Service, Product, Awards
• Austrian Airlines is testing IBM’s robot technology to serve passengers
• Test operations will run until October 7, 2019 at Vienna Airport
• Austrian chatbot provides support with further questions
“My flight is delayed or was cancelled. What can I do”? Austrian Airlines passengers will get answers to these and many other questions until October 7, 2019 by asking Paul Pepper, a humanoid robot being tested by Austrian Airlines at Vienna Airport. It is the first time in Austria that the robot is being deployed in case of flight irregularities. The charming Mr. Pepper weighs 28 kilograms and is 120 cm tall. He is equipped with a 10.1inch touchscreen and has been developed by SoftBank Robotics.
The Lufthansa Group began working on a prototype of Pepper in 2018. Tests of the electronic service agent have already been carried out in Frankfurt and Geneva. The deployment of Pepper in Vienna is designed to show how passengers interact with the robot, whether the support of Paul Pepper is helpful to Austrian Airlines passengers, and whether the information provided by Mr. Pepper can reduce waiting times at the service centers. The test is taking place in the security zone, at the Austrian Airlines Service Center not far from Gate G4 or F2.
Powerful processor and support by a chatbot
In Paul Pepper’s “brain” works a powerful processor. Austrian Airlines passengers can have their boarding pass scanned, or find out whether they have already been rebooked in the event of a flight cancellation by typing in their name and booking code. Paul also tells them the quickest way to get their boarding pass. If guests are affected by a flight cancellation and have not yet been rebooked, the humanoid robot refers them to the “Austrian Airline Chatbot” via QR code. Guests can then easily select a new flight from the alternatives offered in the chatbot on their mobile phones and rebook flights on their own. By the way: The data entered will not be stored by Paul, it will only be used for concrete information.
Austrian Airlines passengers can also reach the bot by entering austrian.com/bot in their browser if they have already installed the Facebook Messenger. The bot complements the existing service and supports not only in case of flight irregularities, but also with questions regarding baggage regulations, flight status, gate changes and much more.
Your contact person for requests:
AUSTRIAN AIRLINES
Tanja Gruber
Telephone +43 (0)5 1766-11211
tanja.gruber@austrian.com
https://www.austrianairlines.ag/Press/