Commentary

Making Your Airline Experience Exceptional

Ah, the glamour of air travel. Wide, spacious seats and aisles with smiling passengers, good food, and quiet, uninterrupted time to ponder the miracle of traveling in comfort at 30,000 feet. 

Sound familiar? Of course not. As any of us who travel know, the actual experience of air travel today is about as glamorous and comfortable as a visit to the dentist – and based on a recently released Airbus patent filing, it may actually get even worse. Sure, more travel earns you the possibility of an inch or two more legroom and an earlier boarding that helps avoid the lines at the gate and baggage claim, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to earn even those privileges. 

The commoditization U.S. air travel, combined with the mergers and “me too” baggage fees, fare hikes, and other policies that airlines seem to do in bunches like the obnoxious cliques in high school, have made airline brand identities suffer as well. Quick: What’s the difference between United, American, and Delta? What about AirTran and Southwest? For all but the most seasoned travelers (and even sometimes for them), the airlines are very difficult to tell apart. Virgin America stands out for a well-defined brand, but when it comes to the major carriers, the differences are arguably murky. 

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Commoditization happens in all kinds of industries; the airline industry is not unique. But elsewhere, in categories like Retail and even elsewhere in Travel & Transportation, companies have successfully combated this by creating experiences that set them apart. Sometimes those experiences may be person-to-person – which can certainly build strong loyalty and drive increased sales – but the ones who truly move the needle create strong digital experiences as well, combining offers, content, and utility that make them stand out. 

Some airlines are trying. My preferred carrier won me over with its customer service, and continues to deliver to this day. One great example – I stupidly booked a return flight for the wrong day a few months ago, and they changed it to the correct day for me at the airport counter without charging me a dime (though I did get a pleasant “don’t do it again!” from the employee, which I sheepishly endured). 

In contrast, their digital experience is good – but not great. Their app is smooth and efficient, and my upgrade notices (via email) are timely – but they tend to miss on the smaller details that prevent their digital experience from being truly exceptional. Gate change notifications and delays are one example – I'll get these notifications several valuable minutes after they take place, and I'll get both a Push message and a call (in that order) – with no prompt to choose a single preferred method of communication. This isn’t just annoying to customers; it costs the carrier money to communicate via both channels when they could be using just one. 

Another example is the post-flight survey when there’s a delay or other issue. Asking for feedback after a poor experience is a fine idea – but how do you define a poor experience? Is it a 20-minute delay? Or a significant engine failure that required taxiing back to the gate and changing planes? I got the same email for both experiences recently – and quite honestly I would have forgotten about the 20-minute delay if they hadn’t reminded me. These are two very different events that require two very different responses; customizing the message based on the experience (and letting customers choose their preferred channel) would help change their digital experience from good to great. 

Is this just simple nitpicking, since my overall experience has been good? Perhaps. But if your digital experience isn’t completely seamless and intuitive, it’s like allowing a crack in the foundation of your brand. And for some travelers, they’ll notice (and mercilessly comment on) the cracks far more than the things that are going well. We live at a time when customer expectations are so high that they can sometimes seem unattainable – but by focusing on the total customer experience, from the big picture to the small but essential details, you can deliver on expectations, build and retain loyalty, and keep those cracks in the foundation from causing valuable customers to book somewhere else.

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