FLIGHT delays and cancellations cost airlines more than dollars and cents, and responses to such situations must take a customer-focused approach, according to a new study.
Commissioned by Amadeus and written by Norm Rose, senior technology and corporate market analyst of PhoCusWright, Passengers first: Re-thinking irregular operationsproposes that changing the way airlines handle delays, cancellations and missed connections could minimise the effects on future booking behaviour and customer loyalty.
The study, which included a survey of 2,800 travellers from Australia, Brazil, China, the UK and the US, showed that two of global travellers’ top five most common frustrations were the lack of sufficient communication and conflicting communication about what was happening.
The report recommends that airlines:
– Deliver a standard service approach to disruptions. By incorporating a standard service approach to passenger itinerary changes, airlines only need extend their processes to travellers instead of reacting to the situation.
– Implement an intelligent one-click solution that allows passengers to choose re-accommodation alternatives in case of itinerary disruptions, and invest in systems for a better understanding of each passenger’s needs.
– Introduce an integrated, cross-departmental approach to customer service to provide passengers with authoritative, personalised and proactive communication.
– Adopt a different approach to social media. Besides conducting promotional activities, airlines can embrace analytical tools and practise social mapping to better understand the impact of disruptions on their brand and the sentiment of passengers.
Rose commented: “Many airlines around the world have challenges in measuring the true cost of irregular operations on customer sentiment. Whilst carriers are aware of the direct costs associated with delays and cancellations – US airlines alone lost US$7.2 billion as a result of disruption in 2012 – those figures do not tell the whole story.
“When travellers post negative messages on Twitter or decide never to book with a particular carrier again after being kept waiting for several hours at the airport, this results in an indirect loss of revenue for airlines which is often difficult to measure. A passenger-centric approach requires a re-evaluation of irregular operations management, to enable airlines to better serve customers and protect revenues”.
