During the Arabian Travel Market Dubai (ATM), Qatar Airways encouraged visitors to interact with the second generation of their “world first” AI-powered digital crew, Sama. Positioned as the “future of exceptional service and hospitality in the travel and tourism industry,” the digital human crew member is powered with UneeQ’s conversational AI, helping passengers in real-time to curate travel experiences or answer any queries.
Passengers have the ability to speak with Sama 2.0 either in the Qverse or via the airline app. Through interactions in the Qverse immersive platform, Sama will improve responses over time as it learns through conversations with passengers. Sama 2.0 boasts extended linguistic capabilities, adding Arabic to its existing proficiency in English, with the potential to incorporate many more languages in the future.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said:
“Qatar Airways is thrilled to return this year to ATM Dubai with Sama 2.0, who not only represents the cutting-edge of digital innovation in human interaction but also enhances the travel experience for all our passengers. As a multiple award-winning airline, this aligns perfectly with our commitment to exceeding expectations, offering both experts and travellers unparalleled, innovative interactions that resonate with them.”
At ATM 2024, the award winning airline also showcased a range of immersive experiences including virtual reality (VR) tours and their multi-sensory pod, merging the physical and digital worlds to position themselves at the forefront of travel.
As technology develops, airlines are harnessing digital capabilities in new and exciting ways. Earlier this year, Korean Air featured virtual humans in its latest inflight safety video. The airline explained this as an effort to re-engage passengers with the importance of inflight safety but also described it as a new experience for passengers.
For more like this see:
- Incorporating virtual humans into the passenger experience
- Emirates’ world first robot check-in assistant
- The future of booking? Trip.com showcases virtual experience with Apple Vision Pro
