A Passenger-Centric Strategy To Disruption Recovery

Aviation is back (finally, almost)! Higher vaccination rates and evolving border policies have meant that pent up demand for travel continues to rise steadily. As airlines strategically dump more capacity into these markets to capture demand, certain operational challenges must be overcome. Aircraft have been hibernated, crews have been furloughed and ground personnel have been accustomed to lower flight volumes over extended periods of time.

As a result, operational disruptions during aggressive ramp ups become almost inevitable. There are numerous examples of operational disruptions that have made their way onto mainstream media, which is never an optimal outcome for any airline. A common theme amongst these incidents is that the focus on passenger outcomes is often missing. Information is changed numerous times, passengers are paraded from one place to another and more often than not, passengers are left without information because frontline staff are not up to speed with recovery plans. So how do we ensure that passenger outcomes are always placed front and centre in a disruption scenario??

Define

OTP (On time performance) is the most common KPI that operational teams chase on the day of operations. However, OTP alone may not directly correspond to optimal passenger outcomes.

For example, an airline can achieve an OTP of 99% but delay a handful of flights for more than 10 hours, leaving passengers stranded and leading to a PR nightmare. On the other hand, an airline can achieve an OTP of 0% by delaying all its flights by 16 minutes, which passengers would likely barely notice. It is important to define supplementary metrics to OTP to truly consider passenger outcomes. Ask questions like:

·?????When was information given to passengers and how?

·?????How many times did we subsequently change information/plans?

·?????How many times were passengers moved (to different gates, to different aircraft, to hotels etc.)

·?????How many subsequent action were affected (e.g. subsequent connecting flights, partner bookings etc.)?

·?????How much inconvenience did we cause beyond just delaying the flight?

Decide

A passenger outcome focused disruption strategy relies on being quick and decisive. Time to decision when a disruption event occurs is everything when it comes to a successful recovery.

I discussed the use of technology such as optimization and prediction in my previous article. These are a good step in cutting down on decision time as they can help teams analyse much more information in a time sensitive manner. Additionally, recovery system design needs to be centred around passengers rather than the typically narrow aircraft/crew philosophy. Aircraft and crew are important, but focusing solely on these two factors tends to dilute focus on the passenger.

The last step is to decide. Prediction allows for issues to be flagged far in advance. Decision making frameworks, SOPs and training need to be in place to use that intelligence in a timely manner and execute early. Passengers would much rather know that their flight is delayed/cancelled in the comfort of their homes/hotels rather than in the airport or even worse, inside the boarding gate (that’s how lynch mobs start).

Disseminate

So we have a plan. We’ve informed our passengers. All is well. Until a new wrench is thrown into the works and destroys our plan (surprise, surprise). And so ensues the chaos. Screaming. Bloodshot eyes. The occasional flying object. We’ve all been there (and feared for our lives).

This is where it becomes important to arm the frontline with all the information they need. Frontline staff need real-time updates on how recovery programmes are progressing end to end. They need to be able to access and understand individual passenger profiles so they can anticipate needs before the stage of upset. From a strategic disruption management standpoint, the topics explored above will ensure that operational control structures do not implement strategies that would also set the frontline up for failure. Good passenger outcomes rely on the frontline being able to cope with passenger demands, not on how many OTP points were saved or on how much delay cost was avoided.

Passengers do not get upset because disruptions happen (ok, maybe a little). They get upset when they lose hope and don’t see a way out of the mess. Stability and transparency are key in a passenger focused disruption strategy.

TLDR

·?????Define the right metrics. Traditional metrics like OTP are a start, but do not fully encompass factors and variables that would affect the passenger experience

·?????Time to decision is everything. Technology can help cut down decision time, but sound decision making and design frameworks must also be put into place to empower teams to make quick, passenger centric decisions

·?????Arm your frontline. The frontline staff are the make or break in a disruption scenario. Ensure they see the big picture and also have all the information they need when dealing with the passenger

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