WhatsApp for Airline Customer Service: How One Pioneering Carrier Does it

(Updated; + video now added, below)

Imagine this; you’re in a taxi on your way to the airport, and you have a few questions about your flight;

What’s my luggage allowance? Is my connecting flight in 3 hours, on time? Can I change seats, to sit with my partner?

As you’re going to be walking, carrying bags and so on, you don’t want to be placed on voice hold, awaiting a possible response. What if you could instead, be using WhatsApp customer service channel to get your answers, enabling you to intermittently check your phone and get satisfaction by text?

That’s the promise of innovative technology being used by Transavia and several other pioneering airlines in the field of passenger customer service. While some airlines have chosen Facebook Messenger as their vehicle for passenger text services (see video below for how KLM does it, having evaluated WhatsApp then choosing Facebook Messenger) others, such as Transavia are using WhatsApp.

Development & help are available from specialist chat / chatbot service companies for air carriers, allowing airlines to quickly integrate these new customer service options with their existing service channels.

How Transavia Uses WhatsApp

"The project started out of the realization that we really needed to be where our customers are. For our customer base, that meant WhatsApp," says Rob Abspoel, who’s overseen the roll out of this service at Transavia.

Transavia is currently using live, human customer service staff to answer each query, and are evaluating further automation of service functions. Answers generally come within an hour, simple questions being answered rapidly. Transavia finds this method of service cheaper than voice customer service.

Mr Abspoel believes automating one-third of Transavia service requests will be easy. This is under way and look for a number of exciting developments in coming months as WhatsApp customer service becomes more widespread in the airline industry. As with many industries, some client questions are routine and repetitive. And when questions follow a similar pattern, bots can be used to answer immediately, for virtually zero cost to the airline.

Video: How KLM uses Facebook Messenger (and how your airline can, too)

While one benefit of Facebook's Messenger is chat bots for Messenger, which can answer the simpler queries automatically, are further advanced than chat bots for WhatsApp, although these are catching up. See video below for how KLM uses this handy tool to get answers to passengers as fast as possible.

Roger Hall is the founder of Xflash Systems & Captain/RNAV Project Pilot for a large international airline. Roger and his team have designed & implemented a number of automated customer service chat bots, high-level ACARS-related communications systems and co-ordinate advanced security systems for airports & carriers. If you or your company require assistance designing & implementing customer service & other systems please contact Xflash Systems here; www.xflashsystems.com/passenger-support-tools