Passenger rights and customer care
Day two, Thursday 16 April.
The second, and final day, of the Regional Airline Conference 2015 (RAC2015) started with what was bound to be a controversial session – the real cost of EU Regulation 261/2004. Chaired by Jesper Rungholm, president and CEO, Danish Air Transport, panellists included Jean-Louis Colson, head of unit for consumer rights at the European Commission, Martin Isler, executive vice president and COO of Luxair, and Jeremy Robinson, legal director Hill Dickinson.
Rungholm introduced the session by saying the one thing he feared in the aviation business is EU 261/2004. “Having to pay people a lottery compensation” is ridiculous,” he commented.
Colson explained that the Commission had tried to alleviate the burden of EU261 on airlines – taking into account their criticisms of the regulation. The audience and airline panellists, however, were less than convinced.
Potential claims
Isler spoke on behalf of many airlines when he said that the potential claims resulting from EU261 could completely eradicate an airline’s profits. He agreed that decisions about revisions to the regulation need to go ahead but he said that they must be clearly defined and in a format that is tolerable for regional carriers. “A regulation that puts small carriers at risk cannot be allowed,” Isler commented.
Robinson argued that defining what the will of the European travelling public is with regards to EU261 is crucial. No-one should be second-guessing what it is they want from the regulation, he advised. The general public must be made aware of the consequences of the regulation, he explained, and its potential consequences for them if airlines could not operate under its ruling.
The actual cost of the regulation is a huge bone of contention and the audience dismissed Colson’s claim that the results of a survey that had indicated it would be in the region of between just one and three euros per passenger. However, Colson replied that, as only a small number of airlines had taken part in the survey, airlines were not helping themselves in providing detail as to why the regulation would cause them such hardship.
Other points to come out of this session was that connectivity needs to be looked at on a route-by-route basis, that airlines need to provide specific data about claims where possible and that there is a clash between the desires of the European Parliament and European Council regards the regulation.
Simple solutions
Airlines were adamant that they are very aware that if airlines aren’t treated well they will lose customers. Simple solutions with proper proportionality regards passenger compensation and clarity as to what defines an extraordinary circumstance are key to the regulation’s success. “What matters to passenger is not compensation but to get the destination on time,” said one delegate.
Colson was urged that the priority of airlines is to fly safety and fly on time and that they want to work with the European Commission as partners. The audience asked him to go to the Commission and come back with a solution to the plea that airlines just want to survive. Colson said that he hoped an agreement re revisions to EU261 would be in place by the end of the Latvian Presidency.
Customer care
Hamish Taylor closed RAC2015 with a vibrant, informative and amusing session on putting the customer at the centre of a business. He shared the lessons that he has learnt throughout his long and successful career which has included head of brand management at British Airways and CEO of Eurostar and Sainsbury’s Bank.
The audience was surprised by his use of props during his presentation which included socks and shampoo bottles and his message clearly resonated with the audience: changing the way that we think about customers and what we understand about them reaps rewards.
“Immerse yourself in the customer’s world,” he advised, “use the language they use and understand the barriers they have to deal with their daily lives. Customer knowledge gives you the edge over your competitor.”
For a more detailed report on RAC2015 please see the May/June issue of Regional International.