Delays and disruptions: a customer-centric digital solution
In the current post-pandemic reality, where airports globally continue to be challenged with ground and operation staff shortages, increasing passenger numbers also come with increased risks - higher chances of delays or disruptions.
Such unavoidable risks are not only unpleasant for airlines and passengers, but are also likely to damage the brand and significantly affect customer loyalty.
The historical - but long-outdated - "go to the desk, pick up your paper voucher" process is surely no longer an acceptable process in the digital age of today.
HRS believes it has the answer with a 'Service (SaaS) Crew & Passenger' solution, an off-the-shelf product providing personalised prearranged travel packages to passengers in times of disruption.
The European LCC Norwegian is among the airlines already deploying it.
- In the current post-pandemic reality, airports face challenges with staff shortages and increasing passenger numbers, leading to higher risks of delays and disruptions.
- Outdated processes like paper vouchers are no longer acceptable in today's digital age.
- HRS offers a 'Service (SaaS) Crew & Passenger' solution to provide personalized travel packages to passengers during disruptions.
- Norwegian, a leading European airline, has already implemented this solution to enhance customer experience.
- The HRS solution allows passengers to easily choose accommodations, transfers, and receive reimbursements through a mobile app.
- Norwegian plans to expand the use of this digital solution to improve customer experience and operational efficiency across its network.
Norwegian is Norway's largest airline and the second largest in Scandinavia
Norwegian is Norway's largest airline and the second largest in Scandinavia.
Having cut its long haul activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, Norwegian is back and expanding, operating more than 70 aircraft and reaching more than 100 different locations in Europe via close to 300 routes.
As a modern progressive airline, Norwegian has a strong focus on the customer. It is demonstrating through new technologies that even in times of disruption you can come find a positive solution by focusing on user experience.
Enhancing customer experience, especially during unpleasant times such as disruptions, has not only generated positive reviews and happier passengers, but also strengthened the brand, elevated customer loyalty, and ultimately increased revenue.
HRS solution provided personalised prearranged travel packages
HRS's Software as a Service (SaaS) Crew & Passenger solution is an off-the-shelf product providing personalised prearranged travel packages to passengers in times of disruption.
If a flight is cancelled, each passenger receives an instant notification on their mobile and can easily choose a hotel, order a transfer service, redeem refreshment vouchers, or get instantly reimbursed by uploading a receipt (with just two clicks).
Thanks to the OCR technology, the system instantly reads the receipt and can transfer the monetary reimbursement to the passenger's bank account within minutes.
Eight weeks from first meeting to deployment
The HRS Crew & Passenger Solutions was implemented in only eight weeks from the first detailed customer meeting, and as a new case study from HRS reveals, showed its value immediately by supporting disrupted passengers on the first day of platform go-live.
This paper, Delivering exceptional experience to disrupted passengers of Norwegian air shuttle, showcases how HRS Crew & Passenger Solutions supported Norwegian in delivering positive customer experience in times of disruption, and significant time savings for ground staff with the help of just one end-to-end platform.
It describes how a flight flying into Oslo was significantly delayed due to technical issues in the northern part of Norway, with a new arrival time of 1am local time.
There were 100 passengers who were rebooked to the next day because of missed connections and they were instantly informed about the self-service solution available at their destination as soon as the delay was known.
A significant 75% of passengers were able to select their overnight stay before the actual departure. Once landed in Oslo, each passenger could then arrange the transfer to the hotel through the same HRS self-service solution, as well as getting an overview of available complimentary refreshments.
There was only a small fraction of passengers who showed up at the service-desk in Oslo airport, where they simply scanned a QR code to access the same self-service solution - selecting a hotel and joining their fellow stranded passengers at the check-in at their preferred hotel.
Additionally, as well as having a personalised prearranged travel package, those disrupted passengers who were rebooked to a morning flight were able to see the details of their continuing journey within the same solution, to arrange a wake-up call with the hotel, and to contact support for any enquiries - all fully online from their own device.
HRS says it delivered fully digital coverage to an impressive 92% of disrupted passengers.
As Knut Olav Høeg EVP IT and Business Services at Norwegian describes, deploying a digital self-service solution for disrupted passengers is "turning an unavoidably stressful situation into a more positive experience" for the airline's passengers.
The airline having fully covered Norwegian's main hub in Oslo - where the airline usually experiences the majority of challenges due to higher volumes - it is further planned to deploy the software throughout its entire network.