How airports can manage passenger experience in Corona pandemic

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    Coronavirus Travel: What Does Hospitality Mean Now?

    I want to tell you about my recent passenger experience. Earlier this week, I traveled to New Orleans from JFK Terminal 5 in New York. I had planned an airport conference a few months ago. Although many colleagues chose not to travel, I decided to support my former employer and fly JetBlue Airways. So, how does coronavirus impact travel and passenger experience? Some of the answers are obvious. However, some of the more emotional impacts on passenger experience came as a surprise.

    Desolation in the Passenger Experience

    The desolate airport experience made my heart sink. The security lines that are usually packed with early morning travelers to the Caribbean and the Dominican Republic were desolate. Never have I seen the airport so empty. If you want to know how desolate I mean, let’s put it this way. I bought a cup of coffee at Starbucks without standing in line. In the morning. At JFK. As you can imagine, that made me feel like the world is ending!
    passenger experience airport empty starbucks line

    COVID-19 On Passenger Minds

    Coronavirus is clearly on our customers’ minds regardless of how it plays into our own thoughts about travel. The impact on travel is felt everywhere. People are not traveling. Period.
    So what do we, travel and hospitality organizations, do about that? Nothing. Nothing at all. We do not send marketing emails to our customers. We do not cancel flights. Nor do we lose our composure and act out within our operations.
    This is hard. Doing nothing. But the thing we must keep at the forefront of our minds is our customers’ mindset. Not ours.  People have different risk profiles, different fears, and different backgrounds. All these things will define how they coexist with the daily reminders that public health is in some danger. For passenger experience, empathy is the name of the game, yet again.

    Employees Matter

    Remember, empathy is not limited to customer experience design. Since you are exercising the value of caring to your customers, apply the same approach to your employees. They too have different fear profiles. And they are likely to react to the Coronavirus situation in unpredictable ways. Keep these employees in mind when you design your new (temporary) normal.
    For example, we all have emergency response protocols that have been enabled over the weekend. But these protocols are not necessarily built specifically for a situation like Coronavirus. So, revisiting protocols and ensuring employee experience is considered in protocol design is a good step.
    What if, for instance, your employees CANNOT work from home? Maybe they do not have the stable internet connection required to do their job. Or maybe they have toddlers or a newborn at home. Now is a good time to engage with the local community. See if there is an adjacent industry in need that is getting slammed by the Coronavirus. Now, think of how you and your teams can help.  Doing this simultaneously engages your employees, alleviates fear of the unknown, and renews a sense of purpose and belonging.

    Colleagues and Business Partners Matter

    Remember to extend your kindness and caring to colleagues and business partners, in addition to your customers and employees. At a time like this, communication is the most important tool in your kit. Update your customers, colleagues, and business partners on your plans. And share any changes to the way you typically do business.
    This helps to keep your customers, colleagues, partners, and employees  more connected with you. And that sense of connection is more important now than ever.

    Design Scenarios Save Passenger Experience

    When the financial crisis happened in 2008, banks found themselves without well thought out plans for a variety of stress scenarios related to liquidity. One job I had for Royal Bank of Canada was to design exactly that. It is the most practical business exercise that brings control and choice back to the business owner.
    Moreover, it can be particularly beneficial for travel organizations. What would happen to soft revenues for 6 months, a year, or if they end tomorrow? Will you have the liquidity and cash to maintain your business? Now is the time to be vigilant about cash management. Now is also the time to find ways to delay the cash outflow of your business.
    passenger experience empty jfk airport lobby coronavirus
    Coronavirus is here. And it will be with us for awhile. Regardless of this new environment we live in, we all need to make sure to keep caring and hospitality top of mind for passenger experience. Continue to empathize with and take care of your passengers. Regardless of what that means today. They will remember it tomorrow. Today is one of the best moments to create a meaningful connection with your customers.

    Yes, COVID-19 Will Impact Travel, but We Can Help

    The elevated sense of fear drives the need to be part of a community. Be that community and you will win in the face of Coronavirus!

    Liliana Petrova, CCXP

    Published on 03/12/2020

    Liliana Petrova, CCXP

    Liliana Petrova CCXP pioneered a new customer-centric culture that energized more than 15,000 JetBlue employees. Future Travel Experience & Popular Science awarded her for her  JFK Lobby redesign & facial recognition program. Committed to creating seamless experiences for customers and greater value for brands, she founded The Petrova Experience, an international customer experience consulting firm that helps brands improve CX. To elevate the industry, she launched a membership program to help CX professionals grow their careers. Ms Petrova lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

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