This article will be the first in a series to examine the challenges of air travel, the customer touch-points during the travel process and what customers themselves can do to improve their experience.

We all know the current state of airline travel.  A recent 2008 study by JD Power determined (no surprise) that satisfaction is down. More than one in five passengers report experiencing a delay with the average length of the delay being 68 minutes. The percentage of customers checking bags has declined considerably, from 77 percent in 2007 to 66 percent in 2008.  The reluctance to check a bag is due to the whole baggage claim experience, lost baggage and additional fees to check bags. This in turn encourages more carry-on luggage which contributes to competition for space and a more awkward boarding process.  Each step the airlines make to cut costs (packing flights full, cancelling flights, layoffs, bag fees, increasing fares, charging for beverages, etc.) continues to move the industry into an ever downward spiral of customer satisfaction.

The NBC video Dark Skies reported that 2007 was the worst year ever for air travel with customer complaints up 60% over the previous year and over a quarter of all arrivals were late.

OK, that’s data.  Now let’s listen to what people are saying on a more emotional level:

• “In a window seat, next to a man in the middle seat with really, really bad body odor, who’s next to a man in the aisle seat, who thinks it is appropriate to clip his nails on the plane…directly behind me is a 3-year old who is singing nursery rhymes, next to her Mom who is also singing nursery rhymes…oh the f&$%*@g  joys of flying!”
• “I had just finished a conference in Florida and was flying back to California.   I upgraded to First Class so I could work during the return leg home and also get some quality rest.  For nearly three hours of the flight an infant was screaming bloody murder in the adjacent row.  Essentially no work, no rest for anyone in First Class.  I actually recorded the mayhem and played it back to the American Airlines customer service representative when I returned.  The rep was amazed and sympathetic. So, what did the airline do for me after I wasted a significant amount of money on that upgrade?  A big fat nothing.”
• “I am treated like a number, not a customer.”
• “I spent 4 hours inside the plane while it was on the ramp during a snowstorm in Denver.  I was completely trapped against my will.  It was a miserable, energy sucking and time wasting experience.”
• “I arrived at the conference, my bags didn’t”.
• “My flight was late so I missed my connecting flight. This is just one hassle after another”.
• “When I was checking in, the people in front of me discovered their bag was over 50 pounds and would incur an additional charge. Rather than paying this, they started pulling out items from their bag to reduce the weight. This process caused everyone behind them to be delayed.”

During this series of articles I will examine the options for the airlines, airports and the customers.  And, by the way, airlines and airports are only part of the problem.  Some of the passengers we are forced to travel with are the other half of the problem.  In the next article, I am going to tell you who these people are and what you can do about it!

William S. Ayer
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Alaska Airlines and Alaska Air Group

Dear Mr. Ayer,

I recently took a flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle, Washington on Alaska/Horizon. I can only begin to imagine how difficult it is to run an airline in the current economic and security environment and at the same time create satisfied customers. You have a difficult challenge indeed, but that said, the buck stops with you. Before I tell you what part of the customer experience failed miserably, I would first like to tell you what went well. The pilots and supporting staff got everyone to their destinations safely and on time. The flight attendants did their duty and the staff at the gate did a great job. The automated boarding pass kiosk worked perfectly.

Now for the Alaska Airlines customer service belly-flop. My 91 year-old father and I stood in line for about 40 minutes just to check in two bags. There were a number of lines that were just not moving. The lines were not that long. They just weren’t moving. It was the most miserable baggage check-in experience I have ever had. Travelers were in disbelief. Granted, there were a few people that had boxes of their Alaskan salmon to ship home but is this is not a new experience for the airline or the airport.

Here are some suggestions to speed up this process:

• Have a representative walk through the baggage lines and work the crowd. Is your box taped properly? Do you have any special issues with your baggage that we can resolve before you get to the head of the line? Do you realize that there is a line on the other side of the counter that is shorter at the moment?
• Plan for the peak periods. Are there enough representatives to handle the crowd at a given time?
• Examine the process. Why does it take so long to process each bag? What is the holdup - are the reps properly trained to anticipate all the common scenarios? Why do they seem so confused?

It is exactly because of this poor baggage check-in process that third-party companies have sprung up to fill the service void. Such companies as Bags and Bags To Go will take bags, for a small fee, from travelers before they get to the airport and ensure that the bags are checked and on the correct flight. This is similar to what Clear did, for a fee, to eliminate the need to stand in security lines.

Mr Ayer: I challenge you to recognize that this is a problem and then fix it. Unlike the high cost of aviation fuel, this problem is within your control and is a significant customer “touch-point”.

Mistakes certainly happen but how you recover from them can make a lasting impression on your customers.

Recently, I took my son to a doctor’s appointment. After a 45 minute trip to get to there, park and make our way through the building, we were informed nonchalantly that the appointment had been canceled earlier that day due to an emergency that called the physician away. Little effort was made to contact me and further troubling me was the lack of empathy that the receptionist displayed. At this point, I was rather frustrated and explained the ordeal that I had to go through to get my son to the appointment on time. The series of steps involved making arrangements for him to leave school early to navigating their always crowded parking structure.

The receptionist suggested a couple of alternate appointment times that did not work with our schedule. At this point, I was rather frustrated and let her know that I would call in later to reschedule.

As we were walking away, another receptionist approached me and apologized profusely for our missed appointment. She also highlighted the lack of empathy that was displayed in the handling of our situation and asked if she could help us schedule another appointment either on the spot or at another time. I was impressed by her professionalism and concern for my son’s health.

After several weeks, we returned to see the doctor. Once we checked in, the person who was so thoughtful at our last appointment came over to welcome us back and make sure that things had gone smoothly in scheduling our visit. She also commented on the significant length of time that had gone by since we had last been in and was concerned that it may have impacted my son’s health. I was completely surprised and frankly totally impressed that a small mix-up was attended to after so much time had passed. This person also checked in on us as we were leaving to make sure all our issues were handled to our satisfaction.

My single biggest take away from this episode is how a bad experience can be transformed into one that was positive and memorable for all the right reasons.