Behind the scenes of Flight Centre’s huge tech partnership

In January, we announced Flight Centre would be implementing a new tech that could change the industry as we know it.

So what was this game-changing move?

A partnership with Amazon.

The Amazon Alexa, similar to the new Google Home device, has recently hit stores and allows users to inquire 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”

Using voice, customers can 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.

At the time of the announcement, 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.

Now, a few weeks on, Amazon’s Alexa has touched down on Aussie shores, and we want to know more about the partnership and how the tech is going.

Thirsty for some insider knowledge, we sat down with the main man himself, Darren Wright, to find out the goss.

Speaking to Travel Weekly, Wright said that while the project is still young, the company is excited about their tech future.

“It’s still early days but we have been pleased with uptake and feedback from users,” Wright said.

So how exactly does it all work?

According to Wright, the tool is all about organisation.

“The airline skills appear to be primarily focused on flight scheduling and status, bookings and loyalty program management (points balances etc) whereas we are all about searching for the cheapest flights and deals available.”

“It appears we are the only travel agency/OTA playing in this space right now,” he added.

Though this partnership isn’t the only one on Flight Centre’s To Do list.

Continuing its digital transformation theme, the company 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 has partnered with Australian Voice Experience (VX) agency, Versa, for the bespoke skill development.

This dedication to development and customer engagement through technology was echoed by Wright.

“For us, the true value of technological advancements such as voice skills is all about giving our customers access to enquire via multiple channels and we will continue to push and adapt our digital transformation to suit the needs of our customers.”

“To this point, we’ve commenced building a voice skill for Google Home which we hope to have available within the next 3 – 6 months,” he added.

So there you have it, folks.

We’re not saying robots will take over your jobs, but they might soon be organising your flights.

Do you have something to say on this? Get in touch with Travel Weekly Editor Daisy Doctor here to share your thoughts.