Developing the Inflight Customer Experience of Airline X
Korhonen, Piia (2019)
Korhonen, Piia
2019
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019112723016
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019112723016
Tiivistelmä
As the airline business is constantly changing, the companies need to stay on top of the competition and develop their products and services. The inflight service is a vital part of the airline customer journey and has a major effect on the customer satisfaction. The cabin crew members can be considered as the face of the airline, and the ones who can break or make the customer experience. Therefore, paying attention to their training and performance is of utmost importance.
The thesis is commissioned by a European regional airline that has requested to stay anonymous. The project started from the commissioner’s need to find measures to develop the inflight customer experience and the customer service skills of the cabin crew members. The thesis focuses on identifying the touchpoints of the inflight customer journey which need the most attention in order to improve the customer satisfaction. It also aims to provide tools for developing the customer service training of the commissioning airline.
The theoretical framework consists of exploring the concepts of service quality, customer experience, and the role of customer service employees in relation to them. Also, the concepts of emotional intelligence and emotional labour are discussed, as they impact the performance of employees, especially in highly demanding customer service roles such as the role of cabin crew.
The main focus of the research was to compare the perceptions of the passengers and the cabin crew regarding the level of customer service. A quantitative research method was used, with questionnaires sent out to passengers and cabin crew members. The research also included an opportunity for the passengers to give open feedback. In addition, open questions were presented to the cabin crew members to discover their suggestions for developing the customer experience and the service training.
The results indicated a noticeable difference between the perceptions of the passengers and the cabin crew regarding the service quality. The parts of the customer journey that will need most attention from the airline were also identified in the research. In addition, valuable data was collected from the cabin crew regarding how they would improve the training and the customer experience. The findings of the research are used by the airline to develop their internal processes and the cabin crew training. The results of the research are confidential.
The thesis is commissioned by a European regional airline that has requested to stay anonymous. The project started from the commissioner’s need to find measures to develop the inflight customer experience and the customer service skills of the cabin crew members. The thesis focuses on identifying the touchpoints of the inflight customer journey which need the most attention in order to improve the customer satisfaction. It also aims to provide tools for developing the customer service training of the commissioning airline.
The theoretical framework consists of exploring the concepts of service quality, customer experience, and the role of customer service employees in relation to them. Also, the concepts of emotional intelligence and emotional labour are discussed, as they impact the performance of employees, especially in highly demanding customer service roles such as the role of cabin crew.
The main focus of the research was to compare the perceptions of the passengers and the cabin crew regarding the level of customer service. A quantitative research method was used, with questionnaires sent out to passengers and cabin crew members. The research also included an opportunity for the passengers to give open feedback. In addition, open questions were presented to the cabin crew members to discover their suggestions for developing the customer experience and the service training.
The results indicated a noticeable difference between the perceptions of the passengers and the cabin crew regarding the service quality. The parts of the customer journey that will need most attention from the airline were also identified in the research. In addition, valuable data was collected from the cabin crew regarding how they would improve the training and the customer experience. The findings of the research are used by the airline to develop their internal processes and the cabin crew training. The results of the research are confidential.