Airline flight volumes are down, but airline customer communication is at an all-time high due to issues of flight cancellations, refunds, and credit and voucher requests.
Airlines saw an increase of 300% in monthly conversations around flight bookings, at a time when global passenger numbers have been trending around one-fifth of 2019 levels, according to research conducted by Verint, a customer engagement company.
A report from the company says since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel has become a more complex customer journey ‒ fraught with new questions, concerns, and high-flying anxiety levels. Meanwhile, cost-cutting measures over the past decade have left many airlines with antiquated support systems and overwhelmed contact centers ill-equipped to handle the surge.
Additionally, significant channel shift has taken place over the past two years, with consumer preference growing for use of third-party messaging services such as Apple Business Chat, according to the report.
Apple Business Chat offers a way for users to communicate directly with businesses right within Messages. According to Apple, with Business Chat, it’s easy to have a conversation with a service representative, schedule an appointment or make purchases using Apple Pay in the Messages app. Business Chat doesn’t share the user’s contact information with businesses and gives users the ability to stop chatting at any time.”
Verint researchers say we could see a 15x growth in customer conversations on private messaging channels when passenger numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.
