Qatar Airways has introduced first virtual flight attendant operating in AI

Qatar Airways has unveiled its first artificial intelligence-powered virtual flight attendant, aiming to assist customers both at airports and on planes.

Dubbed Sama 2.0, the virtual flight attendant was unveiled at the major ITB Berlin exhibition this week. It is also available through its own metaverse, called Qverse, and the Qatar app.

The airline and UneeQ, which developed Sama, claim the digital assistant, whose name means "sky" in Arabic, combines "technology with empathy and personalization" and offers "engaging interactions that mirror human conversations."

It is designed to learn from customer behavior through "comprehensive visual interactions" to "help its passengers create a personalized travel experience."

Passengers can make the most of Sama's services by using the airline's Qverse. From there, the virtual assistant can, for example, offer passengers 3D maps of airports and help navigate the terrain, answer real-time questions about baggage, check-in and more. In addition, it is possible to communicate with Sama both in writing, via chat, and verbally, in question and answer format.

The virtual assistant currently only speaks English, but is expected to become fluent in other languages, including Arabic, later this year.

“This is a monumental point in spearheading the successful synergy between technology and human connection – not only for Qatar Airways but also for the industry at large,” company Marketing Vice President Babar Rahman said, adding that the interactions would be “approachable and friendly.”