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Airline introduces robot customer service agent
Monday, 10 Feb, 2016
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Japan Airlines has begun trials of a multilingual, humanoid robot customer service agent at Tokyo Haneda airport.
Called Nao, the French-made robot is just 60 cm tall, and will provide passengers with flight schedule information and current weather conditions at flight destinations.
It can speak Japanese, English and Chinese and can also answer queries about airport facilities and check-in times, JAL said.
"The response was faster than I thought and it could also easily pick up what I was saying," said one passenger, university student Soma Yuki, 22.
Nao’s initial trial run will last until Thursday February 11, and will then be deployed again at the JAL departure counter from February 16-18.
JAL said it will assess Nao’s performance at the end of the trial period before deciding whether to make it a permanent member of the airline’s customer service team.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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