Travelocity offers wireless messaging suite

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Flight delays and schedule changes make real-time travel information a very valuable commodity. Travelocity.com is launching this week My Messaging, a suite of travel notification tools that allow Travelocity.com customers to take control of when and where they receive important trip updates. 

Available for free with any Travelocity.com booking, the messaging service gives travelers, and anyone else they may designate, instant information by e-mail on most handheld devices and mobile phones.

Travelers who enroll in My Messaging can choose to be notified via any or all of the following devices: phone, cell phone, fax, cell phone text messaging, pager, standard e-mail and wireless e-mail. My Messaging also allows travelers to notify others who may need to be informed of their travel status or plans. Travelers sign up for the service on Travelocity.com before booking a trip, and once enrolled, can change notification options any time. 

Travelocity describes My Messaging as "the online travel industry's first comprehensive message system that puts the user in control of where and when they receive travel updates." My Messaging is powered by Centerpost Corporation, a leading provider of automated communications solutions.

"Travelocity.com led the way in customer notification with our flight paging service in 1997 and we have been making notification calls for years," said Russ Smith, senior vice president of operations-customer service of Travelocity.com. "The addition of My Messaging makes us the clear category leader in online travel by providing more options and interactive opportunities than anyone else in the industry. This is the first product that redefines the concept of notification and puts control in the hands of the customer. It is just another example of the way that Travelocity.com uses innovative technology to make traveling better."

Found under the My Stuff section of the site, My Messaging offers travelers the opportunity to sign up for the following notifications: 

Customer Care Alert

▪ Schedule Change. Provides information on changes to trip itineraries due to an airline schedule change.

▪ Urgent Reach: Provides important information that could affect travel plans, such as airline labor actions or airport closures.

Travel Alerts

▪ Arrival Status: Provides flight arrival time, gate and baggage claim information. Sent approximately one hour prior to flight arrival so the traveler can keep others informed of their arrival time.

▪ Connection Status. Provides information about the departure of a connecting flight, including time and gate information. Sent approximately one hour prior to the connecting departure.

▪ Trip Reminder: Provides travel itinerary details for flight, car and/or hotel reservations approximately twenty-four hours prior to the departure of an originating flight.

▪ Trip Status: Provides up-to-date departure information, including departure time and gate number. Sent approximately three hours and one hour prior to a flight's departure.

Travelocity.com, a database-driven travel marketing and transaction company, provides Internet and wireless reservations information for more than 700 airlines, more than 55,000 hotels and more than 50 car rental companies. In addition, Travelocity.com offers more than 6,500 vacation packages, tour and cruise departures and a vast database of destination and interest information. Travelocity.com employs more than 1,000 customer service professionals, has sold more than 20 million airline tickets and has registered more than 32 million members.

For the past two months, Travelocity has been fighting a takeover by Sabre Holdings, which spawned the online travel company and owns 70% of the shares.