Have Speech, Will Travel: Travel Industry Leaders Take Flight with Nuance Voice Automation.

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Top Organizations Make Accessing Flight Information, Vacation Booking and Emergency Roadside Assistance Easy and Intuitive With Speech

Travel organizations -- from airlines to travel service providers to hospitality companies -- are flying high with speech recognition software from Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN), the voice automation expert. Voice automation is allowing leaders in the travel and transportation industries, including AAA Minnesota/Iowa, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Expedia.com(R), Iberia Airlines, lastminute.com and others, to increase call center automation, reduce call center costs and boost customer service levels by speech-enabling flight information services, vacation booking, roadside assistance transactions and more. These travel-oriented, voice-driven solutions are delivered by Nuance and its partners, including Aspect Communications, Avaya, Fluency Voice Technology, Gold Systems, Intervoice, SpeechCraft, and TS Telefonica Sistemas, among others.

With call centers ubiquitous in the travel industry, such organizations are increasingly automating specific transactions via phone with speech. For example, many transportation companies are automating their 1-800 customer care lines, allowing travelers to reconfirm itineraries or obtain flight arrival and departure information by simply speaking a flight number or destination into the phone -- in one or several languages. Nuance's travel and hospitality customers are also using speech to voice-enable holiday gift orders, map requests, travel/leisure organization membership renewals, and account balance information.

"Our research shows that customers prefer interacting with companies by phone more than Web, online chat or other means," said Chuck Berger, president and CEO of Nuance. "We're proud to be working with forward-thinking companies in the travel industry that have demonstrated that speech is a business must-have, both for stepping up employee productivity and for ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction."

In addition to shorter call durations, reduced hold times and improved customer service ratings, Nuance travel and hospitality customers are also reporting fewer misrouted calls, an accelerated ROI, and significant increases in system efficiency after implementing speech. One common refrain: voice automation is directly -- and positively -- impacting the bottom line. Travel customers report that a speech-powered call center reduces cost-per-call figures as much as $15.

About Nuance

In markets around the world, leading enterprises and telecommunications carriers -- including Avon, British Airways, Expedia, Nomura Securities, OnStar, Sprint PCS, United Parcel Service, Vodafone and Wells Fargo -- have worked with Nuance to ensure the best possible results from their investment in voice. Nuance is the global leader in voice automation, providing software and solutions to more than 1,000 companies worldwide. Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN) is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to Nuance, including, for example, those relating to the business and customer benefits attainable by using Nuance speech products. There is no assurance that the results contemplated by any forward-looking statements will be realized. The following factors, risks and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements: the risk that any of these products will not achieve anticipated or projected customer adoption, accelerated ROIs, performance levels, customer satisfaction, cost savings, operational efficiencies, automation rates or other benefits in some or all circumstances; and other factors described in Nuance's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Nuance's last-filed Form 10-Q. Nuance does not undertake to update any oral or written forward-looking statements that may be made by or on behalf of Nuance.

Nuance is a registered trademark of Nuance Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.