Relax, Cortana makes air travel easier

With summer just around the corner, air travel will pick up as holiday travelers crowd the terminals. It can add stress to an activity intended to help you unwind. With your well-being in mind, Cortana can now help you with your air travels.

Cortana’s always tracked your flights, but like any great personal assistant, Cortana now goes above and beyond to help you with your trip.

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When a flight confirmation email hits any of the inboxes on your phone, Cortana infers you have an upcoming trip and will ask you whether you need help tracking the trip. If you say yes, Cortana tracks this trip in the Notebook, allowing you to find key trip-related information, all in one place — no more sifting through multiple emails or different email accounts to find the information you need. Your trip plan contains your itinerary and other useful tools to make sure you have a fantastic trip.

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You can now access all your flight and travel plans at any time, just by asking Cortana “show me my flights” or “show me my trips”. Or you can pull up specific flights in a number of ways, including through a combination of destination, month of trip and airlines — e.g. “show me my flights to Seattle in December with Emirates.” Business travelers would find this a handy way to plan trips with other colleagues headed to the same destination.

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A day before the flight, Cortana will let you know when online check-in opens up, giving you the chance to grab the best available seats. Clicking the link takes you straight to your airline’s check-in page. Cortana will also give you the latest weather at your destination and a five-day forecast, helping you decide whether to pack the sandals or the snow boots.

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On the day of your flight, Cortana starts monitoring traffic conditions a few hours before your flight and lets you know when to leave for the airport. (As we shared in April, in the near future with Windows 10, Cortana will also recommend when to call Uber to get to the airport in time and even help order the car for you). Once at the airport, Cortana provides a venue map, so you can quickly drop off your bags, giving you time to grab a bite or do last-minute shopping on your way to the gate.

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If you are flying internationally, Cortana brings up a currency convertor, so when you’re out browsing the local curio shop, you can easily know how much you’re paying in your own currency.

To get help with your trips, go to Cortana > Cortana’s Notebook image 9 > Interests, and then tap Add  image 10  > Travel > Trip Planner. When your trip emails come in, Cortana will keep track of the details so you can focus on sweating the big stuff, like what to read on the beach, or whether to go for another swim or another cocktail. And over the next few months, Cortana will keep getting better and help make your travel easier and more fun.