Air France Deploys Nuance-Powered Speech Internationally
Popular speech-enabled service now accessible to more customers overseas in six languages
BURLINGTON, MA and PARIS, March 12, 2009 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN), a leading provider of speech solutions, has today announced that Air France has launched the second-phase of its popular telephone-based, speech-enabled portal, offering innovative travel services for customers around the world. The new application builds on the success of the existing Air France customer service application, powered by Nuance speech solutions and now offers services in six languages.
In October 2006, Air France introduced the Nuance-powered French and English-language versions of ‘3654’, the single-contact telephone number that passengers can dial to access information about all of the airline’s services. Initially developed for the French market only, the service was available seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
This service has enabled Air France to vastly improve customer satisfaction while simultaneously reducing costs in its call center operations. Air France expects to replicate this level of customer satisfaction success internationally. In addition to English and French, the application now supports Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese speakers. The system can be accessed via Air France’s main contact centres in Europe, Asia, North and South America to provide support to callers from over 20 countries.
The expanded system provides callers with a wide range of services and information, all easily accessed using Nuances’s sophisticated speech technology, including:
- Book, purchase and change tickets, or obtain refunds with an Air France agent;
- Receive real-time flights information, as well as departure and arrival terminals;
- Obtain information about Air France coach services, any vaccinations required, monitoring of luggage in the event of an incident
Diane Laurent-Jubin, Vice-President Direct Sales and Service International and the Netherlands Air France KLM, said: “Today’s customers want efficient and prompt service, whether they wish to discuss a query or perform an entire transaction over the telephone. We are required to satisfy the expectations of increasingly savvy, highly mobile customers, who feel great service is an entitlement. As well as being readily accessible, customer service must be pleasant to use. Nuance’s advanced speech recognition technology enables us to deliver on this requirement, providing access to a user-friendly and information-rich resource that has already proved popular with our customers.”
Steve Miller, Sr Vice President and General Manager of Nuance in EMEA said: “This solution is a fantastic endorsement for speech technology as a business solution. Air France has used speech technology to heighten the experience of customers worldwide, while addressing internal issues such as controlling costs and maximising the effectiveness of the company’s existing sales teams. This application proves the business benefit of speech technology, and the value it can return back to the business in a very short time-frame.”
Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of speech, text and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.
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