Move over Siri, Alexa is in the house and she’s going to revolutionise the way we book travel.
Flight Centre and Virgin Australia are among the first in the industry to tap into Alexa, the personality behind Amazon’s smart speaker (think a new take on Google Home), is hitting Australia in February.
Aussie companies have started rolling out support for the device, including Flight Centre and Virgin Australia.
Flight Centre customers will be able to ask Alexa to fill them in on the best flight deals available. If the customer leaves their details they can request a call back from Flight Centre’s travel experts who will carry on from where Alexa left off.
“This technology closes the loop for us.”
Darren Wright, Flight Centre Head of Customer Experience
“Our customers will be able to follow up on an ad they hear on the radio, for example, and request flight details just by asking a simple question.”
Virgin Australia has also jumped on the bandwagon, with Alexa to provide information on flight status, Velocity rewards points balance and request boarding gate and booking reference information for Velocity members.
It will be as easy as:
“Hey Alexa, ask Virgin Australia for that status of flight VA970 today.”
Virgin Australia Chief Information Officer Cameron Stone said joining Alexa was the right fit for them as the airline was always on the lookout for “innovative technologies” to make the travel experience easier for guests
“Alexa’s ability to provide real-time Virgin Australia information using the power of voice will empower our guests and make it simpler for them to plan their trip.”
Virgin Australia Chief Information Officer Cameron Stone
“We look forward to increasing the Virgin Australia features available for Alexa in the coming months.”
You can find Alexa on Alexa-enabled devices including Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Plus. All of these are available for pre-order online before they are stocked in Aussie stores from early February.
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