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ebookers offers flight booking by mobile phone
Ebookers is claiming a UK industry first by offering flight bookings by mobile telephone.
Bookings can be made via the T-Mobile and Orange networks by accessing the ebookers.com website and selecting flights using mobile phone keypads.
The company says it plans to add the ability to book hotels, car rental and insurance to the mobile service.
Ebookers has introduced technology, via application provider Cellectivity, to search and purchase tickets up to eight hours before departure by keying basic details into a WAP-enabled mobile phone
Customers enter the www.ebookers.com website through their WAP phone under T-Mobile or Orange’s travel section and search for flights using the phone keypad. Search criteria includes departure and destination airport, date and time of flights, number of tickets and seat class.
Payment is made via a secure system, which also allows users to register and enter a pin number to use in future, to avoid inputting details again.
Brent Spicer, ebookers business development director, said: “This is the first time that the UK customer has been able to complete the entire booking process via their mobile phone, so it’s a fantastic leap forward.
“We see this as being primarily used for last-minute flight purchases but there are wider possibilities for this application as well, such as sending customers SMS travel itineraries, welcome back messages and other direct marketing initiatives.”
And he claimed: “This is a pioneering innovation and we are excited to be the first UK travel agency in the market to introduce this new technology.”
Lastminute.com made a similar move last week when it enabled a ‘DealFinder’ tool for O2 Active customers. The tool allows mobile phone users to search for a restaurant, hotel or ‘going out’ deal either where they are or specifying somewhere else.
The technology provided by Mobile Commerce allows the mobile user to be located according to their proximity to the nearest three mobile phone masts, so the relevant maps can be sent to the handset.
The service will be available to Vodafone Live! and Orange World users soon.
Report by Phil Davies and Ginny McGrath
Phil Davies
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