Now that the world is starting to open up again post-pandemic, people are beginning to travel and fly more frequently both for business and pleasure. Airlines need to be ready for this increase in the number of passengers coming through the airports and their need to get from one destination to another without a lot of trouble or delays.
It’s important that if you want to be successful in the aviation and airline industry, that you put the customer first and do your best to meet their needs. You want flyers to choose you over the other airlines and be satisfied with their trip and interactions with your company. Therefore, discover what airlines can do to improve the passenger experience.
Put Safety First
Safety should be a top concern when you’re an airline. It’s especially important as COVID and the pandemic continue to linger and people continue to get sick and spread germs and illnesses. Meet the customer’s needs and make them feel safe and comfortable by putting preventative measures in place. It may be that you implement more in-depth and new cleaning protocols or take more time to train your staff on how to keep all the passengers and the environment safe and protected. Also, make sure all your pilots and staff are properly trained and have the right requirements to complete and handle their jobs correctly.
Embrace Technology Solutions
It’s also wise and in your best interest to embrace technology solutions that are available such as the Common Use Passenger Processing System. Learn about it, use it, and make sure all of your employees are up to speed on how it works and what it can do for your airline. You might also want to consider having a mobile app that passengers can use to track their flights, place food or drink orders, and read updates and messages from your airline.There’s a lot that technology has to offer when you are willing to seek out and take advantage of these types of solutions.
Have Enough Staffing & Help
You want your passengers to have a positive experience with your airline each time they fly with you. One of the ways you can ensure this holds true is to make sure you have enough staff and employees to cover the various roles and responsibilities needed to better serve your customers. If you fail to have enough help and the right employees on your team then you risk negative feedback and outcomes from even your loyal customers. Invest in training for your staff and make sure each person knows what they’re in charge of and that you track employee performance to know how each employee is doing. This way you can know what your needs are and make any necessary changes or staff improvements.
Offer Better In-Flight Comfort
Improve the passenger experience by offering better in-flight comfort. Not only offer basic amenities but then give your passengers the choice to select upgrades that will make flying with you even more memorable. Update and improve the spaces where they’ll be spending time waiting or flying and be ready to hand out snacks if you’re stuck on the runway, for example. Keep in mind that it’s all about the little things and touches and it doesn’t always have to cost you a lot of money to make improvements in this area. Maybe it’s as simple as creating a calming in-flight video for passengers to watch to make them feel relaxed or offering travel and comfort tips on your website.
Focus on Effective Communication
Passengers pay a lot of money to fly with your airline and want to make sure that they get to where they need to be safely and efficiently. Improve the passenger experience by focusing on having better and more effective communication with them. Use your website, text message, and a mobile app to keep them informed of what’s happening at all times with your airline and their flights. Be willing to speak up and admit to your mistakes when you make them or there are errors in the information. Build trust with your passengers by being open, honest, and forthcoming with all details and information that pertains to them.
Offer Opportunities for Feedback
Your airline passengers ultimately want to be heard and know that you’re listening. Not all will go smoothly and run perfectly all the time and some circumstances might be out of your control. However, you should always have the desire to want to be and do better overall. It’s in your best interest to offer opportunities for feedback and to get your customers talking so that you know what you need to work on and change to offer a more positive passenger experience. There are many ways to collect feedback including through your cabin crew while on the plane, sending out surveys via email, and reaching out individually through text.
Be on Time
If there’s one focus you need to have as an airline and while working in the aviation industry it’s to be on time. Your customers pay a lot of money for their airline tickets and may need to connect to a different flight during their travels. You can improve the passenger experience by doing your best to have your planes ready to go and in proper working order so there are minimal delays. Of course, you should always put safety first and know that some weather conditions will be out of your control, but overall you must make an effort to get your passengers and planes moving along efficiently and quickly. If there are delays, then make sure you communicate these as soon as possible and provide regular updates so your passengers aren’t left in the dark.
Conclusion
These are just some of the areas airlines can focus on to improve the passenger experience. You’ll have a better reputation, more customers, and greater positive feedback when you put your passengers first and find ways to make their travels better and more rewarding. Although the pandemic threw everyone, including the travel industry, for a loop, it’s time to start thinking about the future and getting back into the business of better serving your passengers and ensuring they have a good experience flying with your airline.
