The aviation industry has often viewed customer service through a transactional lens. But a shift is underway: in a bid to foster greater loyalty and consolidate revenue, the aviation experience is increasingly being used as a strategic lever.
Not only is journey management becoming more intentional, but airlines are finding more ways to embed themselves in customers’ lives well before they arrive at the airport. Jerry Angrave, Customer Experience Consultant for Empathyce, explains:
The bookends of the journey, they’re getting a lot more attention.
Technology is becoming critical to this approach, and Angrave believes the airlines that have ‘rock-solid’ use cases for AI or data extraction will get the best results. From analysing how passengers respond to disruption, to sourcing feedback on social media beyond typical surveys, tech will be a key differentiator if airlines want to put customer care first. While AI can be a ‘phenomenally powerful tool’, Angrave notes:
The airlines that succeed are going to be the ones that have a crystal-clear vision of what they want to achieve and how to make that a reality.
Digital and in-person experiences also need to be aligned to create complete passenger satisfaction across the journey. Having a highly functional app is great, but customers will notice the disconnect if staff on the ground don’t live up to the same levels of service. This harmony is especially important key disruption, a much-discussed topic due to the increase in IROPs situations. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East was only the most recent test of airlines’ customer care and ability to communicate in times of crisis. And in a geopolitical landscape that’s only growing more fragmented, airlines need to reframe IROPs as opportunities to build stronger relationships with customers rather than inconvenient obstacles.
In these scenarios, technology has helped airlines become much more proactive in many areas, supporting effective mass communication and journey reconfiguration. Angrave adds that airlines to put themselves in the customer’s shoes at these stressful moments, and remember how they might feel being stranded in a new country, worrying about potential added expenses. The airlines that can rise above the madness and offer true assistance will build stronger relationships with passengers than they would have if the flight had arrived on time.
Disruption has always been there, and it always will be. It’s how we handle it that matters. Customers won’t become disloyal and go to a competitor just because there’s disruption. They’ll go because of the way that disruption was was handled.
These conversations will be spotlighted at Aviation Festival Americas, taking place in Miami from 3-4 June. Angrave will be moderating a range of sessions across the customer experience ecosystem, covering everything from IROPs best practice to effective predictive analytics. With panellists from Delta, United, oneworld, Avelo, and more, the track is one of the most anticipated at the event. Angrave is most excited to bring together legacy carriers and smaller airlines to explore the full CX value chain and join up conversations taking place across the industry.
We’re hosting different speakers with different perspectives, looking at how they all relate to each other and building up a clear picture of what we need to do moving forward.
- How are we seeing the aviation industry’s attitudes to customer care changing?
- Which of these can truly be effective? Is all the hype around data/AI truly deserved?
- We’re seeing an increasingly fragmented geopolitical world that’s making IROPs more likely. How can airlines/airports leverage technology to plan and provide support to customers in these challenging moments?
- Which tracks/speakers are you most excited about when chairing your panels at Aviation Festival Americas?
For more interviews with our Aviation Festival Americas moderators, see:
