South African airlines are being praised for introducing WhatsApp boarding-pass services, but industry leaders warn that the sector must now “aim higher” by adopting fully AI-powered smartbots to keep pace with global aviation trends.
According to Jonathan Elcock, Founder & CEO at rather.chat, current airline bots offer basic convenience but fall short of what travellers increasingly expect.
“South Africans have made it clear that they love using WhatsApp for travel; but today’s implementations stop just short of truly intelligent service,” says Elcock. “A basic bot can send a boarding pass. A smartbot can book flights, accept payments, update passengers in real time, and answer complex questions. That’s the leap the industry needs to make.”
Elcock adds that the real risk is not adopting automation; it’s adopting half of it.
“Many companies celebrate that they’re ‘on WhatsApp,’ but their systems break the moment a customer asks something slightly nuanced. With AI-driven smartbots integrated into CRMs and ticketing systems, the entire passenger journey can live in one secure chat thread: from booking to baggage collection.”
rather.chat notes that markets like Brazil and India already use WhatsApp as a full-service platform for banking, retail, and travel, and says South African consumers are ready for the same.
“Travellers don’t want another app they’ll download once and forget,” Elcock concludes. “They want everything in one place. Simple, instant, reliable. The businesses that embrace intelligent smartbots will own the future of customer engagement.”
rather.chat believes WhatsApp is now the most powerful customer channel in South Africa, with over 90% of consumers using it daily.
The company says the businesses that turn WhatsApp into a true service platform, not just a message board, will set a new standard for responsiveness, convenience, and customer loyalty.
