A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service. Colin C. Law

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      Figure 1-2b: Elements of airline safety.

Customers’ expectations

      Satisfaction is generated after a customer enjoys their journey and feels the money paid is worth the value. The minimum customer expectation of an airline is supported by three basic elements: safety, timeliness and price.

      Safety is the number one priority for all airlines. This demonstrates the trustworthy of the airline’s operations, including aircraft maintenance and security procedures. Customer will choose airlines, with the best safety records. These records can be easily accessed by customers via the Internet. Other details customers look out for include personnel trainings, aircraft investments, aircraft malfunction rate, airline accident rate and the airline fatality rate.

      There are many modes of transportation for customers to choose from and the main reason for deciding to travel by air is usually time-related, i.e. customers expect to reach their destinations in the minimal time needed. Customers expect their flights to depart and arrive on time. As such, an airline’s on-time performance data is an important factor when customers decide on their choice of airline.

      Cost is another important element that determines customers’ satisfaction. This is especially so for those who travel for leisure as this category of customers are price sensitive and customers seek other alternatives when an airline charges a higher price. Many airlines today have applied the yield management approach to target different customers by offering different pricing schemes to suit the needs of different travelers. Hence, customers who are taking the same flight and on the same service class may not be paying the same price for their tickets. These differences in prices are due to dissimilar ticket conditions. A customer paying a higher price gets more flexibility for their travel. These include enjoying the flexibility of date change, flight change and refund. On the other hand, customers who purchase discounted tickets are bounded by travel restrictions such as the lack of flexibility in terms of flight changes and refund.

      Figure 1-3: Basic customers’ expectations.

      Furthermore, today’s customers have higher expectations. Other than the basic requirements mentioned above, they have additional demands such as service, quality, action and appreciation.

      Customers constantly compare the airline service with the amount of money they have paid for their tickets. Generally, customers who have paid more demand a higher service needs compare to those who pay less.

      Customers also compare service providers and choose the company with a positive reputation in terms of service and product quality. The quality of an airline is determined by variety of activities and offers offered, which are used as a basis for customers to evaluate the airline company as a whole.

      In addition, customers expect airlines to take prompt actions when a situation arises and that they are be able to contact airline staff easily to have their problems resolved.

      Customers wanted their business to be appreciated. These appreciations often create and strengthen the relationship between the airline and the customers, leading to future businesses. This is vital in an industry where an airline’s quality and reputation can be easily spread by word of mouth.

      Figure 1-4: Additional customers’ expectations.

      Each customer creates their own expectations of an airline’s service. The minimum expectations that all customers have are concerns pertaining to safety and on-time departure and arrival. However, the level of expectations may not always be the same for all customers as this is a variable that is directly affected by how much they have paid for their flight ticket. Their satisfaction is directly influenced by whether the money they have spent is worth it.

Naomi Karten, a highly experienced speaker and seminar leader, has suggested the below formula to calculate customers’ level of satisfaction.2

      If customers’ level of satisfaction is one, the airline is fulfilling customers’ expectation. When the customers’ satisfaction is more than one, it means that airlines’ performance is exceeding the customers’ expectation, and vice versa.

      For example, on a flight from Asia to Europe, a customer who has paid several thousand US dollars on a ticket often has much higher expectations than another who has spent several hundred US dollars. As such, airlines offer different level of services such as first class, business class and economy class to fulfill their expectations. Airlines also arrange for special check-in counters for customers who have paid a higher fare and amenities such as lounge access and welcome drinks while boarding are offered to ensure these customers’ comforts are met. Once an airline’s performance exceeds customers’ expectations, satisfaction is created. However, if the same airline fails to deliver as expected, the feeling of dissatisfaction is generated.

      Flight from Singapore to London

Expectation		Airline performance		Airline performance
Customer A—Premium fare
Flight departs on time at 0900		The flight departed at 0856		Flight departs at 0940
10 minutes wait to check in		6 minutes wait to check in		15 minutes wait to check in
Board ahead of another customers		Priority boarding offered		15 minutes wait for boarding
Disembark first		Disembark first		10 minutes wait to disembark
10 minutes wait to retrieve baggage		8 minutes wait for baggage		20 minutes wait for baggage
		Exceeds expectations = Satisfaction СКАЧАТЬ В начало < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > В конец