Last Sunday, passengers onboard Garuda Indonesia’s flight GA421 between Denpasar and Jakarta were surprised to find airline’s president and CEO Ari Ashkara among the cabin crew.
Ari welcomed passengers at the flight door and served them food and drink, while Garuda’s executive vice president of operations, captain Bambang Adisurya Angkasa was the flight’s chief pilot.
Ari and his management team were “on duty” as part of the CEO on Board programme to gain insight into what passengers want from the flight experience as a way of further refining customer service. This would also go towards demonstrating the importance of passenger feedback.
On the occasion, Ari talked to the passengers and listened to their input on services and expectations from the managements going forward.
Ari said: “Customers’ characteristics are getting more varied, and the standard of service satisfaction is also increasing. Therefore, we expect that a more direct approach to customer service can support our ongoing efforts to improve loyalty (to Garuda).”
In the airline’s first time running the CEO on Board programme, the Sunday evening Denpasar service was chosen as it was the busiest domestic route with more than 300 passengers.
