Customer

Service in
the
P3
aviation
industry
 Plan for today
Time Topic

9.30-10.00 Recap of P1 and P2

Learning outcomes today
10.00-10.45 P3 Meeting customer needs

10.45-11.00 Break

11.00-12.30 P3 continued importance of meeting

customer needs
12.30-1.30 Lunch
 Module Overview
Week No Week Topic
commencing

1 12 Sept
P1
2 19 Sep
P1
26 Sep
3 P1 and P2
4 3 Oct
P3
5 10 Oct
P4, P5, P6, M1 D1
6 17 Oct
P4, P5, P6, M1 D1

7 24 Oct
Presentations
Half term
8 7 Nov
P7
9 16 Nov
P8
10 23 Nov
P9 M2, M3, D2
11 30 Nov
Role-plays
12 5 Dec
Role-plays
13 12 Dec
Role-plays
Christmas Holidays
Recap of P1 and P2
Ryanair will deliver their perceived customer service of cheap
seats, safe, secure and on-time flights but anything else the
passenger may require will be offered at a cost. In comparison,
British Airways would be expected to deliver a high standard of
customer service at various degrees throughout their different
classes.
Task 3
(provides evidence for P3)
• Explain the importance of meeting aviation customer needs
 
• You should explain the importance of meeting customer needs
to both the organisation and the customer. You must include
information for the three customer types listed below, their
needs and the levels of customer service. You must include
examples from aviation organisations.

• Three types of customer (demographic, cultural, special)

Learning outcomes for today

Identify the needs of specific customers

Explain the importance of meeting
aviation customer’s needs
Introduction to P3
Why is it important to meet customer
needs in aviation?
• To ensure repeat business
• increase customer loyalty
• Ensure the organisation has a good public image
• To ensure that the organisation has an edge over the
competition
• Increase sales, profit, provide jobs
Introduction to the importance
of meeting customer’s needs
• Customers are the centre of our business

• Without them we could not survive

• Effective customer service is essential

• Keeping new and existing customers happy is

absolutely vital to our business
Different types of customer
Task (10 mins)
• In small groups discuss the different types of customers listed
below and explain what products and services are provided to
meet their individual needs

• Demographic
• Cultural
• Special requirements

Consider different levels of service that are provided

Individual needs of passengers
Task (5 mins)
• By class
• Frequent flyers
• Vips
• Cips
• Medical conditions
• Unmins
• Families with young children
• Disabilities • Look at the list and decide which of the
• Nervous pax three passenger types (demographic,
• Special diets cultural and special requirements) they
• Special requirements would be described as
• Standby pax
• Non English speaking
• Elderly passengers
• Business passengers
• Explain at least two reasons why and
• Leisure passengers how an aviation organisation could
• Wheelchair passenger meet the needs of these passengers
 Explain the importance of meeting customer
needs and level of service for the two examples

Frequent Flyers Disabled Passengers

Cultural Awareness
• Research cultural awareness by looking at different behaviours
in different cultures e.g greetings, foods eaten main religions
Disability Etiquette quiz
• Research disability etiquette at

http://www.uni.edu/equity/DisabilityEtiquette.shtml

And think of a question to ask the other members of your group

Very Important Passengers
Commercially important passengers
• Executives of corporate firms who use one specific
airline for all their business.
• One who contributes the most revenue for an airline
• eg – Barclays use British Airways
 Medical conditions
• Airlines can accommodate passengers with certain
medical conditions such as

• Those requiring oxygen

• Those with broken limbs
Unaccompanied Minors
Families with young children
• Extension seatbelts
• Bulkhead seats
• Bassinets
• Bottle warming
Passengers with disabilities
 Nervous passengers
• Choice of seat ie- window or aisle
• Crew to talk over take-off and landing, noise levels,
turbulence, etc
• Reassurance
 Special diets
• Airlines can meet the needs of those customers with
dietary requirements
• VGML
• VLML
• KSML
• MOML
• DBML
 Special requirements
• Religious
• More legroom
• Extension seatbelts for larger passengers
Airline Employee Standby Pax
Meeting customer’s needs -demographic

• Families • Business passengers

Cultural
• Ensuring that you are not causing offence to anyone through
not knowing certain behaviours are part of their culture e.g.
not eating certain food or clothing
Special requirements
• Foods e.g. nut allergies – ensure no items containing nuts are
served on the plane
• Visually impaired passengers - Introduce to cabin crew count
rows to emergency exit
• Seats with extra leg room for PRM’s if not by an emergency
exit. Tall people may also request extra leg room.
Products and services
• Flights
• Food and beverages
• Car parking
• Children’s services
• Disabled facilities
• Frequent flyer clubs
• Range of ticket types
• Special cargo services
• Medical services
Explain the
importance of
meeting customer
needs based on
expectations, e.g
perceived needs
Explain the importance of
meeting customer needs
• To the organisation

• Customer loyalty
• Promotes positive image
• Attracts new customers
• Gains competitive advantage
• Improves staff morale
• Keeping existing customers satisfied
• Increasing customers’ loyalty
• Ensuring repeat business
• Enhancing an organisation’s image
• Providing an edge over the competition
• Increasing sales and usage by attracting new customers
• The consequences of poor customer service for the customer, the staff and
the organisation
Importance to the employee
• A happier working
environment
• Job satisfaction
• Higher self esteem
• Possibility of promotion
• Good team spirit
• Clear guidelines
• Job satisfaction
• Incentives & possibility of
promotion
• Praise & thanks
Safe, Secure & Happy Working
Environment
• If the Airline is run efficiently, the customers
are happy …..

• If the customers are happy – the staff are

too ….

• Your workforce is the heart of your business

• Front-line staff are the window of your

company

• Unhappy staff reflect an unhealthy business

Explain the importance of
meeting customer needs
• To the customer

• Satisfaction
• Loyalty
• Inform others

• Meeting individual customers’ needs

• Exceeding customers expectations

• Safe and secure environment for internal and external
customers
Customer Loyalty
• Customer Satisfaction leads to customer loyalty…

• It costs 3 times more to gain a new customer as it does to

keep an existing one.

• It makes sense to keep your customer happy….

Customer Loyalty …….
• Means repeat business …………….

• Repeat business means Airline organisations can make a profit

and be sustainable
Airline profitability
• Leads to re-investment and improved standards of customer
service

• It also means airlines can be innovative in a highly volatile and

competitive aviation market
Recap of P3 – Quiz
• Q1: Name two facilities offered for families with young
children
• Q2: Name two ways of meeting the needs of a nervous
passenger
• Q3: Name two reasons why it is important to meet customers
needs
• Q4: How much more does it cost to gain new customers than
keep existing ones?
• Q5: Name three reasons meeting customer needs is important
to employees?