the ba way in the marketplace customers - British Airways

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ased on an on-board customer survey andaugmented by a follow-up telephone survey thatpicks up the arrival elements of the customer’sjourney. The data is subject to auditing and checksby GfK NOP (the independent market researchcompany) to ensure its accuracy and independence.The customer recommendation measure is based onthe percentage of customers who, when surveyed,would strongly recommend us to friends orcolleagues. We believe this measure provides animportant link between customer experience andfuture profitability. The target is 65% and this yearwe achieved 61% reflecting the impact of the August2005 summer disruption.the ability to check-in, allocate seats and print theirboarding cards, order special meals, book hotels andcar hire, manage their Executive Club accounts,search for information on the destination they arevisiting and find advice on wellbeing before, duringand after their flight. Customers can also makeenquiries and complaints via ba.com and, ifnecessary, trace any late-arriving baggage.A number of areas scored particularly highly incustomer satisfaction ratings. However, there aresome areas where customers say the airline mustimprove. The key issue for customers is making sureflights depart on time, especially at Heathrow.• customers rate cabin crew highly, with 83% ofpassengers saying they were extremely or verysatisfied with the service they received fromcabin crew (against a target of 83%).• overall satisfaction with booking on ba.com was83%, with leisure travellers and customers aged55 and over rating ba.com particularly highly.• overall customer satisfaction with flight departurewas 43% in February 2006ba.comOur website is central to our plans to make travellingwith the airline easier for customers.ba.com receives more than 20,000 visits every hour– roughly three times as many people as fly with theairline. Online bookings now account for 25% ofBA’s total bookings worldwide. The website wonthree major awards in 2005: Best Leisure TechnologyProject (CNET Technology Awards); Most EffectiveUse of IT (Information Age); Best Innovation(Business Travel Show).ba.com does far more than simply allowingcustomers to book and pay for tickets online. Thewebsite is designed to provide customers with anextensive range of services including up-to-theminuteinformation on flight arrivals and departures,Refinements to ba.com during the last 12 monthsinclude:• Enabling customers travelling to America toenter the Advance Passenger Information datarequired by the US authorities before arriving atthe airport;• Extending the availability of online boardingpasses to180 routes• Allowing customers to pay for tickets with creditcards billed in a country other than the originaldeparture point, and to book up to six sectors –for example, for round-the-world trips - in onetransaction.It’s About TimeTo deliver improved customer service the airlineacknowledges that it must also deliver betterpunctuality. ‘It’s about time’ is the name given to theairline’s drive on punctuality, introduced at the endof 2005. Significant focus is being placed on gettingeach day off to a good start. The ‘First Wave’ planstresses how vital it is that the first services of the dayleave on time to prevent knock-on delays disruptingthe later schedule.2005/06 Corporate Responsibility Report Page 2 of 6
IN-FLIGHT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTBritish Airways offers one of the airline industry’smost extensive ranges of in-flight cabins across itslonghaul and shorthaul networks.2005 focusing on quality of service style andconsistency of delivery.It is one of only two international airlines to offer fourcabins on longhaul flights and remains firmlycommitted to providing an economy and businessclass cabin on its mainline shorthaul operation. Itmeans the airline can offer a quality service and valuefor money fares for all customers.Club WorldThe airline announced in November 2005 that itwould invest £100 million in its Club World cabin,centring on the introduction of a new generation lieflatseat to be rolled out across the longhaul fleetfrom the summer of 2006. British Airways was thefirst airline to introduce a completely flat bed inbusiness class in 2000.The Club World Sleeper Service was extended to theWashington-Heathrow route in 2005. The service isdesigned to allow customers to maximise the amountof sleep on shorter longhaul ‘red eye’ flights from theEast coast of the USA and the Middle East by givingthem the opportunity to eat before boarding theflight. The service is proving popular with customerswho are able to sleep for up to two hours longer thanon flights with a traditional meal service onboard.In-Flight EntertainmentThe airline announced plans in 2005 to carry out amajor upgrade of the airline’s in-flight entertainmentsystems in all longhaul cabins. The introduction of‘audio, visual on-demand’ means that customers canselect a programme, film or music channel and stopor pause as they wish during the flight, depending onwhether they want to rest, eat or work. The initiative,to be implemented from summer 2006, will givecustomers more choice and greater flexibility bygiving them control over what they watch and when.Premium AcademyA new training programme for our cabin crew, the‘Premium Academy’, was introduced in NovemberBA ConnectIn January 2006, British Airways announced the relaunchof its regional wholly owned subsidiary,British Airways CitiExpress, as BA Connect.The launch of BA Connect was in response tochanges to the UK regional market to Europe andhas proved successful with more than 500,000people booking with the airline between February 1,2006 and the end of March – higher than in anyprevious year.BA Connect offers customers: a single-class cabin onall aircraft; high quality, buy onboard, hot and coldcatering, and year-round, one-way fares from as littleas £25. There is also an enhanced product, ‘BAConnect Plus’, designed for business and frequentflyers, offering changeable tickets with lounge access.2005/06 Corporate Responsibility Report Page 3 of 6
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