Alaska passengers ask ‘Jenn’

Right: 'Jenn' will answer passengers' questions about flights - as well as more personal details, such as her favourite food

Pressure on check-in staff serving Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air passengers is set to fall with the news that the airlines are introducing a virtual assistant named “Jenn” to handle customer enquiries on www.alaskaair.com.

Customers can type questions in Jenn’s chat window, and she responds verbally, asking follow-up questions when needed and providing a written response and related Web links as required

“With nearly half of our tickets purchased at alaskaair.com, our Web site has become the single most popular way customers interact with us before travelling,” says Ann Ardizzone, Alaska’s managing director of customer experience.“

As well as providing details such as flight information, Jen has been programmed to answer many personal questions on topics such as pets and favourite foods in order to provide customers with a more personalized, engaging experience online.

Alaska Airlines claims Jenn, who was developed using ActiveAgent technology from Next IT, is the first virtual assistant introduced by a US airline.

8 February 2008