Using CX to revitalise aviation

The aviation industry is facing unprecedented uncertainty during COVID-19. But lockdowns won’t last indefinitely. Airlines will need technology and systems support to manage their operations when travel resumes.

Air traffic has always been vulnerable to external factors like disease outbreaks. Flight cancellations, aircraft groundings, travel bans and border closures mean a proportionate revenue loss to the entire industry. Although outbreaks like Sars, Avian Flu and Mers affected airlines to different degrees, nothing has hit them quite so hard as COVID-19.

By 25 March 2020, airline capacity in Europe was down 88% compared to the previous year and down 33% globally, costing airlines billions in lost revenue. Now more than ever, airlines need a technology partner with proven experience in aviation to help them co-ordinate travel in a changed world.

Adapting to a new normal

To operate effectively, airlines will need a data-driven, action-oriented and digitally supported “flight plan” that can quickly adapt to various air travel demand scenarios. These scenarios could take many forms. When consumer confidence returns quickly, airlines must ramp-up their ability to meet a surge in demand, including administering refunds and travel vouchers that were issued before, during and after national lockdowns due to forced cancellations.

If consumer confidence takes more time to return, especially while a vaccine is in development, airlines must be agile enough to reschedule or redirect travel at scale and on short notice as governments manage any local spikes in infections. This is already being played out in Wuhan, China, a city considered a broad test case for the rest of the world. Although Wuhan has started to lift many of its 60-day movement restrictions and people feel normality returning, health authorities are still locking-down sudden virus flare-ups in specific areas.

Capitalising on customer experience

With predicted revenue losses of between USD90 billion and USD120 billion, the global airline industry will take time to recover. But some airlines may recover faster than others, depending on travel routes, the lifting of lockdowns, and government financial support. It will also depend on systems capability. Airlines who can incorporate leading-edge technology to improve customer response times, fast-track internal processing and scale-up their operations as needed are likely to emerge the strongest.

Dimension Data has a proven track record in aviation – designing and implementing technology to ensure airline service centres:

• Are accessible across multiple channels and touch-points;
• Use big data for better customer insights and behaviour prediction;
• Are agile and adaptable to keep up with continuous changes in regulations; and
• Put customer experience at the centre of operations.

“Business survival depends on loyalty, and that means airlines need to continuously innovate to meet the high service expectations of their customers, especially as planes begin operating again,” says Nompumelelo Mokou, Head of Intelligent Customer Experience at Dimension Data. “Our partnerships in the aviation industry have already shown remarkable results.”

By updating faltering technology systems, removing organisational silos and improving customer experience, Dimension Data has helped airlines save R124 million in operating costs over five years, solving six-month back-office backlogs into real-time query resolutions and reducing customer complaints by over 90%.