LONDON-Online travel firm ebookers has launched a mobile service allowing U.K. customers to book flights via their mobile phones. Users will be able to search and purchase flight tickets up to eight hours before departure, using WAP-enabled mobile devices.
The new service will be available to Orange and T-Mobile subscribers in the first instance, and ebookers is in talks with other U.K. operators to extend the service.
Mobile-phone users can enter the ebookers’ Web site through a WAP-enabled phone and search for flights using a range of search criteria, such as departure and destination airport, date and time of flights, number of tickets and seat class.
Payment is then made via a secure system, which saves user IDs for future use. Ebookers revealed that it plans similar services for hotels, cars and insurance in the near future.
Brent Spicer, business development director at ebookers, said: “There are wider possibilities for this application as well, such as sending customers SMS travel itineraries, welcome back messages and other direct marketing initiatives.”
