Airline agents going for graphical solutions – is it the beginning of a new era?

Today 12,000+ airline agents are using Amadeus Altéa Reservation Desktop Web, which is a new generation graphical user interface for booking, servicing and selling.

Three triggers explain this major change:

1. The high-turnover experienced in many call centres generates high training costs. Millennials, who are a web-based generation, are used to the ‘click’ button and ‘next/submit’ approach. It seems both complex and costly to train new airline agents in cryptic. Some airlines have done the math. Joan Sheridan, Customer Care & Staff Travel Manager, from CityJet (WX)

   a European based airline, explains they chose ARD Web for their new contact centre because all their agents were new to the company. Joan says “training those new agents on ARD Web will save us weeks. Our new agents will gain confidence while using Amadeus solutions efficiently and this will greatly benefit our CityJet customer experience.”

2. Altéa Reservation Desktop Web’s advanced features reduce non-value added tasks and boost the agent’s productivity through a range of time-saving features – such as guided & smart flows – designed to improve both the agent’s performance and their productivity, saving an airline’s time and money.
3. There is pressure on airline agents to differentiate their airline’s travel offers and sell ancillary products and services during the booking process. The GUI has an advantage for airline agents as they can see the full ancillary description and the combination of icons, colours, and images ease the booking process.

The new focus on merchandising provides an advantage to the GUI for airline agents. The graphical display engages with the traveller through rich content, such as pictures of seats, meals and other airline offers — playing an ever-increasing role in displaying and promoting airline travel offers.

It seems we’re at the beginning of a new era for airline agents. What do you think?