Record breaking winter half-term air travel, with almost 30 per cent more passengers flying long-haul compared to last year, was rounded off by a 15 per cent spike this Sunday, according to Gatwick Airport. Airlines and online travel agencies are turning to digital solutions amidst pressure to capitalise on these busy periods and meet customer demand.

 Sunday, the busiest day for travel providers, saw longer queues, crowded airports and disrupted flight schedules, as one in four UK flights are delayed. This will leave a high number of Brits owed compensation.

Complicated fare rules make the process of calculating compensation an arduous one: over 85 per cent of the requests arising from flights being disrupted require customer agents to go through these rules. Travel providers are turning towards next generation technology to ensure smoother communication and faster resolution of complicated compensation claims during disruptions.

Bhupender Singh, CEO of global BPO Intelenet® Global Services, comments:  “Manually checking Global Distribution Systems and other reference points is a time and effort intensive process which is prone to errors and retail losses that impact the overall end-customer satisfaction. Next generation automation tools take away the headache from travel agents to look through detailed fare rules so they can focus their attention on customer needs. A single interface allows contact centre agents to have easy access to all the required data which carries valuable information in one place so they can effectively fulfil customer requests.”

Bhupender continues: “Digitisation is transforming the travel industry both in the way customers manage their travel plans, but also how travel providers themselves cater to the customers. In an “always connected” world, customers expect fast results and smoother communication.  During busy travel periods, attention to customer care is more important than ever and automation tools can monitor and track a higher volume of customer requests across multiple Global Distribution Systems and airline websites.”