Facebook Messenger becomes airline booking, notification service with KLM

Facebook Messenger is no longer just an instant chat client after the company announced that its users will be able to book flights directly from the platform from today.

The first airline supported is Netherlands-based KLM Dutch Royal Airlines, and will allow its customers to receive flight updates, notifications regarding check-in status, boarding passes and even rebook flights all through Messenger. All this information will be made available through a KLM chat thread when consumers book a ticket, and information will arrive in a messaging-like format.

This move is in tune with Facebook’s bid to turn Messenger into more than just a, well… a messenger, and rather a modern ecommerce marketplace. Considering that around 800-million users are active on the service monthly, it makes total sense for the company in terms of penetration and general consumer ease-of-use.

KLM is the first but likely not the last airline (or company for that matter) to use the Messenger service, at least if you consider Facebook Messenger lead David Marcus’ hints:

This is a new day for all of us global travelers, and KLM is paving the way. I hope you’ll enjoy this new update as much as I will, and as always, let us know how we can make it even better for you!