American Airlines has quietly introduced a new booking tool. Instead of focusing on the particular airports they wish to fly to and from, passengers can now use the new AI-powered function to search for flights based on the type of vacation they want to take.
Anshuman Singh, America’s Managing Director of Customer Experience – Digital Transformation, told USA TODAY during a virtual tool demonstration on September 30 that “people are more and more eager to look for experiences when they travel.”
“You can use these prompts to say something like, ‘I want to go on a trek with my family over Thanksgiving break,'” he said.
For dates surrounding Thanksgiving, a similar search yielded flights to airports near national parks in the western United States and Canada.
AI-Powered Flight Search Revolutionizing Travel Planning
Approximately 50% of users can currently access the tool solely on the American website. In roughly a month, the business plans to launch an in-app version. If no significant issues are identified during the trial period, it is expected to be available to all website users within four to six weeks.
Singh stated, “We are attempting to enter this and observe the types of prompts people are requesting.” “Data must be the constant guide we follow.”
Both the American and Google results prioritize tickets based on price, and Google has just launched a similar capability that enables natural language flight search.
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Helping Travelers Save Money and Discover New Destinations
American Airlines is attempting to adapt to the way more people are planning their trips and be proactive in meeting its customers where they are when it comes to making travel arrangements, according to Samuel Liyanage, Vice President of Digital Customer Experience.
Additionally, the technology can help tourists stay within their budgets. Flights costing more than $500 will still be found when searching for “I want to take a beach vacation in February while spending less than $500 on flights,” but they will be flagged as “over budget.”
Singh went on to say that he has observed how the tool can help users discover new places they might not have otherwise considered.
This has also affected me as a traveler; I’ve been preoccupied with the idea that I want to visit Cancún, but this is making me more aware of the variety of experiences that are there.”
Expanding the Scope of Travel Experiences
Although Advantage members can also utilize the site to look for incentive flights, only American Airlines flights are currently included in the mileage redemption results. Partner airlines will also appear in the tool’s results for flights with a cash fare.
The Alps can be just as accessible and reasonably priced for an American winter sports enthusiast as the Rockies or Adirondacks, as demonstrated by the flight options returned by a search with the phrase “I want to take a ski vacation before Christmas or after New Year’s” to Denver for Vail and Aspen, Salt Lake City for Park City, Geneva for Chamonix, and Zurich for Zermatt.
“People are attempting to search not only for origin and destination, but also for travel-related experiences,” Singh stated.
