Cathay Pacific Airways has become the first Asian airline to introduce travel services using the new Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology, giving its customers access to flight schedules, news, and special offers through their mobile phones. Starting today, the airline`s Marco Polo Club members are now able to check their frequent flyer mileage accounts. 
The new WAP technology enables customers to access the Internet via their mobile phones just as they do on a personal computer. Passengers simply require a mobile phone capable of supporting WAP technology and a subscription to the i.MENU service offered by Cable & Wireless HKT Mobile Services.

“Cathay Pacific is extremely pleased to be the first airline in Asia to offer this new WAP-based service to customers,” said Ron Mathison, General Manager, Cathay Pacific Loyalty Programmes. “The service will allow Hong Kong-based passengers to access the latest information anywhere in the world and give them greater control over their travel experience.”

Mr Mathison added: “At Cathay Pacific we are dedicated to keeping abreast of the latest technology, as can be seen by the many innovative features on our Internet site.”

Members of The Marco Polo Club can access their mileage accounts by keying in their membership number and their personal identification number (PIN) into the WAP handset. They can then check their mileage balance and recent air and non-air transactions.

The new service is currently available to all Hong Kong customers with a WAP handset who subscribe to Cable & Wireless HKT. Cathay Pacific is looking to expand the WAP-based travel services to its other customers around the world.

The new service is provided on i.Menu, a service platform designed by Cable & Wireless HKT Mobile Services for the provision of web-based information and e-commerce services via mobile phones.

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