Customer Service of Etihad Airways - Case Study Example

Customer Service Etihad Airways Name ---------------------------- ---------------------------- December 05, 2011 Introduction Etihad Airways is the flag carrier of United Arab Emirates, which was established in July 2003 and commenced operation in November the same year. The airline covers 50 countries through as many as 70 destinations by operating more than 1200 flights every week by a fleet of over 60 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Every year the airline has seen an increase in its passenger base, which rose to 13% from 2009 in the year 2010. World Travel Award conferred it the honor of World’s Leading Airline twice through two consecutive years of 2009 and 2010. The airline which carried more than 7 million passengers in 2010 is being known as the most hospital and professional airline in the world and the one that has grown the fastest; all accolades bringing up it greater levels of responsibility in terms of customer satisfaction and rights (Etihad Airways, 2011). Two legal rights of the guests Irrespective of what terms and conditions Etihad carries on its communications meant for passengers (websites, tickets, other material) which are so designed that they tilt the balance in favor of the airline, it cannot be denied that guests still hold some legal rights on the airline as part of local, international and aviation law which they can use anytime they find a breach in services. The legal rights come into force soon after the guests buy Eithad tickets, which mans both parties have entered a mutual contract with each other – guest having a right to fly, get the services for which he has paid and even get a copy of the rules. These, in terms of international flights, are called "tariff rules." The guest being bumped This has happened with even the most reputed airlines and Eithad can be no exception. A guest is said to have been “bumped” when despite a confirmed reservation and ticket, the flight is left with no room to carry him. Even though the airline may not be directly responsible for this since, sometimes, it happens that the airline gets overbooked through its partner websites or agents. Some passengers have to be bumped when all passengers turn up to board the flight. If the airline has effective ground staff, particularly managers, they would politely ask for volunteers from the passengers likely to be bumped to take another flight. This is normally done by offering monetary vouchers for the next flights lined up (John, K. S, 2011). But, all said and done, that might not be enough to convince the guests and if at all they volunteer, they might still ask some questions that might sound inconvenient to the managers, like: when would the passenger get confirmed booking on the next available flight, what restrictions are on the voucher, how else is the airline compensating them for this lapse on airline’s part, would there be any perks included in the monetary vouchers. How would the airline make up for long delays, would it offer phone calls, meals and hotel rooms? If the answer to one, most or all of these is ‘no’ then the guest can exercise their legal rights in suing the airline. Fearing backlash from the guest-to-be-bumped, some airlines resort to what is called “involuntary bumping”. That means the airline would randomly or selectively take some passengers off the flight, even though they might have obtained boarding passes and assigned seats. Normally it is circumstances as these that lead the passengers to take a legal course since this way they get entitled to compensation for the refusal by the airline to board the flight for which they had booked themselves. The guests can turn this into a legal issue for the airline if they fulfill any of these criteria, like: they have a confirmed reservation and ticket and checked in at the stipulated time. The airline tickets normally mention the appropriate time for check ins; if they don’t contain any such information, the guests have the right to seek the same from the airline staff. Rights on delayed/ cancelled flights In the recent times consumer advocates have mounted tremendous pressure worldwide on airlines to revamp airline passenger rights. The war of sorts has taken a nasty turn since airlines in European nations have pressed governments to revamp the passenger rights so that airlines are made less answerable for flight cancellations and delays, particularly during some seasons when certain things go out of control on account of unpredictable weather conditions like last year’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland that lead to complete chaos and confusion originating from and landing at the European airports. Around the same time Eithad was doing its best to inform its current and future passengers on the scenario on European airports and how they must proceed with buying (or not buying) fresh tickets. It was this volcanic eruption that unnerved the airline industry and started pressing governments to amend laws pertaining to delay and cancellation. Till that happens, by far the cancellation and rules pertaining to delays have been stringent and generally go in favor of the passengers. Eithad being an international airline, crossing and landing through air spaces of several countries comes under the purview of such rules. Two commitments to guests Eithad is committed to giving its guests the best and it is on account of these commitments that it has evolved to being one of the most trusted airlines in such a shorter span of time. State-of-the-art in-flight entertainment Etihad brands its in-flight entertainment system as “E-box”, and has been using Thales TopSeries i5000 and Panasonic eX2 for the purpose. This comprises of an audio-video on demand (AVOD) system for its long range flights and new ones like A320-200 aircraft that it has recently acquired. Not only those, its international flights come with plug-and-play system incorporating the most recent USB technology. This is unique in the sense that on these guests can play the video of their choice that they carry on their own personal devices. It even offers in-flight telephone facility on its Airbus A340s, Boeing 777-300ER, and Airbus A330s fleet. That apart the E-box system enables guests to play interactive games, recharge laptops and mobile phones. The commitment is strong in the sense that it is backed up with 600 hours of on demand entertainment, which includes 78 movies and counting, comprising of new more than 2 dozen new releases, Hollywood classics, and as if to transcend borders, just as the airline does daily through 50 countries, all this comes in languages as Arabic, Indonesian, Chinese, French, Malay, Russian, Italian, Tagalog, German, Malayalam, Hindi, and Tamil. The entertainment system is available on its all three classes – Diamond First Class, Pearl Business Class, and Coral Economy Class; however, with minor differences that separate one from another. Inspiring dining experience It can be called Arabian hospitality in air and the choice to pick up from is great with a lot to choose from midair. Etihad calls it “Anytime Kitchen” menu. To add to the mood boutique wines are ready to be served to its guests and an onboard Food and Beverages manager is there to take care of guests’ food interests. My responsibility as a manager Etihad recruits its managers from most reputed catering institutes and restaurants and it is a privilege to be among a host of them coming to serve the airline from multicultural backgrounds. As a manger I am not only responsibility for overseeing the arrangements but also sharing the passion of the guests for which they choose Etihad to fly. Eithad difference is known from the moment once a guest’s journey begins. Irrespective of the class that one travels, luxury and comfort get redefined. For example Diamond Class is a personal space up in the air – offer individual suites in 6 feet by 8 inches completely flat beds, specially designed in B777s, A340-500s, A330-200s, and A340-600s aircrafts. For these privileged guests Etihad chauffeur waits at more than 20 Eithad destinations across the world, ready to transport a guest to a new level of luxury and comfort in the air where a personal Food and Beverages manager wait for him to pamper his taste buds in a dining experience that is no less than a five star one. Extra features include changing room, Poltrona Frau Leather upholstery, privacy guaranteed by sleek sliding doors, personal mini-bar, in-built massage, personal wardrobe, cozy blankets, cotton sheets, sleeper suit, and full-sized pillows. As if bowled over by the magic of this class, Business Traveller, UK, has remarked, “The amazing thing about this new first class, other than the fact that it comes only three years after the last first class was introduced, is how it had improved on an already outstanding product.” Critical appreciations are no less for Pearl Business Class (flat bed). Business Traveller Africa remarks, “Delightful. The menu is varied and served on-demand. The design of the self-contained chairs makes it feel like you are the only person on the flight.” AME Info verdicts that Etihad Airways give to its guests a memorable business class experience matching the hype rightly. Daily Telegraph, UK, praises Etihad’s act of calling its passengers “guests”, and opines that any other airline, if it doesn’t have for its passengers the Etihad experience, and still calls them guests would be just only pretending the appellation. The “guests’ the taste of Etihad pampering right from the airport where the Etihad lounges provide another out of world experience to them. Its lounges in Abu Dhabi exhibit exuberance, serenity and style. The first class lounge here is equipped with a Six Senses Spa and it offers guests a 15-minute luxurious spa treatment before they take off for another experience up there. Guest reviews are equally convincing, even though there are a few that would complain about lesser leg space in economy class, which is common since one cannot expect in economy class the sheer luxury of the first class. Two guests comments can elaborate the Etihad commitment further. The first one is from a guest called M Collins (UK) posted on 2 December 2011 on SkyTrax, the world’s largest airline review site, which reads, “Sydney from Heathrow via Abu Dhabi return. Excellent service on all 4 legs. From the chauffeur pickup to the service onboard it could not be faulted. Crew attentive and friendly, food excellent and seats very comfortable. Lounges at Heathrow and Abu Dhabi first class although we had to use the Air New Zealand lounge in Sydney which did not compare at all (SkyTrax, 2011). The second one is from M Watts (Australia) posted on 19 September 2011 again on Sky Trax, which reads, “Melbourne to LHR via Abu Dhabi. Booked to fly Business Class but got upgraded to First Class at Tullamarine. Fantastic experience, great staff and every care taken to make it a wonderful flight. Met at Abu Dhabi by a lovely lady who took us to the First Class lounge and then collected us for the flight to LHR. We were back in Business Class for this last leg, once again great service and very happy with the flight. Limo service at each end of the flight, everything ran smoothly. Returned to Melbourne with 2 day stopover in Abu Dhabi, Business Class, once again could not fault the service. Food was great, will recommend to anyone.” (SkyTrax, 2011). Meeting customer service standards and procedures One thing that interest about Etihad is that despite being such an airline of repute now running more than 50 worldwide destinations and having revenues of as much as US$ 3,000 million recorded in the year 2010, the airline hasn’t still recorded any profits. No profits but still impeccable service might be an odd combination, but that is where it excels. Clearly, amid such a non-profitable proposition it has made it a benchmark to meet the customer service standards and procedures for which it is known worldwide. Apparently, it is the commitment to guests part of its policies that keep it providing what it does. Monitoring customer service against standards set When Etihad Airways was just a nine aircraft fleet, it sought the expertise of one Peppers and Rogers Group; experts in travel and transportation value chain, having fine capabilities to help travel and transportation companies grow through its five-fold vision of insight, strategy, product distribution, capabilities development and deployment. It was this group that helped Etihad become a customer-centric airline (Peppers and Rogers Group, nd). For Etihad it created a loyalty and customer relationship management program. These programs are considered to be powerful tools to engage customers and create a niche market with them through long-term relationships. It developed a comprehensive strategy for Etihad that helped the airline get a "single view" of the customers by integrating a range of data and information coming from them through disparate sides. The data helped Etihad develop a clear roadmap on customers before, after or during the travel experience. The result was what is now known as Etihad Guest loyalty program, which was a combination of an in-depth Customer Touchmap and collated sets of experiences based on a customer-centric approach. The loyalty program was integrated at every level of Etihad activity end – starting from booking, to airports, on board and passenger exit. Information on each customer was captured and retrieved such that when analyzed it could help track the customer behavior, experience, expectations and outcomes. The customer relationship module system was put to use such that each individual customer preference was recorded, interpreted and the functioning of the airline re-worked in a manner that would seem to cater to each individual preference on future flights. Etihad’s guest-centric approach thus became a strategy and in the coming years actually the foundation for its growth since it offered flexible rewards for every type of traveler on board an Etihad flight. Etihad’s guest loyalty program can be graphically shown in the above diagram. It starts with customer acquisition that is power by the assurance phase; done very aptly by Etihad’s multiple marketing tools. Once the customer is acquired, the second step has an education and a bonding phase, again done very rightly by Etihad; third is the sales phase which is a part of customer commitment step and fourth is a very important one – that of retention, which Etihad is known for. Guest needs and their identification Airports have already become stretched to capacity and there is, as a matter of fact, no end to the list of guest needs (ScienceDaily, 2008). The guest needs, at time, mount pressure on almost every component of the air travel; ticket counters, airport lounges, check-in counters, security, boarding lines, aircrafts, terminals, runways and the alike. Individual guest needs might be as many are the individual travelers out there – a woman having a kid in the lap travelling alone needing help with the baggage, a passenger reached to the airport minutes before the check in closes in a hurry to reach the counter first for a boarding pass in a line that is 30 people long, a passenger with a pet not knowing what to do with the pet, another one looking for directions in a big airport not tread earlier by him, someone frustrated at the airline not providing a wheel chair timely for a disabled relative and so on. Identifying guest needs Identification of guest needs depends on where exactly does a guest need and what? Most of the guest needs at airports are identifying by passenger service agent called PSAs, who, normally, are employed by airport contract services. These days each airline prefers to have its own PSAs and they must be skillful to recognize a guest’s need in the first place and then provide efficient support in response to the same. Customer service should be a PSA’s inherent skill and he must be good at human interactions under even extreme duress inflicted by a guest; reasons, in case of air travel, could be as small as being disgruntled with a delay. PSA’s are, as a norm, trained to do all this (Nan Kimberling, 2011). References Etihad Airways, (2011), Why Etihad is the World's best airline, Available at http://www.etihadairways.com/sites/etihad/global/en/Pages/experienceetihad.aspx, Accessed on December 05, 2011 Kent St. John, (2011). Know Your Rights: Airline Passenger Rights. Available at http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/0101/stjohn_airlinerights.html, Accessed on December 05, 2011. Nan Kimberling, (2011). Airport Customer Service Job Description, Available at http://www.ehow.com/about_6523820_airport-customer-service-job-description.html, Accessed on December 05, 2011 Peppers and Roggers Group, (nd). Creating Customer Centric Airline, Available at http://www.peppersandrogersgroup.com/DocumentDownload.aspx?Doc_ID=32285, Accessed on december 05, 2011 SkyTrax, (2011). Etihad Airways Customer Reviews, Available at http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/etihad.htm, Accessed on December 05, 2011 ScienceDaily, (2008). Science News: Intelligent Airlines Meet Passenger Needs, Available at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081107072007.htm, Accessed on December 05, 2011 Read More