I was delayed on a United flight recently where we had to return to the airport after take-off due to a software issue. It did not pose a risk but the pilot did not think it prudent to proceed on a five hour flight without the technicians resolving what was wrong. He went as far as to speculate on the PA system that the a restarting the software might be sufficient but for that we did have to turn back. Along the way, we were given multiple status updates and how much longer before we could be back up in air.
The pilot was in fact right - we got the computer re-started, got re-fueled and got on our way. The whole thing caused a two and a half hour delay but having a long layover, I still made my connection. Others were not quite as fortunate and decided to deplane. A negative experience generally but the over-sharing of information was a positive for sure. The app is a significant improvement and tries to be helpful. Does it address every last passenger need and want, maybe not but it is far more informative than it used to be.
The way the United CEO describes the evolution of their customer experience makes sense;
For years, I’ve asked our teams to pretend that I’m on the flight and have called and asked why there’s a delay. I want them to proactively tell customers exactly the same thing that they would tell me.
That’s been easy for me to say but really, really difficult to do given the complexity and real-time nature of the flight network. Technology is moving this closer and closer to reality.
Our teams are using gen AI to help write the real-time text updates we send customers whose flights have been delayed, and for those customers impacted by weather we’re now including a radar map that shows how it’s affecting flights. We’re the first and only U.S. airline providing these kinds of specific messages and sending them with assistance from gen AI tools.
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