Will this new trick put Flight Centre ahead of the agent game?

Will this new trick put Flight Centre ahead of the agent game?

Flight Centre has made an interesting – potentially game-changing – decision to get involved in the Australian roll out of Amazon Alexa, taking its portfolio to a whole new level for consumers.

The Amazon Alexa, similar to the new Google Home device, will be hitting stores from early February, and allows users to enquire about flights and kickstart bookings with the agency, just by using the voice capabilities.

Picture this:

“Alexa, ask Flight Centre for the cheapest flight to London”

Flight Centre continues to push its digital transformation, something unprecedented in the new era of travel and technology, and it will be interesting to see how other agencies respond.

Using voice, customers will be able to ask for the cheapest flights to their chosen destination with their preferred airline, cabin class and travel dates. Customers who provide contact information can also request a call back from Flight Centre’s travel experts to kick-start their booking enquiry.

Flight Centre’s Head of Customer Experience, Darren Wright, signalled the cloud-based voice capabilities of Amazon Alexa as a natural progression for the travel heavyweight.

“This technology closes the loop for us – 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.

“We can then follow up their enquiry with a call and provide a seamless and swift customer experience,” he said.

Continuing its digital transformation theme, Flight Centre will build on this initial release to enhance the skill and will roll-out voice-activated capabilities via Google Home in the near future.

Flight Centre partnered with Australian Voice Experience (VX) agency, Versa, for the bespoke skill development.

Customers can access Alexa on Alexa-enabled devices such as the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Plus. The devices are now available for pre-order online and will hit stores in early February.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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