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Pittsburgh International Airport enters mobile to keep travelers updated

Pittsburgh International Airport is introducing a mobile Web site for consumers who want travel alerts and promotions.

The Allegheny County Airport and Grant Oliver Corporation launched the site for the airport, which works on any mobile device that has Internet access. In addition, users who register are entered for a chance to win a travel certificate valued at $400 from AAA Travel.

?The strategy was to create a mobile presence for the Pittsburgh International Airport,? said Taylor G. Abbett, president of Tailored Marketing, Pittsburgh. ?The thought was that more people are using their cell phones to get information.

?Therefore, creating a mobile tool where a business traveler could get arriving flight, departing flight, and parking information on their mobile phone would be useful,? he said.

Travelers can check arrival and departure times, check the pricing of parking at the airport, see fares alerts and view promotions that the airport is currently running.

Additionally, there is a feedback feature that lets users fill out any comments along with their email and name.

Here is a screen grab of the mobile site:

?The target demographic is the frequent business traveler as well as any other traveler who would like to get the information who is not near a computer,? Mr. Abbett said. ?The mobile market is growing at an astronomical rate.

?More people have cell phones than ever before and consumers are looking for new and innovative tools to get information,? he said. ?At present, the mobile web site seems to be able to be used by almost every phone with Internet access, so that covers most of the smartphone market, but as we research technology improvements, we will be looking into possible other mobile applications in the future.

Pittsburgh International Airport is not the first airlines to enter mobile.

Southwest Airlines is using SMS to cut airport wait time and inbound passenger calls. The airline sends text messages to passengers to alert them of flight delays, cancellations and gate changes (see story).

In February, Alaska Airlines introduced mobile boarding passes in seven cities that display an encrypted bar code along with the passenger and flight information that is verified by Transportation Security Administration agents at the security checkpoint (see story).

In addition to the new mobile site, users who register for the mobile site are entered for a chance to win a travel certificate valued at $400 from AAA Travel.

Here is a screen grab offering consumers a chance to win the travel certificate:

?The mobile website is optimized for all cell phones with Internet access,? Mr. Abbett said. ?Right now we are looking into new mobile tools for amusement parks, political endeavors, and other various business associations.?

Mobile Commerce Daily?s Rimma Kats gives a demonstration of the mobile site. Here is the video: