… new mobile phone-based customer service platform to ease ticketing and enhance services  

Nairobi, May 7, 2012… Kenya Airways, in conjunction with local IT firm Cellulant, has launched a new mobile technology platform that will enable the airline’s customers to enjoy enhanced interactive services.   

In a trendsetting move, Kenya Airways now becomes one of the first airlines in Africa to deliver a mobile phone-based solution as part of its customer service information enhancement programme. 

Speaking when he confirmed the new development, Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni said that the information will be delivered on their customer’s mobile phones via multiple channel solutions. 

The recently launched service dubbed ‘KQ Mobile’ can be accessed through the short code *737# and will allow the airline’s customers to conveniently access information on their flight status, timetable, cargo services, ticketing and query their Msafiri Miles status.

Powered by Cellulant, the new KQ Mobile platform can also be accessed while roaming across all 56 Kenya Airways destinations. The service comprises bulk SMS and USSD platforms. 

Bulk SMS enables the sending of SMSs to the airline’s staff and customers through local and international mobile operator networks. USSD (which stands for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) platform enables a subscriber’s phone handset to perform certain business/information transactions by dialing a certain code. 

“At Kenya Airways, our commitment to diversify customer service information delivery channels beyond the traditional platforms remains one of our key business priorities. Our partnership with Cellulant is expressly geared to explore new avenues to achieve this goal,” Naikuni said.

He added: “Our ultimate goal is to leverage the convenience element presented by a mobile phone to deliver a range of services and information to our customers, staff and stakeholders.”

With the activation of KQ Mobile, Kenya Airways is now well positioned to deliver customer information on a real-time basis, as well as tailor services to its customers.

According to Cellulant’s Chief Business Officer Paul Ndichu, the new partnership with KQ will afford the national carrier a range of interactive mobile based platforms to engage its passengers and customers among other stakeholders including staff.

“The goal of the partnership is to leverage the mobile phone to provide various information services to KQ customers, staff and other stakeholders in order to improve communication, enable itinerary and disruption management, payments and, importantly, to provide passengers the opportunity to customize their travel experience with ease,” Ndichu explained.

In Africa, Cellulant is one of the leading mobile technology firms in Africa, creating and delivering innovative solutions that connect millions of customers to diverse services on the mobile phone while enabling corporations better understand and serve their customers.  

The company has pioneered mobile-centric innovations across multiple industry segments including banking, insurance, agriculture and utilities. In Nigeria, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, it has recently piloted an e-wallet to power distribution of fertilizer through the agricultural value chain.