Ensuring customer satisfaction and delivering them with the finest experiences is the key factor where most airlines are laying their focus nowadays. Let us have a look in this article today on why customer experience holds so much significance in the aviation industry and what are the different initiatives that the industry has taken in this regard.
30-seconds summary
- Customer experience is closely tied to customer loyalty and revenue growth
- Digital transformation is being used to bind personalization with customer experience
- Airlines now focus on each point of interaction of the customers for a better holistic experience
- The service provided by the industry in this COVID situation is one of the finest examples of ensuring superior customer experience
The progression of the aviation industry in the last couple of years has been truly phenomenal. This, in turn, has given rise to increasing competition among the airlines operating in the field. And, with the major names in the business seeking to amplify their relationship-building efforts in this new decade, it seems quite evident that the customer experience is now the game-changer for the industry.
We, at Avlon Shiksha Niketan, one of the leading aviation colleges in Kolkata, strongly believe that customer experience is the one thing that is making the difference in turning people towards or away from certain airlines. When it comes to attracting the customers and raking in the profit numbers in the aviation industry, it’s all about bridging the gap between what the customers want and what the industry has to offer.
And, since our young professionals are soon going to join the industry and work towards eliminating that gap, today, we will be offering our insights on the significance of customer experience and the industry’s initiatives in this matter.
Significance of customer experience in the aviation industry
Customer experience in the aviation industry is all about what the customer feels and perceives while going through the multiple stages of their arrival in and departure from an airport. It involves the interactions with self-service booths, check-in and check-out counters, online facilities, and all other choices of channels.
When an airline is able to play all their cards right, the result is a happy customer who wouldn’t think twice before selecting the same company again for their travels. As such, one of the greatest reasons for focusing on customer experience is that it not just gets an airline a one-time business from a traveler, but rather they can earn a loyal customer for a lifetime. Per se, such a loyal customer will search for that airline the next time they have to fly from anywhere to anywhere.
It is the quality of service on offer in varied aspects, such as the service processing time, queuing time, physical facilities, space, and so on, which come together to outline the quality on offer. And, an increase or decrease in the passenger flow is the direct result of this quality perception of the customers. Besides, we live in an era where a couple of bad reviews about a business on social media platforms and negative word-of-the-mouth publicity are enough to make a company lose several potential customers at one fell swoop. Thus, customer experience is not something to be compromised in the aviation business.
Initiatives being taken to ensure an enhanced customer experience
As we have already established the reason behind customer experience being the top priority of the aviation industry, let’s get to the efforts made by the industry in enhancing the said experience. And, here are some of the initiatives taken by the industry in this regard:
- Digital transformation binds personalization with customer experience
It would be wrong to assume that customer experience is something that starts counting from the moment an individual walks into the airport. In fact, it begins way before when the same individual is sitting across a computer or smartphone and evaluating which flight tickets he/she should book.
In sight of that, the major players of the industry have increased their social media connect with the travelers and taken an agile-drive tactic for personalizing customers’ journeys. Additionally, the airlines are introducing the latest offerings of technology in the form of inflight connectivity, biometrics, assistive tech, and more to give a seamless experience to the customers.
- Focusing on each point of interaction of the customers
Customers generally have several points of interaction with the airlines from the moment they enter the airport. It starts from the baggage counter, continues through the check-in process for the flight, and so on, and ends when the customer checks out from the airport.
Thus, the focus remains on offering excellent service at each stage of this entire journey of the customer. Right from having skilled personnel manning every station of this long process to employing the needful technological innovations, the airlines function like a well-oiled machinery with not a cog out of place.
- Keeping up with the increasing expectations of the customers
The airlines are also investing more in customer experience based studies since it has become the core of their business strategy. At the end of the day, customer experience is a crucial aspect that is indirectly connected to the revenue growth of each business.
As such, emotionally impacting the customers through personalized experiences has been one of the central parts of their initiative. For instance, airlines are sending personalized messages to each customer, offering added assistance to infants and new moms, addressing each passenger by their name, and so on.
- Keeping the rules and norms of the new normal in sight
Any discussion on the customer experience offered by the aviation industry would remain incomplete without mentioning the steps taken by the industry in the new normal brought in by the global pandemic.
The industry has truly stepped up its game within the very little time of preparation that it received, and is now one of the front runners in the fight against COVID-19. Right from ensuring the health and safety of the passengers at each point of the journey to increasing the efforts towards sanitizing the premises, the airports have truly left no stones unturned in the current crisis.
A deliberation on the significance of customer experience would also be lacking without the mention of the team of skilled professionals who are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring a superior experience. And, we, at Avlon Shiksha Niketan, ranked among the best aviation colleges in Kolkata, are one of the pioneering institutes in the field to prepare such skilled and proficient young achievers who leave their mark in the industry through their unparalleled service. So, as customer experience continues to become more and more demanding, we, at Avlon, are training and grooming professionals who can efficiently meet that demand and grow and thrive even amid the most challenging times.