KLM launches Messenger customer chat on KLM.com

Karima Kouidri — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 13:02:33 +0000

As of today, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will offer Facebook Messenger users in Japan,

South Korea and South Africa the option of asking questions to service agents via Messenger customer chat on KLM.com. In this way, customers are offered quick and personal service when booking tickets, changing bookings or in case they have baggage-related questions. KLM is one of the first airlines in the world and one of a select group of companies taking part in the pilot for this chat service in collaboration with Messenger.

This pilot with Messenger is a next step in KLM’s social media strategy. KLM wants to be present on the social media platforms used by its customers. Customers frequently use Messenger to ask questions to KLM. The integration of Messenger customer chat into KLM.com makes it even easier to get a personal answer from KLM, which can be reread at any given time.

The small-scale pilot will be available in Japan, South Korea and South Africa, with agents communicating in Japanese, Korean and English. Customers can use Messenger customer chat via a ‘chat now’ button that will appear on relevant KLM.com pages when a service agent is available. The pilot will serve to guide further roll-out of the service in the future. In six Western European countries, KLM already has a direct chat service via KLM.com, available via the website itself. The new chat service via Messenger is a next step in KLM’s social media integration.

‘The introduction of Messenger customer chat on KLM.com is a new step in KLM’s social media strategy. KLM wants to be where its customers are and make it convenient for them to ask questions throughout the entire customer journey. The integration of Messenger customer chat into KLM.com makes it even easier to have a personal conversation with KLM, which can be reread and continued at any given time or place.’

Pieter Groeneveld, Senior Vice President Digital Air France – KLM

KLM social media pioneer

KLM is the world’s first airline offering customers the option of receiving travel documentation and flight status updates via WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter and/or WeChat. Since 2009, KLM has gained a reputation as a pioneer in the field of social media services and campaigns. KLM has more than 25 million fans and followers on various social media platforms. KLM is mentioned more than 130,000 times a week on these platforms, of which 25,000 are questions, which receive personal replies from more than 250 service agents – the world’s largest social media team. KLM offers customers 24/7 support via WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, LinkedIn, WeChat and KakaoTalk (South Korea) in nine different languages and in Italian during office hours.

source : https://tinyurl.com/y8qzg72q

Mobile chat apps and bots set to transform travel

Karima Kouidri — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 12:11:37 +0000

No more waiting on hold: mobile chat apps and bots set to transform travel.

Who enjoys queuing to check-in to a hotel? How about being put on hold for flight assistance? Or finding your way around a foreign city?

Chat can help with all these things and more. Recently at the Amadeus Online Connect event, I reiterated the opportunity we have to embrace chat and chatbots within the travel industry.

In a world where 41% of Millennials say they would be ‘truly satisfied’ to use chat as the primary means of connecting with the business and services they use, employing this medium to offer on-demand service just makes sense.

For travel players, there are big opportunities to reach out to travellers during their trips.

From chat-based front desk and ticketing agents to flight attendants and call-centre agents, chat-based applications could reshape the way we approach travel to make it a much more personalised and connected experience.

The next big thing in chat are ‘chat-bots’ that mimic conversation using artificial intelligence.

We’ve discussed how they could impact the travel industry, and the critical mass is there with chat apps like WhatsApp boasting one billion users already. Now, especially in Asia Pacific, where mobile penetration and chat app usage is already high, brands are becoming ‘friends’ with users.

In fact, 10,000,000 brands are on China’s most popular chat platform, WeChat.

China Southern Airlines uses WeChat at all stages of the travel cycle – from inspiration all the way to the post-trip experience. Its more than 8 million WeChat followers can even pay for their flights with WeChat pay, which stores credit card information.

In December 2013, the airline announced that it handled more than 700,000 flight check-ins through its WeChat platform since launching the service in January 2013.

On the hospitality side, the LINQ Hotel, part of Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, allows hotel guests to converse with ‘Ben’, an artificial intelligence robot, through WeChat. Guests can send WeChat messages asking for nearby dining, entertainment and nightlife options and ‘Ben’ will reply back to them with suggestions in real time.

Once inside the room, guests can use WeChat to control lighting, thermostats, and curtains or choose the pre-set atmosphere, for example a sleep scenario. Guests can even circumvent the front desk and be issued a virtual WeChat key to use to open the hotel door.

As mobile penetration further increases and artificial intelligence becomes even more ‘intelligent’ the use of chat apps and chat-bots in the travel industry will be limited only by our imaginations.

Stay tuned to this blog as we explore further the use of this technology in the travel industry and send us a Tweet to share your opinion.

source : http://tinyurl.com/j6fpo2x

chat – Airport Benchmarking

KLM launches Messenger customer chat on KLM.com

As of today, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will offer Facebook Messenger users in Japan,

Mobile chat apps and bots set to transform travel

No more waiting on hold: mobile chat apps and bots set to transform travel.