Many individuals agree that air travel today lacks the memorable and enjoyable experiences of the past. Nowadays, travel is often linked with stress, subpar food, delays, overpriced tickets, and additional fees for services such as seat selection, priority boarding, checked bags, aisle seats, and even amenities like blankets and sodas on certain airlines. While numerous sectors like retail, sports, healthcare, and entertainment have begun utilizing data to enhance customer experiences, the airline industry is still lagging. However, several airlines, including Southwest, United, and Qantas, are making efforts to change this trend.
By employing a customer data platform like TL Labs to integrate web, mobile, and social data from various sources, and equipping staff with the skills to utilize this data effectively, airlines can leverage actionable insights to provide personalized customer experiences that delight passengers and foster loyalty.
Acquiring and retaining customers hinges on understanding how to effectively utilize the vast amount of customer data that companies already gather. To stay competitive, airlines must consolidate their customer data, residing in disparate silos and systems, to attain a comprehensive, real-time view of their patrons. This encompasses data from social channels, third-party software (such as SABRE), booking information from transaction systems, web and mobile activities (including searches, site visits, abandoned carts, etc.), email data, and customer service interactions. Airlines must establish ownership of their customer relationships, create one-to-one communication channels, and develop timely, relevant, and customized content to enhance conversion rates.
Understanding who your customers are is just the beginning. It is also crucial to know where they reside, where they shop, potential future destinations, and their spending tendencies on trips. Enhancements like tracking baggage, personalizing airfare and hotel options, and improving in-flight entertainment are all areas that benefit from a data-driven strategy. Some airlines are already elevating this approach by empowering flight attendants with customer travel histories, birthdays, food, and beverage preferences, among other details.
A leading airline in leveraging big data to offer tailored experiences and promotions is Qantas. In recent years, this Australian airline has made significant strides in collecting and analyzing customer data to boost sales, ROI, and customer satisfaction. Since 2007, Qantas has been evolving from an airline into a data-driven hub, monitoring customer behaviors, preferences, purchases, and demographics. Under the leadership of CIO Luc Hennekens, their digital team has been harnessing these insights to enhance marketing efforts, redefine the “Qantas Loyalty” frequent flyer program, and expand business offerings.
Here are five ways Qantas is harnessing data to delight its customers, enhance service, and foster loyalty:
1. PROVIDES EXCEPTIONAL, LOYALTY-BUILDING SERVICE BY USING CUSTOMER DATA
Customers of Qantas frequently share experiences of how the airline has exceeded their expectations by delivering outstanding service. A dedicated team manages the airline’s social media platforms, responding to customer feedback and complaints in real-time. This team focuses on closely monitoring customer interactions and online discussions, providing immediate responses and fostering one-to-one relationships with passengers.
In-flight personnel at Qantas utilize mobile devices, such as tablets, to access customer profiles that include information on allergies, food preferences, and seating choices,
Flight attendants have recorded notes on customers’ previous flights, along with their travel history. Customer stories, such as the one shared by Zach Hotckkiss on social media, highlight the impressive ways in which in-flight staff leverage customer data to enhance service and create memorable experiences for passengers.
To provide extra attention to their top customers, some airlines utilize customer data to identify the top 10 passengers in each class. A key challenge lies in delivering tailored, outstanding service without crossing the line into being intrusive. In response to a request from Qantas for feedback on their data-driven personalized service, many frequent flyers expressed a desire for airlines to recognize particular preferences, such as a fondness for cappuccinos, while preferring not to disclose more intimate details like their pets’ names.
At the airport, passengers can use the airline’s newly introduced self-service kiosks to print boarding passes and luggage tags, effectively bypassing the check-in desk. Soon, travelers will be able to access this functionality directly from their smartphones.
Following customer input, Qantas is now providing passengers with complimentary pre-flight access to over 4,000 local, regional, national, and international newspapers and magazines through “PressReader.” Qantas has partnered with this independent company to deliver the service via their app. Before flying, Qantas customers can select newspapers and magazines to download in more than 60 languages, representing over 100 countries. As soon as a customer installs the Qantas App on a smartphone or tablet, a “Download Newspapers and Magazines” tile will show up on their timeline 24 hours prior to departure, granting them 12 hours of unlimited access to download content. After downloading, passengers can enjoy reading anywhere, anytime.
2. SHOWS THAT THE AIRLINE VALUES CUSTOMERS’ DATA BY OFFERING MILES IN EXCHANGE
This month, Qantas unveiled its pioneering customer insights program, which rewards customers willing to share their data with airline miles. The airline’s data analytics division, Red Planet, has amassed extensive analytics capabilities over the years and is now transitioning this expertise into a commercial service for third-party clients. Red Planet aims to recruit at least 100,000 frequent flyer members to exchange their data and preferences for miles.
Starting in August, Red Planet has begun inviting frequent flyer members to participate, offering up to 300 points for each completed survey. The airline intends to share only anonymized data collected from these surveys with its clients. Red Planet has already partnered with notable clients such as Hilton Hotels, Avis Car Rental, NAB, Bankwest, and American Express, providing them with high-value, ethically sourced insights.
insights from real users.
3. HOSTS HACKATHON THAT USES DATA TO DISCOVER SOLUTIONS FOR COMMON TRAVEL CHALLENGES
This April, Qantas organized its inaugural weekend hackathon at its service excellence facility located in Alexandria, Sydney. Developers were given 30 hours to design and implement new applications or solutions aimed at enhancing Qantas’ customer service. The 50 developers present utilized public travel and flight data (such as airfare rates and availability of hotel rooms at specific destinations), ensuring that no private or sensitive information was accessed. According to Qantas, the hackathon aimed to “unite a group of bright minds to collaboratively tackle common business challenges.”
To participate in the hackathon, developers contributed $10, had five minutes to pitch their concepts to the judges, and retained all rights to their creations. Additionally, the winner of the event received $4000 worth of airline tickets. Qantas is already leveraging technology to enhance customer experiences during various stages such as ticket purchasing, check-ins (both online and at airports), and in-flight entertainment, among others.
4. CAN PREDICT WHAT PASSENGERS ARE LIKELY TO PURCHASE
Numerous airlines are currently employing customer data platforms like TL Labs to efficiently expand their customer base and improve ROI. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of their clientele, data insights enable them to discover similar individuals with a high likelihood of purchasing specific products. The collection and real-time analysis of numerous data points per customer—including prior purchase history (total expenses, destination, time of year, etc.) and demographic details—allow marketing teams to dynamically refine advertisements and tailor content for distinct customer segments.
Moreover, real-time data insights assist airlines like Qantas in optimizing content across their website, newsletters, videos, social media posts, promotions, and contests to attract more visitors, enhance engagement, and bolster loyalty across various channels while increasing ROI. By granting multiple teams within the organization access to this data, they become empowered to provide more personalized and informed customer service and marketing initiatives. For instance, data can reveal the reasons and specific stages at which customers abandon their online shopping or websites, enabling automated personalized email triggers to reengage those customers.
Certain airlines have successfully lowered their customer acquisition costs on paid advertisements by over 20 percent by utilizing data to deeply understand their customers and pinpoint their demographics, online behaviors, and preferences. In-depth data analysis has also facilitated airlines in transitioning customers to more cost-efficient retention channels (like email) and effectively upselling by cross-promoting suitable add-ons (such as car rentals and hotel accommodations).
The ultimate objective for airlines should be to harness data proficiently to serve as an intuitive travel assistant capable of anticipating exactly what customers want to purchase while ensuring a smooth discovery and buying experience. Additionally, airlines can provide valuable, timely updates on flight check-ins, airport navigation, weather forecasts, hotel deals, and local activities that enhance the overall travel experience.
5.
REDEFINING HOW LOYALTY PROGRAMS ARE RUN
Similar to other airlines, Qantas has recognized the significant role of data in enhancing and developing its loyalty programs. With insights gained from data to comprehend customer behaviours and preferences, the airline launched Qantas Loyalty in 2007. This extensive data has provided a profound understanding of their customer base, enabling a redefined frequent flyer program. A significant change driven by data for Qantas Loyalty is the ability for members to redeem miles not only for flight tickets but also on various products and services. Moreover, members can earn miles through shopping at select third-party stores and websites.
Today, Qantas Loyalty generates an impressive AU$1.3 billion in annual revenue, actively monitoring the opinions of 800,000 unique members. This wealth of data informs the creation of numerous highly-targeted and effective marketing campaigns. Consequently, while an average member of Qantas Loyalty receives approximately 50 emails per year, each email is tailored and varies according to customer segments. The airline claims that every monthly e-newsletter boasts an astonishing 150,000 unique variations.
Another significant advantage of Qantas Loyalty is the application of data insights for continuous improvement across the entire business spectrum, encompassing areas like product design, the introduction of new routes and destinations, capital investment decisions, customer support training, and innovative strategies.
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