SAS tests Digital TV

SAS tests Digital TV for interactive communications with customers Starting today, May 3, SAS will become the first airline in Europe to offer interactive communications with its customers using digital TV. In a test period that will last through the middle of June, 12,000 households in Sweden will be able to familiarize themselves with SAS's travel offerings at home in front of their television sets. Digital TV provides space for the distribution of various services combined with television broadcasts, unlike "regular" analog television, which only offers one-way communication with viewers. By clicking on the remote, television viewers will now be able to familiarize themselves with SAS's various travel offerings as well as book and pay for flights. "We're doing this so that we can test whether our customers would enjoy being in contact with us through digital TV, and if that's a good avenue for us to reach our customers," says Ola Strangeways, project manager for the SAS Digital TV project. SAS is offering its flights through the eTV channel over a land-based digital network. Customer contact with SAS is sent via a click on the remote control to a digital box and out onto the telephone network - no long-term, expensive connections are necessary. It is also possible to ask to be called up by SAS. Once customers have confirmed their travel purchases, SAS mails the tickets to their home, although the test also includes the option for customers to cancel their purchases. "Following this testing period, SAS will evaluate its experiences and expand upon them, based partly on customer reactions," says Ola Strangeways. "SAS is known for its highly innovative spirit and is also quite advanced in terms of the Internet and WAP, and we see potential for Digital TV." Digital TV offers considerably better picture and sound quality than today's analog television, translating into lower recording and transmission costs. With digital technology, televisions will become communications platforms and approach computers in terms of their utility. For further information, please contact: Ola Strangeways, Manager New Technology Communications, SAS Telephone: +46 8 797 4288 Mobile: +46 8 997 4288 SAS CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/03/20000503BIT00670/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/03/20000503BIT00670/bit0002.pdf