British Airways

Reducing global lounge app costs by 96% with AWS serverless modernisation

Embedded experts

Cost reduction

Monthly infrastructure costs were reduced by over 96% from approximately $2,000–$2,500 to just $90, by adopting a serverless, pay-as-you-go model. The cost analysis was based on peak-season usage, meaning savings are even greater during quieter travel periods. This dramatic reduction in operational expenditure has allowed BA to reallocate budget toward innovation and customer experience.

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Scalability and flexibility

The new serverless architecture supports 60+ lounges globally, each with configurable features that allow for menu variations, amenities, and service types. This flexibility means the app can easily scale to new locations or adapt to changing operational models without additional infrastructure or manual intervention.

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Performance improvement

By moving to AWS serverless technologies, BA achieved faster API response times, lower latency, and improved page load speeds. These enhancements deliver a noticeably smoother experience for guests and more reliable performance for staff using the admin interface.

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SITUATION

Overview

British Airways (BA) operates one of the world’s most extensive lounge networks, with over 60 dedicated lounges and access to more than 90 partner lounges globally. These lounges are a defining element of the airline’s premium travel experience, offering guests a comfortable and personalised environment before their flights.

To support this, BA had developed a digital lounge app used by both customers and lounge staff. The app featured two main interfaces: a guest-facing front end that allowed customers to view menus and amenities, and an admin portal where staff could manage menu items and lounge information. However, the existing app relied on traditional server-based infrastructure, with a dedicated server deployed for each lounge location. This architecture quickly became inefficient as the network expanded, creating excessive operational costs, high infrastructure overhead, and limited scalability. The deployment process was slow, often taking days to roll out even minor changes, and the rigid architecture made it difficult to tailor the app to the unique requirements of different lounges.

The growing complexity of managing separate servers and configurations for each location placed additional strain on internal teams. Scaling required significant manual effort, while the lack of flexibility made it challenging to introduce new features or updates efficiently. These challenges were further amplified following the COVID-19 pandemic, when the lounge app became critical to BA’s operations. With self-service buffets temporarily suspended, customers were encouraged to order food and drinks directly from the app to minimise human contact. What began as a safety measure quickly became an expectation for a more seamless, digital-first experience.

British Airways needed a cost-efficient, scalable, and future-ready solution that could reduce infrastructure expenses, accelerate deployment times, and provide the flexibility required to customise the experience for lounges with different amenities and service models, all without compromising on performance or customer experience.

Solution

Collaborating for innovation

Working as an embedded team within British Airways, we partnered closely with the airline’s internal developers to rebuild the lounge app from the ground up using AWS serverless technologies. Our two senior developers worked alongside BA’s in-house engineers, combining deep technical expertise with capability building through agile, sprint-based delivery.

This embedded approach ensured that knowledge transfer and collaboration were central to the project. By pairing experienced engineers with BA’s junior developers, we not only accelerated delivery but also strengthened the airline’s internal development capability, enabling their team to maintain and enhance the platform long after launch.

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Migrating to a fully serverless architecture

We transitioned the lounge app from a server-heavy legacy platform to a fully serverless solution on AWS, removing the need for per-lounge servers and enabling dynamic scaling across multiple global locations.

The new architecture introduced per-lounge configuration, allowing each lounge to tailor menus, amenities, and service options to reflect their specific offerings. This flexibility means the experience can now be easily customised without the need for manual deployments or complex updates.

By adopting a pay-as-you-go model, British Airways significantly reduced infrastructure costs while improving performance and resilience. The new architecture ensures the app can scale effortlessly during peak times and automatically scale down during quieter periods, optimising operational efficiency and cost management.

Enhancing performance and user experience

At the heart of the new solution is an enhanced digital menu and ordering system that provides a seamless experience for guests. Travellers can browse lounge-specific menus, order food and drinks directly from their tables, and enjoy a smooth, responsive interface designed for speed and accessibility.

The new app not only aligns with post-pandemic service expectations, but also improves convenience and inclusivity, allowing solo travellers to order without leaving luggage unattended.

To ensure an exceptional and accessible user experience, a comprehensive accessibility audit was carried out to achieve full compliance with WCAG 2.2 standards, guaranteeing that the guest-facing app is usable and inclusive for all travellers.

We also implemented automated CI/CD pipelines, reducing deployment times from days to minutes and eliminating downtime between updates. This means the app can evolve continuously, with new features and improvements released quickly and reliably.

Enhanced guest experience
Continuous delivery
Customisation at scale
Serverless modernisation
Collaborative delivery model

Tech stack

To ensure global scalability, cost efficiency, and high availability, the new lounge app was designed using AWS serverless services. The architecture scales automatically based on demand and incurs minimal idle cost, making it ideal for fluctuating usage across different lounges.

AWS
AWS Lambda
Amazon API Gateway
AWS DynamoDB
Amazon s3
Amazon CloudFront
AWS CloudFormation
AWS CloudWatch
Node.js
IMPACT

Delivering efficiency, scalability and a premium digital experience

Through AWS serverless modernisation, British Airways has transformed its global lounge app into a cost-efficient, scalable, and high-performing platform that enhances both operational efficiency and customer experience. The new solution delivers measurable value across cost, performance, reliabili1ty, and flexibility, ensuring the airline’s lounge services remain world-class as customer expectations continue to evolve.

  • Cost reduction

    Monthly infrastructure costs were reduced by over 96% from approximately $2,000–$2,500 to just $90, by adopting a serverless, pay-as-you-go model. The cost analysis was based on peak-season usage, meaning savings are even greater during quieter travel periods. This dramatic reduction in operational expenditure has allowed BA to reallocate budget toward innovation and customer experience.

    ‍

  • Scalability and flexibility

    The new serverless architecture supports 60+ lounges globally, each with configurable features that allow for menu variations, amenities, and service types. This flexibility means the app can easily scale to new locations or adapt to changing operational models without additional infrastructure or manual intervention.

    ‍

  • Performance improvement

    By moving to AWS serverless technologies, BA achieved faster API response times, lower latency, and improved page load speeds. These enhancements deliver a noticeably smoother experience for guests and more reliable performance for staff using the admin interface.

    ‍

  • Operational agility

    Automated CI/CD pipelines have reduced deployment times from days to minutes. Updates, bug fixes, and new features can now be released continuously without downtime or service interruption. This agility has improved reliability and enabled BA’s internal teams to iterate quickly based on customer feedback.

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  • Enhanced guest experience

    Guests now enjoy a seamless, digital-first ordering experience, allowing them to view lounge-specific menus, order from their tables, and receive service without leaving personal belongings unattended. The improved UI and responsiveness align with post-pandemic expectations for convenience and contactless service, further strengthening BA’s reputation for premium hospitality.

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  • Future-proofing

    The new lounge app provides a robust foundation for ongoing innovation and evolving business needs. Built on AWS serverless technology, it supports continuous improvement, easy feature expansion, and effortless scaling ensuring BA’s lounges remain at the forefront of digital service excellence.

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Embedded experts
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