Palm, Inc. works with Air Canada to enhance travel experience for premium
customers
Canadian Business Travelers take to the skies with first-ever passenger
information service developed exclusively for Palm OS Handhelds
TORONTO, March 11 /CNW/ - Palm Canada and Air Canada today announced a
world first for the travel industry, unveiling their "Beam & Fly" station in
the Air Canada Domestic Maple Leaf lounge at Pearson International Airport.
The Beam & Fly station is a unique kiosk that allows travelers to receive
up-to-the-minute flight schedules, destination guides, world news, sports
briefs, and airport maps simply by beaming them into their Palm(TM) handheld
computers.
Expected by Palm Canada to become a travel standard in all Maple Leaf
business lounges, Beam & Fly provides users with a host of relevant
applications designed specifically for the self-serve traveler. Using unique
beaming technology developed by Bluefish Wireless, users can download a
specially developed Air Canada portal, in either English or French, to their
Palm handhelds, complete with a variety of customized links to browse with the
look and feel of websites.
The Air Canada portal can be beamed into any Palm OS(R) based handheld,
and features applications that focus on the fundamentals of business travel:
- Daily News - Daily updates of headline news and summaries of Canadian
and international newspapers, provided by CyberPresse and The Globe &
Mail.
- Promotion and Flight Communication - Up-to-the minute flight
information and scheduling, including arrivals, departures, terminals,
gates and delays, as well as special holiday and vacation promotions.
- Airport Maps - Directional guides for services, shopping and other
facilities at airports and terminals.
- City Guides - Envoyage destination guides, by Qvadis -- pocket
destination guides for Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and
Montreal that include city essentials for culture, restaurants, hotels,
nightlife, shopping, sightseeing, special events, downtown maps and
more. More cities will be added soon.
- Customer Survey - Provided by Air Canada, this application helps
determine what services should be included in future Information
Centres (for example, translator software) and from Air Canada in
general. Customers who fill out the survey will have the chance to win
a Palm Tungsten(TM) T handheld.
"Air Canada's award-winning Maple Leaf Lounges offer a private and
welcoming environment to our premium customers," said Pierre Bourbonniere,
manager, Airport Products, Air Canada. "Our lounges are designed to make the
time prior to boarding quiet, relaxing and productive. Palm handhelds
complement existing lounge technology and are a perfect fit for our business
travelers who need up-to-the-minute access to flight and destination
information."
Eventually, the Beam & Fly stations will be available in airports across
Canada.
"As a pioneer of handheld technology, Palm is thrilled to add another
'first' to its roster of business alliances," says Michael Moskowitz,
president, Palm Canada. "As one of the world's most prominent cities, Toronto
is an excellent starting point for what we hope will become a global standard
in travel technology."
About Bluefish Wireless Inc.
----------------------------
Bluefish Wireless provides the wireless data software and network
platform to facilitate the building and delivery of applications requiring the
transfer of data to and from handheld devices and the Internet and/or
corporate networks. Bluefish's patent-pending, proprietary technology platform
has applications in diverse markets and is expanding the functionality and
utility of PDAs. Founded in 1999, Bluefish Wireless is based in San Francisco
with engineering offices in Sydney, Australia. For more information, visit
Bluefish at www.bluefishwireless.com.
About Palm, Inc.
----------------
Information about Palm, Inc. is available at
http://www.palm.com/aboutpalm.
About Air Canada
----------------
Air Canada's 25 Maple Leaf Lounges are located at all major airports
across Canada and at key international airports. In cooperation with Star
Alliance Partners, Air Canada offers access to 500 airport lounges worldwide.
These awarding winning lounges are designed to make the time prior to boarding
as relaxing and productive as possible, by offering premium customers an
unrivaled level of service in a quiet, comfortable environment away from busy
airport common areas. In the year 2000, there were 2.6 million visitors to
Maple Leaf Lounges worldwide. www.aircanada.ca
Palm OS is a registered trademark of PalmSource, Inc., a subsidiary of
Palm, Inc. Palm and Tungsten are trademarks of Palm, Inc. Other brands
may be trademarks of their respective owners.
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available
on the Canadian Press Photo Network/
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