FlySafair has become the first airline in the world to launch a service that will allow customers to make payments for booking extras using WhatsApp, called Chat 2 Pay.
Using this feature, customers can add their checked luggage to an existing booking and make payment for that service, all within the context of a simple WhatsApp chat.
Launch functionality is currently limited to adding checked luggage, but the airline is in a process of adding other options like snack vouchers to the platform.
Kirby Gordon, FlySafair chief marketing officer, said the airline is thrilled to offer this innovative new way of managing bookings.
“WhatsApp is such a fundamental part of our daily lives and it makes perfect sense to bring these capabilities into that environment. This is the next in a series of recent improvements FlySafair has made to its WhatsApp service,” said Gordon.
“Just last year, the airline worked with technology partner Clickatell to introduce features which allow passengers to manage their bookings via WhatsApp.”
Passengers can do everything from looking up a flight status to checking in, confirming checked luggage inclusions, receiving boarding passes, and live chatting with airline customer service agents right from WhatsApp.
“Our goal is to offer all the functionality currently available on our website via WhatsApp to make end-to-end booking and reservation management as easy as possible.
“Introducing this payment capability is the next step in achieving this goal, reducing the stress of travelling by offering a convenient, safe, and secure way to make payments right in the chat environment.”
Werner Lindemann, senior vice-president enterprise sales: growth markets at Clickatell, said their work with FlySafair is further evidence that chat commerce is a vital part of a seamless customer journey.
“Our partnership has already seen South Africa’s favourite chat channel, WhatsApp, become an integral part of FlySafair’s omni-channel offering and we are excited to see what new chat services our teams can deliver to an airline that clearly prides itself on its innovation and commitment to engaging with customers on the channels they prefer,” said Lindemann.
Passengers can access this WhatsApp service by sending “Hi” to the FlySafair business account on +27 87 357 0030. Following the simple prompts passengers will select the first option labelled My Booking to identify the relevant reservation.
Payment is ultimately made via WhatsApp by following the prompts on the secure payment link using any Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card.
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