Airline executives feel they are falling short in plans to enhance customer experience

• Ninety-six percent want to personalise the air travel experience with real-time data
• Sixty-four percent believe they are failing to implement their plans

WHILE nearly 80% of airlines executives say they have a clear vision for their customer strategy, nearly two-thirds (64%) believe they are failing to implement their plans to enhance the customer experience, according to findings of a study from Accenture.

The Accenture Digital Readiness for Customer Experience in the Airline Industry study is based on interviews with executives representing a third of the world’s largest airlines based on volume of passengers flown.

Among the key challenges facing the airline executives polled, meeting customer experience expectations, delivering consistency across multiple touchpoints and implementing digital technology are among the biggest issues.

While 65% of executives polled are open to collaborating with third parties and nearly half (48%) are concerned about the security of data, airlines do want to leverage on their ownership of the flight to build a stronger relationship with the customer.

When asked to identify the barriers airlines face when implementing their digital customer experience strategies, 40% of executives cited aligning their internal culture to digital technology and services as the top challenge.

Additionally, more than a third (36%) identified siloed technology systems as the top implementation barrier - particularly the difficulty of integrating legacy technology systems and multiple customer touchpoints.

“Despite the advances that digital technologies have already enabled, the airline industry is still missing out on opportunities to better interact with its customers,” said Yap Boon Lim, managing director and head of Accenture’s Asia Pacific travel practice.

“Airlines should take a cue from consumer-related business leaders such as Amazon and Uber, whose simple and direct manner of engaging and communicating with their customers allows them to offer unique, personalised experiences in real-time. That is the best way for carriers to meet the growing customer demands of a connected travel experience.”

Accenture’s study revealed executive’s interest in emerging digital customer experiences concepts:

Personalising the air travel experience with real-time data was ranked as the top emerging concept by senior airlines executives, cited by 96% of respondents, and 80% said they will deliver real-time personalisation within three years.

 

Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed agreed that digital transformations will extend beyond automation to include new business, technology and operating models, and 72% said they plan to conduct this implementation within the next three years.

 

As the pricing boundaries between the different types of carrier become less distinct, 80% of those surveyed said that the flight and seamless service will be more important than ever, and 68% said they plan to enhance those experiences over the next three years.

With real-time personalisation of travel experiences being ranked as the top emerging digital customer experience (supported by 96% of executives), airlines will need to consider how to manage their data partnerships with third-party entities as data ownership interests can be complex.

Two-thirds (65%) of the airline executives surveyed said they are open to collaborating with third parties, and 20% are building customised software with application programme interfaces (APIs) to better engage with their customers.

However, 70% prefer that customers use an airline’s direct platforms rather than a third-party distribution option for all of their travel needs.

 

Accenture’s study further showed that to help manage the customer influence from third-parties, nearly half (48%) of executives believe airlines will need to take better advantage of their centralised position in the end-to-end travel experience.

They want to leverage three unique strengths: owning the most important piece of the travel value chain – the flight, having access to richer customer insights and offering more touchpoints and services.

Additionally, the Accenture study identified the level of digital sophistication as another key strategy that will further improve the customer’s connected travel experience with airlines.

Results showed that all airlines in the study are supporting self-service through mobile applications and websites as well as creating and leveraging a 360-degree view of the customer.

Two-thirds of respondents are engaged in expanding the digital dialogue through social media and third-party partnerships, while one-third of respondents are using real-time insights to enhance the personalised customer experience.
 
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