I was running a little late trying to catch my Delta flight from NY to Richmond. With about 40 minutes left for my flight time, I tried the self service kiosk to check in but was unsuccessful as the cutoff time is 45 minutes prior to flight departure. Nevermind, I thought that since I have no bags to check in, the airline counter staff will be able to help me. The response I got was plain and simple, “sorry, you have missed your flight and we cannot do anything”. They didn’t even try to help me. I had to approach the customer service manager who got me a boarding pass. He was a little surprised as well that the counter staff were not able to help.
To cut a long story short, I did make my flight but updated my Facebook page expressing my frustration with the airlines. The following comment from a friend got me thinking:
“As customers, we have driven the industry to the lowest cost – negative profit and hence no service. Hence you get what you pay for“
While the above is true, the industry hasn’t done any innovation to generate additional revenue streams. All they have done is charge customers a range of annoying fees for checked baggage, food & beverage, making flight changes and cancellation penalties.
Here are 4 turnaround techniques that any CEO/CMO of UA/US Air/Delta should be listening to:
- Digital tray tables: Jetblue offers free DirectTV on all its domestic and international flights. All international flights have a range of programming to choose from as well. But I see very few ads (if any) along with the programming. While that is good news for the customer, the cash strapped airlines have an available source of revenue that they can tap into. Based on the customer profile, the airlines can show advertisements for partner products or services or other brands the customer may be interested in.
- Car, Hotel, Golf and other partnerships: Either on the website, at the airport or in-flight, airlines can pitch an array of products and services to its customers. Allegiant has become a big promoter of Alamo rental cars and Sin City hotels, selling 395,000 rooms last year (The airline gets a percentage). On its Web site it also sells tickets to performances of Blue Man Group—whose logos adorn Allegiant cups, napkins, overhead bins, and crew uniforms—and tee times at dozens of golf courses. You can book tickets for other Las Vegas shows, helicopter tours, kayak trips, and tours of the Grand Canyon on Allegiant’s site.
This strategy, dubbed “unbundling” in the airline industry, has been mined most audaciously by Ryan air Holdings (RYAAY), the 23-year-old Irish airline that features fares as low as 5 euros ($7.73) and a seemingly endless array of revenue streams. Home or auto insurance? Foreign currency? Villa rentals? Credit cards? Ryanair pitches it—and has become one of the largest intra-European airlines in the process.
The crew members and airport staff can be trained and incentivized to sell such products. Some of the offers can be printed on the customer’s copy of the boarding pass. - Identify the people who love or hate your brand: It is important to identify people who have strong feelings about your brand, either positive or negative. Brand Lovers choose you more often than your competitors. For many companies, the best customers drive over 80 percent of the business’s profitability and yet, the business generally knows very little about them. Companies like Apple, Harley Davidson and Bose are firms that have taken their brand to a cult status and charge a premium for their products. Similarly, brand haters will not only not buy your product BUT will tell 10 other people about their negative experience with your brand.
Once you understand why your best customers enjoy doing business with you, you will be better prepared to serve them. Reward them for their patronage so they have a continued positive experience. Similarly, talk to the haters to neutralize their negative feelings.
- Improve customer service by listening to the customers: Airlines need to grow bigger ears. They need to listen in to customers feedback, comments and complaints to improve the customer experience. If a particular flight has been delayed, a quick email from customer service apologizing for the inconvenience caused and explaining the delay can go a long way.
Furthermore, the airline can offer a $10 off coupon redeemable towards future travel.
Do you think airlines can innovate to generate more revenue streams? What would you do if you were the CMO of United?
Considerably, the article is actually the freshest on that worthw hile topic. I harmonise with your conclusions and also will certainly thirstily look forward to your coming updates. Saying thanks definitely will not just be enough, for the extraordinary lucidity in your writing. I can directly grab your rss feed to stay privy of any kind of updates. Gratifying work and also much success in your business dealings!
Valuable information and also excellent style you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and also time into the stuff you post!! Thumbs up
Comfortabl y, the post is really the sweetest on this laudable topic. I suit in with your conclusions and definitely will thirstily look forward to your future updates. Saying thanks will certainly not simply just be sufficient, for the perfect clarity in your writing. I definitely will instantly grab your rss feed to stay privy of any kind of updates. Pleasant work and also much success in your business efforts!
Nice to be visiting your blog again, it has been months for me. Well this article that i’ve been waited for so long. I will need this article to complete my assignment in the college, and it has same topic with your article. Thanks, fantastic share.
Considerably, the article is actually the freshest on this worthw hile topic. I harmonise with your conclusions and definitely will thirstily look forward to your coming updates. Saying thanks can not simply just be sufficient, for the extraordinary lucidity in your writing. I will without delay grab your rss feed to stay privy of any updates. Gratifying work and much success in your business dealings!
I just couldnt leave your website before saying that I really enjoyed the high quality information you will offer you to your visitors… Will certainly be back often to check on up on new stuff you post!
Considerably, the article is really the freshest on this worthy topic. I agree with your conclusions and also definitely will thirstily look forward to your forthcoming updates. Saying thanks will certainly not just be enough, for the excellent lucidity in your writing. I will certainly directly grab your rss feed to stay privy of any updates. Pleasant work and much success in your business endeavors!
Considerably, the post is actually the freshest on this worthy topic. I concur with your conclusions and also can eagerly look forward to your incoming updates. Saying thanks will certainly not simply just be enough, for the fantasti c lucidity in your writing. I definitely will immediately grab your rss feed to stay informed of any updates. Pleasant work and much success in your business efforts!
Thank you for creating nice publish concerning the subject. I’m an admirer of your writing. Sustain the nice job.
Don’t waste money on attending expensive bootcamps. Those people don’t care about you but only your money. Just be who you are naturally and learn natural game and you can get those 10′s that you always wanted.I myself spent a lot of money on this crap and finally found a few books that helped me. I have put up reviews of those on my site. Hope they help you.Check this article out
It’s skpooy how clever some ppl are. Thanks!
Great post, customer service always are important!
Thanks for the top notch information and facts enclosed within your website, this is a little question for your blog website subscribers. Who actually said the following quote? . . . .I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.
Cheers for the brilliant details enclosed within your blog, this is a little quiz for your weblog subscribers. Who cited the following quote? . . . .A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
You made some decent points there. I seemed on the web for the issue and located most people will go along with along with your website.
Love Terrorists and the Commitment Phobe.
That’s relaly thinking out of the box. Thanks!
Great weblog! Will be your theme customized developed or even did you download that from someplace? A theme like yours with a few straightforward adjustements would certainly definitely make our site jump out and about. Please let me know that you received your layout. Thanks a lot…
whoah this blog is fantastic i really like reading your posts. Stay up the great work! You already know, lots of persons are searching around for this info, you can aid them greatly.
I don’t even understand how I ended up right here, but I believed this submit was once great. I do not recognise who you are however certainly you are going to a famous blogger in the event you are not already
Cheers!
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming also. In fact your creative writing skills has inspired me to get my own website now. Really the blogging is spreading its wings quickly. Your write up is a great example of it.
Just a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw outstanding style .
I wished to say that it is actually pleasant to find out that another person also pointed out this as I found trouble discovering an identical data in another place. This was the very first site that shared with me the solution. Kudos.
This is certainly someinspirational stuff. Never believed that feedback might be this mixed.
I simply desired to say thanks all over again. I am not sure the things that I might have made to happen in the absence of these ways revealed by you on that problem. It was before a troublesome setting for me personally, nevertheless finding out this professional style you resolved the issue made me to leap over delight. I am just happy for this help and as well , have high hopes you are aware of a powerful job you have been accomplishing teaching the mediocre ones through your web blog. More than likely you havent come across any of us.
Test
I haven’t checked in here for some time because I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are good quality so I guess I’ll add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it friend
Perfect work you have done, this website is really cool with good information.
You actually make it seem really easy with your presentation but I in finding this topic to be actually something that I believe I might by no means understand. It sort of feels too complicated and extremely vast for me. I am having a look forward to your next put up, I will try to get the dangle of it!