American Airlines has become the first airline to utilize Google Assistant’s interpreter mode in its airport lounges, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier announced Tuesday.
American began testing the new technology—which offers real-time translation in 29 different languages—at Admirals Club lounges at Los Angeles International Airport last week.
Moving forward, American’s premium customer service representatives will be able to provide more personalized service to foreign language-speaking customers even when a multilingual team member is unavailable to assist.
Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese are among the more than two dozen languages that the device can translate.
“The science fiction universal translator is now science fact,” said Maya Leibman, American’s Chief Information Officer, in a statement accompanying Tuesday’s announcement. “Incorporating technology like the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode will help us break down barriers, provide a worry-free travel experience and make travel more accessible to all.”
American’s testing of Google Assistant’s interpreter mode comes one month after it launched industry-first mobile passport scanning and non-binary gender options.
Other recent enhancements include boarding notifications, online virtual 3D aircraft tours and a redesigned self-service kiosk menu, among others.
