KLM CEO says facial recognition and AI next steps in traveler convenience

The CEO of Dutch airline KLM, Pieter Elbers, says that using artificial intelligence and facial recognition are among the next steps in adapting technology to serve its customers, as the company delivered 10,000 boarding passes to passengers in India through WhatsApp, along with IT partner TCS, The Hindu reports.

KLM began a pilot program to test issuing boarding passes over WhatsApp a year ago. As part of a strategy focused on bringing technology to travelers, rather than enticing travelers to come to the technology, KLM shifted its electronic boarding-pass distribution efforts from its own website and app to the popular messaging app.

The same idea has led the airline to consider deploying facial recognition in elevators taken by passengers before reaching the check-in counter, so that they are identified even before reaching a queue, in the hopes of reducing or eliminating wait times.

KLM measures its return on technology investments at least in part on how they affect its Net Promoter Score (NPS), and it has invested in resolving complaints via social media to lower its complaint resolution time to 42 minutes, well below its 60-minute goal, Elbers says.

The market for automated biometrics in airports is projected to grow by 20 percent CAGR to $389 million in 2022, according to Acuity Market Intelligence.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  artificial intelligence  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  passenger processing  |  travel and tourism