By Kim Se-jeong
Those having questions about Air France flights can get answers in real time through KakaoTalk, Korea’s most popular mobile messenger service.
On Monday, the French national carrier began customer service on KakaoTalk, which allows passengers to ask any question regarding Air France flights.
“Relying on Korea’s most popular social media platform allows us to be in close contact with our Korean customers who represent an important market for Air France,” said Yu-ming Sie, commercial director for Air France KLM Korea.
KakaoTalk has more than 40 million users.
Customer service hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends. The carrier’s customer service agents answer questions in Korean. The search ID is AIRFRANCE.
Air France has become the second carrier to adopt the service, following KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. KLM, which is another unit of the Air France-KLM Group, started the same service in June last year.
For those who speak English or French, Facebook (AirFrance) and Twitter (@airfranceKR) are available 24 hours a day.
The move is part of the Air France-KLM Group’s efforts to improve the quality of service for existing customers as well as attracting new customers. Such efforts are more in need when the market is growing more competitive.
Customer service on KakaoTalk is one of several types catering only to Korean passengers.
On the Seoul-Paris route, Air France offers red pepper paste, Miso soup, Korean dessert and ginseng tea to passengers for in-flight meals. A Korean interpreter is also onboard to assist Korean-speaking passengers. Korean staffers are also stationed on the ground ― at arrival, departure and transit areas at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport ― to accommodate the Korean passengers’ needs.
Korea is one of Air France’s 316 destinations in 115 countries. The first flight between Korea and France was in 1983, and two flights operate every day between Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Incheon International Airport.