Airlines’ Digital Customer Service Research Revealed

Airline passenger using app at airport

Recent research by YouGov for Pegasystems reveals some interesting insight into how businesses can drive consumer satisfaction through customer service.

The survey asked British airline passengers what they currently think of the digital flight experience and how much more personalised they would like real-time digital services to become.

Some of the key findings are:

  • Airlines’ digital service apps are popular
  • Nearly a third (28 percent) of all Britons who fly use an airline app and
    rank it as the most helpful service (91 percent)
  • Nearly one in four (23 percent) of Brits who fly regard digital apps as an
    essential part of how they like to fly
  • Personalisation of digital services seems popular
  • When asked what personalised services would keep them flying with an
    airline, 65 percent of customers said immediate alerts about where their
    luggage is
  • 43 percent said personalised offers based on past and current travels and
    knowing their personal interests
  • However, while passengers like personalised services, they remain resistant or sceptical about providing more personal data to airlines to deliver these services
  • On whether they would allow access to more personal data so they got a more personalised service when they flew the majority disagreed (73 percent)
  • Customers also regard digital apps as more about saving money for the
    airlines than making their journeys more pleasurable (42 percent)

Commenting on this, Robin Collyer, Senior Director, Marketing & Decisioning,
Pegasystems said:

Robin Collyer, Pegasystems“Passengers are embracing digital apps so much so that for many the quality of the digital experience is as important as whether they get an aisle or window seat. As our study shows there’s a great opportunity to use digital to provide more real time communication and engagement with passengers that pulls in more data about the customer and flight process itself. Yet, airlines need to bring their customers with them and build trust about how they’ll use customers personal data to craft the best possible flight experience.”

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,032 adults, of which 1,758 have ever flown. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th – 20th August 2018. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

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