Alaska Airlines and PAR3 Team Up to Communicate With Customers; Personalized Alerts Immediately Notify Customers of Flight Information and Automatically Confirm Travel Plans.

Business Editors/Travel Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2001

As airlines scrambled to resume flying after the events of September 11, thousands of passengers searched for information, unsure whether their flights would operate, or if they would proceed with their current travel plans.

Behind the scenes, Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) and PAR3 Communications worked around the clock to implement an automated flight confirmation and notification system -- two months ahead of schedule.

Within days of the tragedy and only hours after deciding to automate the customer contact process, Alaska began using PAR3's Intelligent Response Platform(TM) to notify passengers of flight schedule changes and to confirm existing reservations. And the alerts successfully reached 92 percent of the customers to whom they were sent.

"With tens of thousands of customers experiencing schedule changes, there was no way that we could personally call each passenger," said Karen Wells-Fletcher, Alaska's manager of network operations. "PAR3's technology has already helped us notify more than 100,000 customers about schedule changes. It permitted our agents to use their time to help passengers resolve specific schedule conflicts."

PAR3's platform sends a customized message to notify Alaska customers of schedule changes. Passengers can accept the new schedule or contact Alaska to speak directly with an agent to make other arrangements. Passengers may also forward the message with comments to others affected by the change in travel plans, such as family, friends and co-workers.

"Alaska Airlines' ability to send automatic, personalized alerts to passengers enables it to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty while simultaneously reducing unnecessary inbound calls to the reservations center," said Nicholas Tiliacos, PAR3 president and CEO. "Our technology is helping Alaska Airlines communicate with customers more efficiently and effectively, and we are pleased with the positive results and feedback."

Although the system was not scheduled to be operational until November, Alaska and PAR3 were able to implement the schedule change notification function in time to meet many of the needs stemming from the September crisis. In the future, the system also will notify customers of flight cancellations and delays via e-mail and pager, as well as by phone.

"Being able to reach out to passengers with time-sensitive detailed information regarding their itinerary is critical in delivering truly valuable customer service," Wells-Fletcher said. "PAR3's technology fits perfectly into Alaska's commitment to care for our passengers by offering quick and accurate information."

Alaska, along with its sister airline Horizon Air, chose PAR3 because of its ability to integrate tightly with the carriers' data and contact center systems to deliver real-time, multi-channel notifications.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines was recently voted "World's Best Domestic Airline" by readers of Travel+Leisure magazine. Alaska Airlines became the first North American carrier to sell tickets online in 1995, and in 1999 was the first carrier in the world to allow customers to check in for flights online via the Internet. Alaska and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, together serve 75 cities in the Lower 48, Alaska, Canada and Mexico. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com.

About PAR3 Communications, Inc.

Seattle-based PAR3 Communications, Inc. is leading the next generation of CRM with its award-winning alert and response platform that enables businesses and their customers to actively participate in their relationship through two-way communications. Businesses use PAR3 solutions to leverage their rich enterprise-level customer data and exchange highly tailored alerts with their customers via telephone, email, pager, fax or wireless device -- how and when the customer chooses. For more information, visit www.par3.com.