UNITED AIRLINES INTRODUCES PROACTIVE FLIGHT PAGING 

New service will automatically notify customers of flight delys, cancellations and gate assignments via PC, cell phone or pager

United Airlines has introduced a free new flight paging service that will proactively inform customers of flight delays, cancellations and gate information via e-mail. Messages can be automatically sent to a customer’s personal computer, text-enabled cellular phone or alphanumeric pager, enabling travelers with wireless capabilities to stay abreast of schedule changes even when they are on the road.

Customers wishing to take advantage of the new service simply complete a paging request form at the airline’s Web site, www.ual.com, whenever they book or change a reservation for United, United ShuttleÒ or United ExpressÒ flights. Individual users can tailor the service to suit their preferences by choosing different options on the form, such as whether to be alerted when a flight is delayed more than 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Gate information can be provided within one to four hours of the scheduled arrival or departure time.

The flight paging functionality is an extension of the wireless strategy that United inaugurated when it became the first airline to commit to offering flight status information on the 3Com Palm VII™ Connected Organizer, which began beta testing with customers last May. That partnership will enable users of the Palm VII, the first handheld solution for out-of-the-box wireless Internet access, to retrieve current-day arrival and departure information on United flights via a direct connection to United’s reservations system.

"We recognize that our mobile customers may not require access to all of our Web site content when they are on the road, but they may require specialized services tailored to their particular wireless device," said Rick Collins, Director of Internet Marketing for United Airlines. "We have begun to address those needs with the Palm VII partnership and our new flight paging service, and we are currently working with our customers to determine what other services they would like available on the wireless platform."

Customers who are unsure about the capabilities of their pager or cellular phone can use the test pager option on the registration screen to determine whether their device can accept messages from the flight paging service.

www.ual.com enables consumers to book reservations with over 500 airlines, 45 car rental companies and 30,000 hotels worldwide. It also features last-minute and seasonal discount E-Fares® on United, United ShuttleÒ and United ExpressÒ flights for online customers, with the option to enroll in a subscription service that delivers each week’s E-Fares® directly to customers via e-mail. United’s frequent flyers also can use the site to track Mileage PlusÒ account information, request upgrades and redeem miles for award travel online.


[ Home | Contact | MobiChat | Experts database | Let's do it ]

Comments to the content of this page can be posted on the MobiChat discussion group

logo.gif (1569 bytes)