This research, featured in the July Unisys R2A Scorecard report, found that a large majority of U.S. consumers believe customer service is the number one factor for establishing and maintaining their trust in an airline.
The study underscores the challenge the aviation industry faces as it deals with what the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) calls one of the busiest summer travel seasons ever. The problems of trust and consumer service are made more complex by the past six years of record losses as the industry has seen huge changes in the basic business model.
“Our research indicates that the most important factors in helping an airline maintain consumer trust are predictability and dependability, both of which have been significantly diminished in the wake of mounting delays and cancellations during the first half of 2007,” said Ron Kuhlmann, vice president in the Global Transportation group at Unisys. “It is increasingly evident that passengers lose faith in airlines when air travel becomes an unpleasant, stressful experience.”
The Unisys research, which polled more than 1,200 consumers across the U.S., asked opinions about 28 key factors that establish and maintain their trust in airlines. Respondents rated customer service (77 percent), ethical behavior (73 percent), quality (71 percent) and thought leadership (69 percent) at the top of the list, demonstrating the need for airlines to create a positive intellectual connection with passengers to earn and maintain their trust.
Consistent with current events, two out of three (68 percent) passengers ranked safety/security high on the list, proving that trust in airport and airline security are as important as ever to the air travel experience.
Interestingly, consumers felt that many attributes that are routinely promoted by major air carriers, such as market share and fleet size, were largely irrelevant as important factors in building trustworthy and loyal relationships between passengers and airlines.
“In cost-cutting efforts to increase profit margins, airlines may perhaps be looking at the wrong metrics and making too many sacrifices in customer service,” Kuhlmann said. “Our research shows that service is directly linked to how people feel about an airline. By focusing more on service, airlines can better instill consumer trust which ultimately is critical to any carrier’s success. This is especially true as fare differentials narrow.”
The research is part of the ongoing global Unisys Trusted Enterprise study which explores key factors that both build and erode trust in companies and government agencies, while examining related security and privacy issues. The research showed that, based on a list of 30 industry groups, consumers rank airlines as one of the top five least trusted industries. U.S. respondents cited healthcare, retail banking and brokerage firms as among the most trusted industries.
Next Generation of Air Travel
The Unisys Trusted Enterprise research also found that consumers are becoming more accepting of new, lower-cost carriers. Only two out of five (36 percent) respondents claim they have more trust in an airline based on its longevity in the market.
The Unisys research also revealed that there is an ever-widening gap between expectation and performance when it comes to air travel. In an ongoing drive to cut costs, airlines have automated numerous processes that used to require agent interface. These innovations have generally been well accepted by the public. However, the downside comes when unexpected events happen and carriers have inadequate staffing available to facilitate recovery. The research showed that many airlines have done a poor job in making customers feel that they can be relied on to provide adequate service in bad times as well as times of ordinary operations.Unisys news
