TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY,AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
Alaska Airlines | December 01, 2022
Alaska Airlines became the first U.S. airline to launch an electronic bag tag program, which enables guests to tag their luggage through the airline's mobile app before they even reach the airport.
This week, 2,500 Alaska Mileage Plan members will begin receiving their electronic bag tag. Those elite status members included in the first wave of the program are guests who have traveled in the last 12 months, checked-in at least one bag and were among the first to register to use the device."The last thing our guests want to do is stand in line," said Charu Jain, senior vice-president of merchandising and innovation for Alaska. "With the addition of the Alaska Airlines electronic bag tag, our guests can complete almost all of their check-in tasks – from the comfort of their home, at work or on the way to catching their flight."
The three-by-five-inch devices are updated with a guest's flight information through the Alaska Airlines mobile app during check-in; essentially allowing travelers to head straight to the bag drop area once they arrive at the airport.
The Alaska Airlines electronic bag tag is estimated to reduce the time guests spend in airport lobbies by about 40%, including reducing lines and the use of paper bag tags. In addition to the device's impressive lifespan and durability (Alaska Airlines employees tested it by running it over with a truck), the devices don't require charging or batteries.
"We've tested our electronic bag tags on countless flights across the country, including international routes where Alaska Airlines flies, and the devices have performed exactly as they're meant to," said Jain. "We'll collect feedback from our first wave of users before the devices become available to purchase to all our guests early next year."
The Alaska Airlines electronic bag tag will be available for purchase to all guests starting in 2023 and will operate on all Alaska Airlines marketed flights operated by Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines.
Along with the hardware, the software for the device is provided by BAGTAG, a Dutch company that is a pioneer in the field of baggage technology solutions.
"Alaska Airlines is an excellent example of a carrier on a mission to improve all aspects of their passenger's experience, This vision is leading their choices for innovation such as electronic bag tags and we are very proud to assist them in this project."
-Jaspar Quak, BAGTAG managing director
Click here to check out how the Alaska Airlines electronic bag tag works and join the notification list when the devices become available for purchase.
About BAGTAG
BAGTAG was founded in 2014 in the Netherlands, with the purpose of introducing the world's first flexible and secure electronic bag tag solution. Having developed in close cooperation with the world's leading airlines, the company launched its hardware solution in 2018 and is now leading the market for electronic bag tags.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. We emphasize low fares and award-winning customer service. Alaska is a member of the oneworld global alliance. With the alliance and our additional airline partners, our guests can travel to more than 900 destinations on more than 20 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at news.alaskaair.com and follow @alaskaairnews for latest news. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.
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TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY,AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS
Simplex and TravelX | December 02, 2022
Simplex, the fiat infrastructure for digital assets globally, announced a partnership with TravelX, a technology company that is working with leading airlines and travel organizations like IATA (International Air Transport Association) to tokenize their inventory by turning them into NFTs (NFTickets).
This integration provides customers with easy access to NFTickets through Simplex's on-ramp solution, allowing non-crypto users to purchase seamlessly.
"We are honored to partner with Simplex as we create a more transparent, efficient, decentralized and collaborative travel economy. We are very happy to work with one of the world's most important players in digital payments and believe they are the right partner to join us in this journey,"
-Facundo Diaz, Co-founder of TravelX.
NFTickets are the digital representation of regular flight tickets tokenized through blockchain technology. This allows airlines and travel agents to offer more efficient services and ticketing systems, while helping to reduce supplier distribution costs and inefficiencies, ultimately improving profitability. Travelers have more flexibility managing travel assets without support call centers and can easily buy, transfer, trade or sell tickets through blockchain, all on TravelX's marketplace. Distributed through peer-to-peer (P2P) channels, NFTickets unlock a new era of democratization in the travel industry.
"We are excited to join forces with TravelX to accelerate their Web3 business with our seamless payment solutions, Together, we are transforming the industry by bridging the gap between traditional and decentralized finance and taking the old ticketing system into the future of Web3 applications."
-Dror Ben Eliyahu, Simplex's Head of Business Operations.
About Simplex
Simplex is the fiat/crypto infrastructure for the entire world. An EU-licensed financial institution, Simplex aims to change the status quo of the current crypto markets by providing simple, seamless, and secure channels to convert over 100+ fiat currencies to 170+ cryptocurrencies. Simplex has been actively supporting existing and new protocols in the industry, nurturing and expanding its portfolio of supported cryptocurrencies and payment methods.
About TravelX
Led by a team of tech and travel industry veterans, TravelX is building a blockchain-based distribution protocol to create a more secure, decentralized, frictionless, transparent and efficient travel industry. The company's technology allows travel suppliers to tokenize their inventory into NFTs, unleashing distribution capabilities and use cases that enhance both travelers' flexibility and suppliers' profitability. For more, visit www.travelx.io
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AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS, INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
FLYR Labs | January 30, 2023
FLYR Labs, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven forecasting, pricing, and commercial-wide decision-making solutions provider, recently partnered with Brazilian airline Azul to implement FLYR's advanced AI technologies. The technologies will enhance the airline's revenue management strategy, beginning with fare bundles and ancillary product optimization, addressing the growing customer demands.
FLYR will provide Azul with comprehensive pricing, data management, and forecasting capabilities that enable personalized offers for customers to assist the airline in achieving its goal of allowing total revenue management and dynamic offer optimization.
Azul's primary source of profit is the sale of ancillary products such as priority boarding, seat selection, luggage, and fare families. The AI-based Revenue Optimization solution offered by FLYR combines all available historical and real-time data with deep learning algorithms to determine the ideal pricing and distribution strategy.
The solution from FLYR will enable Azul to provide real-time prices for each customer's shopping request or as a scheduled continuous price. This allows the airline to provide travelers with the right ancillaries at the perfect price, with little change to the present shopping infrastructure. It also predicts anticipated revenues for each flight, all within an intuitive user interface.
Since its start in 2008, Azul has been the fastest-growing airline in Brazil, and it now has the country's largest airline network in terms of cities served, with flights to over 150 destinations. Alex Mans, Founder and CEO of FLYR, commented, "We're excited to partner with Azul and harness the power of AI to improve their revenue management and offerings for customers." He added, "The limitations of legacy technology mean airlines have historically struggled to understand how changes in fares can affect ancillary revenues. Through our partnership, we will provide Azul with a crucial competitive advantage when it comes to boosting profitability and enhancing the customer experience."
(Source – GlobeNewswire)
About FLYR Labs
Based in Santa Monica (California), FLYR Labs provides airlines with the intelligence and insight they need to make the best-informed decisions through its proprietary Revenue Operating System. Its vertically integrated platform combines data, forecasting, reporting, pricing, and simulation capabilities into a "single pane of glass" that informs and automates all commercial functions. The company solves complex problems with brilliantly engineered solutions that rely on end-to-end Managed Data Infrastructure and deep learning (AI) to assist leading airlines worldwide in achieving their full potential.
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