For almost two years, Israeli carrier El al AL continued to operate in the Hamas War of Israel. At the AIRLINE Passenger Experience Association meeting held in Long Beach, California last week, airline editor Robert Silk talked about the challenging situation with El Al Senior vice president of customer service and experience.
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cue: During the war, US airlines have cut or stopped Tel Aviv’s services, while nearly 40% of the flights to the United States. Explain the sharp difference.
no way: El Al is not a general airline. It is a airline with a task of keeping Israeli from Israeli citizens openly. And North America for us is a strategic destination. This is because 40%of our flights are made of North America because they have a strong relationship with the huge Jewish community between Israel and the United States. We have recently always always dramatically flights to JFK and LA.
cue: Have you seen a chance to overcome United, Delta and American customers in the US airline’s Israeli service?
no way: In English, there is no second chance in the first impression. We look forward to a specific level of service if there is a global service status with United. When you come to us, compare the comfort of the seat, compare the way food is provided, and compare the way the team handles inquiries. First of all, we know that we can believe that our flight will run even if we have missiles or alerts. Whatever the situation, we will not leave you without a solution. We will make sure you can travel safely to your home.
cue: Did you have to change your customer experience because of conflict?
no way: yes. In the past, customers would have wanted self -service. Everyone in this meeting will talk about AI and talk to the machine. But when the war began, people wanted to talk to people. EL AL has 6,000 employees. They all process customer services. People will say that it is a slogan. But we are the only airlines that CEO’s phone number and VPS are offered to our customers. And we are replying. You can send a message and receive a response from the CEO and VPS. In general, the call center has 300,000 inquiries a month and 600 people should apply. In the situation, there were two to three million inquiries a month.
cue: What has changed in the flexibility policy since the beginning of the war?
no way: We changed everything. We have expanded the voucher to two years unless the situation is certain. We reduce the change fee and are more flexible. Our plane is full of these days, but we try to do our best for customers and state holders. Every day we analyze the situation. If you suddenly expand and say that the customer does not feel safe, you can get a voucher or a refund.
cue: In the second quarter, 93%of the load coefficients were very high. In the US market, there is less competitive than in the past. How does this factor affect the onboard service?
no way: In this situation you can invest less and say, ‘I’m full.’ But we acted differently. We put other crew members and more people on the ground on each flight. We upgraded the meal with Michelin-STAR CHEF Assaf Granit, increased in-flight entertainment, and renovated the lounge at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. We can show that we are doing our best even if there is little competition for existing and new customers. We have many things to change and many things to improve. But we are always in the chain of improvement. The reader can send an email directly to teloren@elal.co.il. They can share their thoughts, feedback and complaints.
