Qantas needs languages RightNow

Representatives from Australia’s RightNow Technologies today (or yesterday, depending where you are in relation to the international date line) announced that Qantas subsidiary Jetstar Airways is extending its implementation of RightNow Service to support its overseas expansion into locations such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and Honolulu.

By further leveraging RightNow’s acclaimed web self-service technology in multiple languages and across a wider range of content, the low-fare airline seeks to expand certain service functions into additional languages, especially Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. Jetstar wishes to focus on their online version’s quality of service, for most of its ticket sales come from its online channel. Jetstar had previously announced reportedly “excellent” results from their initial English-language RightNow implementation of last year, a program which now receives approximately 1.25 million visits per month. RightNow is currently used by other airlines including British Airways, Air Canada and ATA.

With head office in Melbourne, Australia, Jetstar is a Qantas Group Airline and fully owned Qantas subsidiary. Jetstar commercially launched in Australia in February 2004 and commercial flights began in May 2004. Today, Jetstar operates just under 1,000 weekly services to 21 destinations including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Christchurch and Cairns. Jetstar currently operates a fleet of 23 Airbus A320 aircraft and plans to upgrade its Air Operator Certificate to operate wide bodied jet aircraft. An interim fleet of six wide body A330-200 aircraft are expected to transition to a fleet of 12 new mammoth Boeing 787 aircraft by late 2008.

Founded in 1997, RightNow Technologies itself is billed as the firm “leading the industry beyond CRM to high-impact customer experience management solutions.” RightNow boasts a clientele of more than 1,500 companies around the world, including Alaska Air, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Banknorth Group, Bell Microproducts, Briggs Corporation, Cendant, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Dow Chemical, Dun & Bradstreet, Friend Communications, Germany Pioneer, International Rectifier, Kodak, Merry Maids, Paddy Power, Sketchers, The Right Start, Thomas Cook, Victoria International, and Victoria University of New Zealand.