Question

As one of the player in the service industry, the productivity of AirAsia berhad could be notoriously low.

Using examples, describe FOUR ways of how service efficiency could be improved in the context of airline industry.

Answer 1

Air Asia Berhad has placed great emphasis on providing a high standard of service as they believe being affordable doesn't mean having to compromise on the level of professionalism with which they treat every passenger. Numerous initiatives are undertaken to ensure the passengers appreciate how much they are valued, and consequently look forward to flying with them again.

Focus on Guest Service (GS) Personnel

Air Asia strives to create an environment in which the GS Allstars are willing to go the extra mile and be of real service to passengers in order to create pleasant travel experiences, and enhance AirAsia’s image. They regularly run Service Campaigns to reinforce the message of service excellence. And the airline makes an effort to listen to the GS personnel so as to be able to address any issues they may face. This is achieved via a Staff Satisfaction Survey which is conducted once a year in which the Allstars provide them honest feedback on their work conditions.
In 2015, Airline developed a GS Scorecard to assess the performance of the front-liners on a monthly basis. From the scorecard which is filled by Allstar’s immediate superior, they are able to identify both outstanding as well as under-performing staff. While the high performers are duly recognised, those who are not performing up to the mark are given coaching.

Innovative Service Offerings-

One of Air Asia's hallmarks is innovation. This extends from having an innovative business model to providing innovative products and services to enhance the passengers flying experience.
Air Asia were one of the first airlines in the region to introduce a mobile app (iOS & Android) in 2010 and, in few years later launched an updated version of the service making the process of booking and check-in much faster and more convenient. In March 2016, they enabled guests with the mobile app to make use of eBoarding Passes to proceed from the departure hall directly to the boarding gate. The Airline aims to keep enhancing the mobile platform to provide passengers with a seamless experience from the time they make their booking till they board the plane.

Air Asia was also the first airline in Malaysia to offer wifi service on selected AirAsia flights since November 2014. They have enabled most of their aircraft to offer the service, ROKKI, which was developed in-house. The Airline aims to offer the most cost-effective, best-in-class inflight entertainment and connectivity, with no less than 150 hours of content.

Customer Experience-
The airline has in place a quality practice framework to improve and deliver exceptional customer service. The framework requires them to listen and respond to the voice of the customers in all channels and to enhance the customer experience as well as customer loyalty. As part of ongoing efforts to provide the best customer service, the airline is in the process of implementing a new system for the management of customer complaints as well as compliments to enable real-time reporting to the organisation.

Customer Experience Assessment-

Air Asia has been conducting an online customer experience survey in order to discover areas in which they can improve their services. Questions are emailed to passengers following travel on AirAsia, asking them how satisfied they were with their experience during the booking process, check-in, boarding, inflight and arrival as well as how likely they are to recommend the airline to others. The results of these surveys are then analysed on a quarterly and annual basis and discussed at length with HOD's every year. They are currently looking into ways to increase the response rate as the airline sees this platform as important for them to continuously improve their service offering and keep our passengers satisfied.