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Wireless Travel
Kirby's Korner · December 1,
2000
America Online this week announced the newest plank in its "AOL Anywhere" platform -- the AOL Mobile Communicator, which allows AOL members to read and respond to e-mail messages and instant messaging through a wireless device.
The news isn't directly related to travel, but it is another indication of how quickly the connected world is going wireless.
And as the connected world goes wireless, the travel industry is at the forefront.
All of which is to say that you may be buying airline tickets through your PDA or your Web-enabled cell phone sooner than you thought.
Just think of the power of modern technology -- giving us the capability to buy airline tickets over the telephone! Who could have foreseen such an awesome ability as recently as 25 years ago?
That's probably unfair. In addition to ticket purchasing, the travel industry is offering a plethora of wireless services, including the ability to track flight locations, get driving directions, keep tabs on itineraries they've already planned, and enable colleagues and family members to do the same.
The audience for such services may never be the size of the audience for Internet services, particularly as long as the services are being delivered via small-screen handheld devices. But as Trip.com's Jim Gregory, vice president for marketing, explained during a press tour to announce his company's wireless plans last summer, for people who want to use the services, they are invaluable.
Gregory explained how he was able to rebook flights after meetings lasted unexpectedly long or ended sooner than planned, and how he used a wireless flight-tracking service to figure out he could safely leave an airport for the evening after a series of storm delays.
AOL subsidiary MapQuest was looking at wireless applications before plans for its acquisition by AOL were announced a year ago. It offers driving directions through a wireless connection and real-time traffic reports for 30 U.S. cities.
More than a year ago, MapQuest talked about developing speech-recognition utilities that could work over regular or wireless telephones. A company representative said recently that support and funding from AOL has advanced such technological moves.
The large online travel agencies Travelocity.com and Expedia.com both offer wireless services.
Travelocity has flight bookings, information, and schedules, as well as weather. In addition, travelers who book through the wireless or Web service can opt to receive airplane gate, delay, arrival, and departure information beamed to an alphanumeric pager.
Expedia brings many services together in its wireless offerings. You can't yet book flights over its cell-phone-based service, but you can get flight information, driving directions, and hotel availability.
On Expedia's PDA service, travelers can get itineraries, driving directions, and -- on PocketPC devices -- maps.
Needless to say, the airlines are lining up to offer wireless bookings.
As with any new application of technology, there are still bugs to be worked out. My cell phone connection is so lousy in my office that I wouldn't think of trying any of these services there; but if I walk outside, the connection seems more solid than a landline phone.
More pertinently, travel industry players are working with specific wireless providers, limiting the ability of customers of certain wireless providers to access offerings from certain online agencies.
But for customers who want to use the tools, more than ever before travel is now literally at their fingertips.
David Kirby is the senior editor at the start-up dot-com company iJET Travel Intelligence and was the founding editor of Interactive Travel Report. His column appears on Friday. You can reach him at david@ticked.com.
