport counter. This required passengers to arrive at the airport well in advance, typically three hours before departure, to complete all these labor-intensive procedures. Long queues at airline check-in desks were common, especially during peak travel periods, which created heightened stress levels, particularly when errors or delays occurred.

For the airline itself, the reliance on manual processes created operational inefficiencies. Overburdened check-in counters led to bottlenecks, requiring additional staffing to manage the workload. Costs were further increased due to the dependence on paper-based processes. Also, handling large passenger volumes with this approach strained resources, making maintaining efficiency and customer satisfaction difficult.

Aiming to provide a seamless, efficient, and customer-friendly travel experience, Nouvelair decided to launch a digital check-in solution. The goal was to enable customers to check in independently via the mobile app before arriving at the airport, thus minimizing waiting time and expediting boarding. Additionally, the airline was interested in reducing costs, staff workload, and operational burdens by switching to a digital flight check-in option.

Nouvelair chose to create its mobile app and online check-in with the help of the Crane Mobile Application (Crane.MA) developed by Hitit, one of the largest airline IT solutions providers. However, to enable smooth and reliable travel document checks, the airline needed to empower its app with a robust identity verification (IDV) solution.

Solution

Following Hitit’s recommendations, Nouvelair opted for Regula Document Reader SDK, a powerful and comprehensive software solution for thorough and accurate document verification.

With Regula’s solution integrated into the app designed by Hitit, Nouvelair succeeded in fully automating the flight check-in process. Now, travelers just need to scan their ID and visa (if required)—and they are granted access to choose their seats and issue boarding passes. Everything is done in mere seconds.

During these seconds, Regula Document Reader SDK performs multiple checks to verify the authenticity and validity of travel documents:

• The automatic document type recognition technology instantly identifies the document presented and checks if it is valid for travel.
• The advanced OCR accurately reads and extracts data from visual and machine-readable zones (MRZ), checking for the name, passport number, nationality, expiry date, and visa type.
• The extracted ID data is cross-checked for consistency. This helps spot any possible discrepancies that may indicate fraud.

Regula Document Reader SDK relies on the most comprehensive proprietary identity document template database in the world, which currently contains over 14,000 templates from 251 countries and territories, and continues to grow. This allows Regula’s solution to quickly and precisely verify all kinds of travel documents issued in 138 languages.

To ensure smooth Regula Document Reader SDK integration into Nouvelair’s app, Hitit made the necessary redesign of the application interface and developed the API so that there was reliable communication between the app and the airline’s backend systems. Thanks to the flexible customization features of Regula Document Reader SDK, the embedding process was frictionless and maintained the general look and feel of the airline’s application.

As Nouvelair’s longstanding IT provider, we have been proud to support their growth through cutting-edge solutions. Our Crane Mobile Application suite is one of the keystones in translating Nouvelair’s vision into an omnichannel, customer-centric travel experience spanning the whole journey, and we are very glad to see it so well-received by their passengers. By joining forces with Regula, a global leader in identity verification solutions, we ensured a brief and streamlined implementation process and, as a result, introduced enhanced passenger self-service capabilities into Nouvelair’s mobile channels. This will not only lead to increased customer experience and satisfaction in the short term but also lay down the foundation to seamlessly scale into further capabilities as our industry develops towards digital travel credentials. We thank both Nouvelair and Regula for this great collaboration, and look forward to further strengthening our partnership.

—Nevra Onursal Karaağaç, Hitit’s Chief Executive Officer

Result

Hitit successfully implemented Regula Document Reader SDK, from planning to go-live, in just 20 business days.

After a few months of rolling out their online check-in service, over 20% of Nouvelair’s customers now prefer this method of preparing for their flights. In the coming 12 months, the airline expects to increase this rate to more than 30%.

Additionally, online check-in has allowed Nouvelair to optimize 25% of its check-in handling costs, as it has significantly reduced manual workload and now requires less staff involved in the boarding process.

As part of its digital transformation strategy and commitment to becoming a retailing airline focused on improving passenger experiences, Nouvelair has successfully launched a new and enhanced online check-in service. This service is accessible via digital platforms, catering to all passengers across all operational stations worldwide. The success of this initiative is attributed to several key factors: Nouvelair’s commitment to passenger satisfaction, the project’s agility, and the innovative technology proposed by Regula and Hitit.

—Ramzi Fazzi, Chief Information Officer of Nouvelair

At Nouvelair, we are committed to embracing innovative solutions that enhance the travel experience for our passengers. By implementing online check-in, not only do we streamline operations but also empower our travelers with convenience, flexibility, and control over their journey. This is a significant step forward in our mission to provide a seamless and efficient service, ensuring that Nouvelair remains a leader in customer satisfaction and operational excellence.

—Chokri Zarrad, Chief Executive Officer of Nouvelair