25th October, 2021
Are airlines handling disruption better today? To what extent they are better equipped to manage irregular operations as well as look after troubled or panic-stricken passengers?
When such a situation emerges, airlines should be in a position to look at every aspect of passenger disruption – from flight and hotel rebooking to meal vouchers and refunds.
In order to improve upon the situation, the industry has been looking at simplifying involved processes.
As the team at IBS Software points out, increased automation and self-service capabilities can help, but it must be remembered that disruptions “don´t always have a quick fix as re-accommodating passengers for a same-day departure isn´t always possible. Beyond luggage drop-offs and biometric scans, other critical technology investments need to be considered”.
According to Amadeus, system scalability is also “critical so airline staff can minimize manual interventions and divert attention from the technical aspects of disruption management to dealing with its more human side”.
Tools are emerging to aid airlines.
Plan3, a passenger disruption management tool for airlines, is an offering that helps airlines to visualise flight schedule activity and, when disruption occurs, to communicate with disrupted customers, presenting relevant option packages such as new flights, hotel accommodation, ground transportation and digital vouchers.
The tool, built by AviLabs, won the Ai’s Virtual Lions´ Den competition Best Product award, held as a part of the #MegaEvent21 a couple of months ago.
By Ritesh Gupta
Ai Team
