Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, January 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
CEO of Hamburg Airport Michael Eggenschwiler discussed the challenges of engaging in communication between the airport and passengers, as well as the reasons for attending the Hamburg Aviation Conference (excerpt).
(Image: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150120/725529)
Michael Eggenschwiler said: “I believe airports must learn to connect with their customers, because they spend quite a bit of time at the airport before boarding or after disembarking. So, the better we understand them, the better service we can provide.”
“As far as I know, few airports take this approach. If airlines are acting in the interest of their customers, they also want to offer them excellent ground services before boarding or after disembarking... I know this is not an easy task ahead of us. For the benefit of passengers, we must share passenger data in the same way we share operational data among airports, airlines, and ground services.”
Asked at HAC: “If you had this kind of data, what would you do with it?”
Eggenschwiler responded: “I would provide passengers with smooth transportation services at the airport, inform them about available parking areas at the time, tell them where the most convenient security checkpoints are, or where they can find coffee, drinks, and food deals. I could also guide them to the departure gates.”
Asked at HAC: “What can airports learn from other industries in terms of customer service and loyalty?”
Eggenschwiler said: “Listening to passengers and truly understanding their needs is crucial. I think we’re too confident that we already know what our customers want, but if we were truly sincere, we wouldn’t think that. We need to engage in dialogue to understand the real needs of customers and passengers — and other industries are ahead of us in doing this.”
Asked at HAC: “Why should industry experts attend the Hamburg Aviation Conference?”
Eggenschwiler added: “They should attend because I believe this conference brings together people and experts both inside and outside the aviation industry very well. Anyone who attends will learn a lot and will definitely be able to take relevant ideas back to apply in their own companies.”
This interview was conducted by Andreas Spaeth .
The event was organized by the professional consulting firm XXL Solutions. Marketing partners include Hamburg Airport, Airbus, ICLP (a global marketing agency), Lumexis (USA), and Guest Logix (Canada).
Website: http://www.hamburgaviationconference.com, follow the conference: @hamburgaviation