About the author:
Tamara Maleta,
Project Manager of customer support team at the aviation project.
Simply Contact
The aviation industry is no stranger to volatility. Seasonal surges in passenger demand, unexpected disruptions, regulatory changes, and many other factors have a direct impact on customer service operations. Airlines need to manage an increased number of calls and a growing volume of messages across all available channels, which puts enormous pressure on support teams.
In a dynamic environment like this, providing consistent and high-quality customer support becomes a serious challenge. But at the same time, it can become your strongest competitive advantage. And you can’t miss this chance to stand out.
Is it possible to predict peaks in airline support?
Based on my practical experience, not all disruptions are predictable. For example, you can’t foresee with 100% accuracy when all flights will be cancelled due to weather conditions. However, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make predictions.
Effective forecasting relies on:
- Historical data;
- Real-time signals such as live booking trends, flight disruptions, and support centre metrics;
- External indicators like holidays, geopolitical events, fuel prices, etc.
Working with such data, you will be able to find out not only when spikes happen but also why. Understanding patterns enables smarter staffing, faster response, and better service, which results in higher customer loyalty.
How airlines can handle the increased demand
Forecasting makes sense only when it leads to action. All insights should be turned into service and staffing solutions adjusted to the changing market needs.
There are several approaches that airlines can combine to achieve outstanding results.
- Smart workforce planning. Rigid staffing models don’t work in a volatile industry. Aviation companies should have full-time, part-time, and cross-trained customer support staff. It’s vital to scale teams efficiently without overhiring or underutilising resources.
- Automation. Chatbots and virtual assistants, along with self-service tools, significantly reduce the load on agents and streamline customer response. They can handle standard inquiries related to flight status, baggage, and check-ins. Meanwhile, human agents can focus on more complex requests.
- Outsourcing. It can be quite challenging (if even possible) to handle seasonal spikes only with your in-house resources without sacrificing quality. Therefore, it has already become a standard for airlines to work with outsourcing CX partners.
Aviation’s highs and lows: Whitepaper
At Simply Contact, we realise how critical it is to maintain customer trust and satisfaction when demand spikes.
To help airlines navigate turbulence and adapt to challenging conditions, we prepared a whitepaper that shows how demand spikes impact airline customer support and why poor workforce planning can put your reputation at risk.
We spoke with leading aviation CX experts to outline approaches and practical strategies for boosting resilience and improving service consistency in a fast-changing environment.
Whether you are facing unpredictable demand, experiencing staffing challenges, or feel the need to scale support across multiple channels, this whitepaper will be of great help. It offers practice-based, comprehensive guidance for your teams to stay prepared, responsive, and customer-focused regardless of the external conditions.
Download the whitepaper today and discover how to turn peak seasons into a CX advantage.
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