How airlines can offer customized experiences to the passengers

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How airlines can offer customized
experiences to the passengers
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How airlines can offer customized experiences to
the passengers
It is not possible to quantify customer
experiences. Yet, they play the most important
role in the success of businesses worldwide. In
fact, as per the latest Salesforces State of the
Connected Customer Report 2019, about 84 of
customers say the experience a company provides
is as important as its products and services. 66
of the customers are even willing to pay more for
a great experience.  The UK travel company,
Thomas Cook, recently ceased its operations after
declaring bankruptcy. This announcement resulted
in 150,000 stranded travelers who need to be
brought back to their homes. Now, the bankruptcy
and liquidation part might have been out of the
travel companys control. But, if it manages to
bring all the stranded travelers back safely and
conveniently, it will be a huge win for the
now-collapsed company in terms of customer
satisfaction.  The non-reliability of airlines
directly affects customer satisfaction levels.
Flight delays, last-minute cancellation and
rescheduling, and baggage loss are some of the
major contributing factors in making an airline
non-reliable. As the technologies advance and
people become more connected, the list expands
with the inclusion of chunky ticket booking
applications, non-intuitive user interface of
search consoles, slow check-in systems,
non-availability of WiFi on air, among
others.   A PwC survey reported that for 73
of surveyees, a positive experience is among the
key drivers that influence their brand loyalties.
This positive experience encompasses various
factors such as speed, convenience, friendliness,
helpfulness. As the customer expectations grow,
it is necessary that airlines address them
proactively to yield the maximum satisfaction
from the flyers. Customers expect to get what
they paid for maybe even more,
but definitely not less.  
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How airlines can offer customized experiences to
the passengers

• Experiences differ from customer to customer.
  However, there are a few common factors that
  play integral role in defining those experiences
  for all the airline passengers 
• Operational efficiency Ground operations is the
  biggest reason for flight inefficiencies. These
  operational activities take place independently
  and do not cross-communicate. This lack of
  communication creates a huge operational barrier,
  often resulting in unplanned maintenance, delayed
  inspections, and consequently rescheduling of
  flights and frustrated customers.  
• Personalization 85 of travelers are willing to
  provide additional information to airlines so
  long as they receive a personalized treatment and
  a smooth flying experience. The 2019 North
  America Airline Satisfaction study showed that
  in-flight services prove to be a stumbling block
  in generating a positive effect. 
• Costs After the UK airline collapsed, the rival
  airlines are hiking the fares by as much as 400.
  The already disgruntled, worried, and stranded
  passengers are now facing such unreasonable
  airfare hike from airlines. Proliferation of the
  low-cost carrier airlines showcase the tendency
  of passengers to incline towards a cost-effective
  airline. Although passengers do expect a
  luxurious treatment, they do not want to burn
  holes in their pockets for a single air trip. 
• Interaction From the time a passenger starts
  searching for flights till they claim their
  baggage and leave the airport, they want their
  interaction with the airline to be as smooth as
  possible. This involves the usability of booking
  application, ease of navigation, ease of payment,
  timely reminders from the airline, advanced
  intimation of any changes, and feedback process
  of the flying experience. 

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How airlines can offer customized experiences to
the passengers

How Sentiment Analysis help  The Salesforce
report suggested that 54 of the customers want
to change the way brands engage with them. We are
living in the age of customer-driven digital.
This means, technology and innovation are
overpowering legacy methods to deliver the
greatest customer experiences. We are living in a
time when connectivity has become the norm.
Social media has become the preferred channel of
communication and digital presence has become
mandatory.  The digital connectivity bestows
immense power to the customers in terms of
vocalizing their thoughts, opinions, and reviews
on a brand. The customer views expressed on
Twitter, Facebook, and other online forums are
forming the base of customer strategy for brands
worldwide. The equation for deriving customer
satisfaction includes their expectations and
brands ability to meet them. While customers are
openly communicating their perception,
expectation, and needs online, brands can very
easily leverage the available information to
strategize their next step. Sentiment Analysis or
Opinion Mining can help brands do so.  Linda
Jojo, EVP of Technology and Chief Digital Officer
of United Airlines, puts it perfectly when she
said, Once upon a time, the best technology you
had was in your office, but that has quickly
changed. People have sophisticated technology in
their pocket, and this has shaped their
expectations for the technology they use at work
and in their interactions with different
companies. It does not matter whether that
company is a legacy business with old systems or
a brand-new startup that is nimble and
cloud-native, the expectations are the same for
all of us.
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How airlines can offer customized experiences to
the passengers

90 of the customers admit to making purchase
decisions based on online reviews. The social
sentiment of vocal customers has prominent impact
on the airlines business growth. A sentiment
analyzer tool utilizes artificial intelligence
that considers explicit as well as implied
feedback and segregates them as positive,
neutral, and negative. The scope of opinions
spans across the areas of pricing, flight
attendance, boarding process, customer service,
baggage, flight schedules, software bugs, and
number of uninstallations of an airlines
application. A sentiment analysis generally takes
an objective as well as a subjective view to
determine the customer experience from a quality
perspective to provide actionable insights.  The
findings of a research on Aviation Sentiment
Analysis published in the whitepaper, Can Social
Sentiment Impact Airlines Business Growth,
revealed that reliability is the greatest
expectation from an airline while customers
expect the airlines apps to function and perform
seamlessly. Taking the primary information from
app store reviews and social media conversations,
the analysis identified the issues that customers
are facing and what improvements an airline needs
to make in its service quality.  Conclusion  By
performing a thorough opinion mining with tools
such as Cignitis Sentiment Analyzer, airlines
can effectively optimize their customer
strategies. Airlines can use sentiment analyzer
to offer their passengers the most satisfying
flying experience. By using a from the
customers, for the customers approach, sentiment
analysis helps airlines understand areas where
they need to improve, where they are excelling,
and how better they can serve their passengers. 
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How airlines can offer customized experiences to
the passengers

Cignitis Airlines Testing CoE reflects its
in-depth expertise in the industry. Having served
some of the worlds largest airlines over the
years, the domain experts at Cigniti can help you
boost your airlines growth and deliver the best
customer experience. Connect with us to schedule
a discussion.  Read Full Blog at
https//www.cigniti.com/blog/airline-aviation-cus
tomer-sentiment-analysis/  
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