A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service. Colin C. Law

      

      A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AIRLINE

      CUSTOMER SERVICE

      A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO AIRLINE

      CUSTOMER SERVICE

      From Airline Operations

      to Passenger Services

      Colin C. Law

      Stamford International University

      Hua Hin Campus

      A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service:

      From Airline Operations to Passenger Services

      Copyright © 2018 Colin C. Law

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

      BrownWalker Press/Universal Publishers, Inc.

      Irvine • Boca Raton

      USA • 2018

       www.brownwalkerpress.com

      978-1-62734-693-1 (pbk.)

      978-1-62734-694-8 (ebk.)

      Edited by Doris Wai

      Cover design by Ivan Popov

      Typeset by Medlar Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd, India

      Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      provided by Five Rainbows Cataloging Services

      Name: Law, Colin C.

      Title: A practical guide to airline customer service: from airline operations to passenger services/Colin C. Law.

      Description: Irvine, CA: BrownWalker, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2017958088 | ISBN 978-1-62734-693-1 (pbk.)

      | ISBN 978-1-62734-694-8 (ebook)

      Subjects: LCSH: Airlines--Customer services. | Airlines--Management.

      | Consumer satisfaction. | BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Customer Relations.

      | BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Industries/Hospitality, Travel & Tourism.

      Classification: LCC HE9780 .L39 2018 (print) | LCC HE9780 (ebook) | DDC 387.7--dc23.

      Table of Contents

       Preface

       About the Author

       Acknowledgments

      Chapter 1 Introduction

      Chapter 2 Theory of Communication

      Chapter 3 The Basics of Customer Care

      Chapter 4 Customer Care Guidelines

      Chapter 5 Airline Customer Service Policies

      Chapter 6 Understanding Customer Behavior

      Chapter 7 The Airline Customer Contact Center

      Chapter 8 Customer Service at the Airport

      Chapter 9 In the Aircraft Cabin

      Chapter 10 Handling Customer Complaints

      Chapter 11 Evaluating Customer Service

      Chapter 12 Selling Techniques and Contemporary Customer Service

       Index

      Preface

      A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service is written for airline executives, university lecturers and undergraduate students who are preparing for jobs in the service industry related to airline operations. Professionals who are currently working at airports or hotels can benefit from this book through understanding the importance of customer services within the airline and the service industry. This book primarily focuses on the customer service aspects of airline services. These include basic operations, essential communication skills, and how airline staff should interact with passengers at every contact point of their travel process.

      This book provides an insight to the theory of customer service skills and communication skills, as well as customer service techniques utilized at three main customer touchpoints: the reservation center, at the airport and in the aircraft cabin.

      A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service is designed to complement airline companies’ existing training programs. The key functions of this book are: 1) create students’ interest in a career in this field, 2) provide the critical technical knowledge to prepare students for quick assimilation of specific carrier and customer service skills, and 3) develop the essential mindset one needs in order to excel in this field of service.

      The first four chapters of the book outline the theory of communication, background knowledge of customer service and customer care, the airline policy of consumer protection and customer behavior.

      The first chapter discusses the importance of customer service in the airline industry and explains the changes in the industry of transportation industry and its effect on the customer service industry. Chapter 2 of the book looks into the theory of communication. Chapters 3 and 4 explain the theory and the guidelines of customer care as well as some techniques that service agents can use to interact with customers. Chapter 5 details consumer protection policies that regulate the airline industry, whilst chapter 6 explores the different types of customers and their unique characteristics.

      The second section of the book focuses on the service techniques at different touchpoints where airline service staff interact with customers.