Alaska Airlines Enhances Web Site With Instant Messaging for Web Assistance.Business Editors, Travel Writers SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2001 Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines, (NYSE: ALK) is an airline based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates hubs at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and Portland International Airport. has become the nation's first airline to provide assistance to its Web-site customers through instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or technology. Users of its top-ranked Web site, alaskaair.com, can now access immediate on-line communication with the airline's Web Help Center. Horizonair.com, the Web site of Alaska's sister airline, Horizon Air, is also using the technology. "We design alaskaair.com with simplicity in mind, but we also provide a wide array of services to customers with varying technical abilities," said Steve Jarvis, the carrier's staff vice president of e-commerce. "Instant messaging helps customers by providing real-time assistance without picking up the telephone." Alaska worked with application service provider FaceTime Communications for the implementation of the instant-messaging technology. Links to the text-based instant messaging are found at strategic locations on the Web site where customers are most likely to have questions regarding the site. Customers can access the instant messaging text box by clicking on the provided link, eliminating the need to download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. software. The instant messaging service is particularly useful for customers who have a single line for both Internet and telephone use. They will be able to communicate immediately with the Alaska/Horizon Web Help Center without having to interrupt A signal that gets the attention of the CPU and is usually generated when I/O is required. For example, hardware interrupts are generated when a key is pressed or when the mouse is moved. Software interrupts are generated by a program requiring disk input or output. their Internet connection to make a phone call. The help center also can assist customers by "pushing" a page or redirecting the customer's browser browser Software that allows a computer user to find and view information on the Internet. The first text-based browser for the World Wide Web became available in 1991; Web use expanded rapidly after the release in 1993 of a browser called Mosaic, which used to a particular Web page. This helps alaskaair.com users by allowing the help center to make a Web page appear on the customer's monitor without the customer having to search for the page. "Instant messaging is a powerful communications channel Also called a "circuit" or "line," it is a pathway over which data are transferred between remote devices. It may refer to the entire physical medium, such as a telephone line, optical fiber, coaxial cable or twisted wire pair, or, it may refer to one of several carrier frequencies for businesses," said Glen Vondrick, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. at FaceTime Communications. "The Alaska Airlines implementation further demonstrates that instant messaging is an integral part of critical customer communications." Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air became the first U.S. carriers to sell tickets online in 1995 and in 1999 were the first U.S. carriers to allow customers to check in for flights online via the Internet. Earlier this year, they introduced wireless check in. Together they serve 75 cities in the Lower 48, Alaska, Canada and Mexico, with more than 1,000 daily departures. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com. FaceTime Communications is the leading supplier of instant messaging (IM) applications for businesses. FaceTime's Instant Message Director leverages interoperability The capability of two or more hardware devices or two or more software routines to work harmoniously together. For example, in an Ethernet network, display adapters, hubs, switches and routers from different vendors must conform to the Ethernet standard and interoperate with each other. with consumer IM networks such as AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. , Microsoft and Yahoo, resulting in communications channels that improve customer service and reduce costs. For more information, visit www.facetime.com or contact FaceTime via IM screen name FaceTimeLive. |
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