Introduction
A variety of issues plague airlines in their mission to deliver quality customer service. As a leading airline, it is Atlantic Air’s mission to ensure everyone on board is treated with the highest quality customer service of any airline. This study was conducted to provide a vision for Atlantic Air in the years ahead. It assumes the company has the financial resources to conduct such an endeavor without going bankrupt. The investigation includes a customer-centric focus, but it is limited in having an understanding of the company’s cash flow to fund such an endeavor. The report goes over the 5 variables of services quality that Atlantic Airline aims to achieve. As airlines aim to cut costs due to rising fuel prices, they have decided to downgrade much of its customer service that was prominent in the industry decades ago. Overbooking flights and impatient flight attendants are just a couple of the issues affecting these companies’ bottom lines. It should be Atlantic Air’s mission to sacrifice profits in the short term in order to reap the benefits of a strong customer base in the long term. The following provides a vision of what the company should look like if the proper measures are implemented.
Tangibles
Certainly, Atlantic Air isn’t immune to many of the paralyzing costs that come from the high costs of fuel, as well as other hindrances affecting the airline industry. However, instead of sacrificing ownership pay and bonuses in the short, many other airlines are sacrificing their customer service. And due to the fact that all airlines are doing the same thing, there is nothing preventing airlines from reducing its staff, as well as cutting expenses on onboard meals. This leaves customers unsatisfied. But with nowhere else to go, these customers remain vigilant.
Reliability
The issues related to poor customer service often results in airplanes being overbooked, and this results in there not being seats for some people., causing major disturbances and costs for individuals. Cancelled flights plague the airline industry, largely due to the cost-cutting measures. With Atlantic Airline, passengers are guaranteed to never undergo the inconvenience of not being able to have a seat that they booked. If there is some issue where the airplane is overbooked, these individuals are given a $150 credit for their next flight with the company. This way, customers are assured they are compensated fairly for the inconvenience.
Responsiveness
Due to the stressful nature of travel, it is vital that the organization presents a quick service option to its clients. Many of the other airlines do not provide 24/7 call support, but this is such an important component since people are flying at all times of the day and night. It is important that the company meet the customers on their level. That is why the organization has an app that has a quick call button, as well as a chat option for customers on the go. Customers are also able to access their boarding passes from the app, for their convenience. The concept is to make the travel process as easy for customers as possible so that they are able to relieve some of the stress associated with travel.
Assurances
With a lack of assurances in the travel industry, it is important that Atlantic Airline do as much as possible to make sure that customers are receiving the most amount of attention as possible so that each of their needs are being met. For example, some of the assurances that people need is to know that their airplane will be on time, to know that their luggage will be handled with care, and to make sure they will receive any special treatments that are necessary for the elderly, for example. By consistently reminding customers of the various components of their travel that the company will focus on, they will be more assured that their airline is taking their best interests to heart. For example, a low-cost GPS tracker is placed in each luggage tag. This tracker carries the customer’s unique information so that it can be traced back to their App. With the tracker, they will be able to see the exact location of their luggage, which will make them more assured that it will arrive to them on the other end. If there ever is an issue with the luggage not arriving to the destination, the customer will be able to see exactly where it is, and this also provides an extra way for the company to be able to track the luggage, and send it to the customer should there be any issues with it travelling with the customer to the destination.
Empathy
The airline industry is notorious for leaving customers stranded, and for not seeming to care. When it comes to the lack of communication often provided by the airlines, customers are often felt feeling hopeless. This lack of empathy is something that runs rampant through the airline industry, since many of the customers are treated like cattle, rather than like individuals. Atlantic Air breaks that trend by offering its customers a personal service that assures the best outcomes possible for them, should there be situations where the organization is unable to prevent inconveniences, such as weather delays, and flights that are cancelled due to airport regulations, for example.
An ad campaign should be launched on television, outlining the complete experience of those who are traveling on Atlantic Air. It should show smiling, and happy customers through the entire process, from the time they book their tickets easily online, to boarding the airplane, to the seat space, viewing options, food and overall quality of service. A tagline could be “All our seating is first class.” This will help present the company has having a focus on providing the best possible overall customer service.
Conclusion
Certainly, the above vision of the company presents with a lot of challenges, both budgetary and logistically. However, the fact that CEOs at the other top airlines are making millions annually in bonuses alone says there is some room to be flexible on spending. Profits are still high enough for the top executives to enjoy many perks, so instead of paying in excess to what those executives really need, it would be wiser to invest those bonuses into creating a brand that people will demand to be a customer of, and one to which people will refer family and friends. When an excess number of clients come in, then it would be time for the executives to cash in on their bonuses. After all, if the majority of people are demanding to fly with Atlantic Air, due to the focus on customer experience, there will be plenty of profits
