How to improve your airline customer experience

Business or pleasure, it’s hard to imagine a world without air travel. However, as fun as flying can be, there are some frustrations many passengers encounter along their journey which could be alleviated with a tech upgrade.

Although 47% of polled leisure travelers stated that the overall airline experience has improved compared to a couple of years ago – 38% say it’s similar, while 15% say it’s worsened.

Read on to learn ways you can improve your airline customer experience using the right omnichannel approach and cloud communications technology.

When deciding to fly, there are many moving parts we need to take into consideration. From confirmation codes, check-ins, and flight status tracking to checked luggage, boarding, and delayed flight management.

Here’s a look at what the average passenger needs to consider at each stage of their journey:

It’s safe to say that the passenger journey is complex. And it can become even more complex without the right communication at the right time.

Delays, gate and seat changes, as well as missing luggage, are only a few of the challenges airline passengers can experience on their trip.

And the impact of these disruptions can hold a lingering effect if not managed correctly.

Let’s consider this scenario:

Now, consider if the airline had better communication.

Maybe the passenger’s experience would have looked more like this:

This is only one example of the positive effects timely omnichannel communication can have on a passenger’s experience with your airline.

Although we can’t foresee every detail that could go wrong, proactive disruption management is key to improving customer satisfaction and increasing loyalty.

To implement good disruption management, it’s important to create a plan.

A best practice would be to map out a plan for each possible disruption that highlights what could go wrong and how the disruption should be handled. To take it one step further, you can map which communication channels would best deliver the information the passenger needs at that time.

Airlines looking to improve their customer experience and stay competitive need to build an experience architecture that supports all parts of the customer journey.

Implementing the right digital channels and using the right cloud technology can help you meet customers where they are with timely information.

Let’s revisit our passenger experience map and consider what channels and technology can be used at each stage to make for the ultimate travel experience:

Passengers are looking for the best deals and flight options to complement their overall travel plans.

Airlines that want to stay top of mind should send targeted, personalized messages with flight deals related to a passenger’s past trips or search history. You can also integrate chat on the search engine sites customers use to research flights and deals, such as Google or Safari.

This information should be timely but is not urgent therefore reliable channels that customers access daily are recommended.

Passengers need timely updates with the right information.

Rich media messaging channels are recommended to enable both passengers and airline staff to send and receive images, documents, videos, and more.

Setting up a chatbot to answer frequently asked questions with live agent takeover will ensure customers receive all the information they need on the right channel at the right time. However, since updates at this stage are critical to ensuring an overall positive travel experience, it’s important to set up a reliable failover channel in case the passenger loses their internet connection.

Setting up reliable digital channels that can keep passengers informed in cases when their luggage is missing or unforeseen events occur at their destination is important.

Post-travel communication is also an opportunity to collect customer feedback and encourage future purchases.

Here we recommend a mix of timely communication channels and ones that enable customers to engage with your brand more.

Regardless of which channels and technology you choose to implement first, ensuring the right mix of engaging and reliable channels, alongside technology that can help provide fast answers and important information, are the most crucial parts of an overall positive airline customer experience.

Here are a few examples of how airlines can improve customer experience using the channels and technology highlighted above:

Set up a chatbot on Apple Messages for Business or WhatsApp to make it easy for customers to book their next flight.

When they search for flight options or new deals, they’ll be given the option to open a chat with your business directly from Safari or a social media channel.

Then they can select their destination and travel dates to complete their reservation and make their payment through Apple or WhatsApp payments.

When passengers purchase their flight tickets, they expect to receive a booking confirmation.

Sending booking confirmations on WhatsApp is a great way to ensure passengers receive important information on the app they use regularly.

And if they don’t, you can set up a failover message on SMS or Email.

Traveling involves a handful of time-sensitive actions from passengers. Your check-in time, for example, can set the pace for the rest of your trip. If you check in too late, you risk having to run to your gate – or in the worst-case scenario, missing your flight.

Help passengers avoid stressful situations by sending them timely push notifications with check-in reminders a couple of hours before their flight. Since push notifications are delivered to their lock screen and notification bar, it’s an ideal channel for sending time-sensitive alerts to ensure visibility.

Make it easy for passengers to get check their flight status and gate numbers without having to huddle around status boards at the airport.

Set up a chatbot that can provide real-time information based on specific keywords or phrases. Then connect your chatbot to a cloud contact center to enable agents to take over when needed.

Geo-targeted push notifications are another great way to deliver time-sensitive alerts to make for a smooth travel experience.

You can set the airport as the geolocation for your push notifications. Then, once passengers enter the airport, they can receive real-time alerts regarding their flight, such as boarding updates, while they wait or walk around.

Leverage rich media on channels such as WhatsApp, RCS, and MMS to make lost baggage claims less of a headache.

Enable customers to send you a picture of their luggage tag so you can keep them informed once you locate the luggage and when they can expect it to arrive.

You can also set up SMS as a failover channel if the passenger doesn’t have an internet connection abroad to ensure they receive the information they need to enjoy the rest of their trip.

Set up an engaging post-travel experience on interactive, rich channels to gather customer feedback. This is a great opportunity to find out about gaps in your customer journey that you can fill, while simultaneously showing passengers you care – encouraging brand loyalty.