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The Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their customers online, today released the results of its Third Quarter 2005 Online Customer Respect Study of the largest Airline and Travel firms.

The study is the only one to bring objective measure to the analysis of corporate performance from an online customer’s perspective. It assigns a Customer Respect Index (CRI(TM)) rating to each company. The Customer Respect Index is a qualitative and quantitative in-depth analysis and independent measure of a customer’s online experience when interacting with companies via the Internet. Scores of 8.0 and above are considered excellent and show an admirable level of Customer Respect. Scores 4.0 and below are considered poor and are badly lacking in Customer Respect.

By interviewing a representative sample of the adult Internet population, and by analyzing and categorizing more than 2000 corporate Web sites across a spectrum of industries in detail, The Customer Respect Group has determined the attributes that combine to create the entire online customer experience. These attributes have been grouped together and measured as indicators of Simplicity (ease of navigation), Responsiveness (quick and helpful responses to inquiries), Privacy (respect for the privacy of the customer), Attitude (customer-focus of site), Transparency (open and honest policies) and Principles (values and respects customer data). Combined they measure a company’s overall Customer Respect.

Summary Results/Comparisons

Although a direct comparison is difficult because of the inclusion of industry-specific questions, the average CRI based on 660 surveys of corporate Web sites in various industries throughout 2004 was 5.9. Meanwhile, travel firms in this study scored 7.2 (versus 6.8 in the Q1 2005 report). By segment, car rental companies on average scored highest at 7.6, Web-based resellers and passenger transportation firms scored 7.3, hotels rated 7.1, airlines came in at 7.0 and cruise lines scored 6.7.

Nine Travel related Web sites received “excellent” CRI scores (8.0 and above), including Marriott International, Alaska Air Group, Enterprise, InterContinental Hotels Group, Northwest Airlines, Travelocity, US Airways Group, Avis and Orbitz.

Looking at the sectors in more detail, car rental companies overall were very good at responding to online inquiries but most likely to share personal data. Web-based resellers and passenger transportation firms were generally the least likely to share data. Airlines and cruise line were generally poor at responding to online questions while hotels scored lowest in Principles.
In terms of the speed and quality of the email responses, the companies in this report also compare very favorably. Only nine percent of inquiries were not answered. In addition, 69 percent of replies arrived within a day and 68 percent were very helpful.

However, the industry needs to improve in some key areas. In particular, the area of data sharing needs to be addressed. More companies in this report share data with business partners and third parties than the global average. In fact, some 38 percent either share information with outside parties or are unclear about their policies. This percentage remains consistent with the Q1 2005 report.

“We see the improvement in the travel industry as a direct result of competition. Hotels, airline and car rental companies are working very hard to attract direct bookings and circumvent the Web-based resellers,” said Terry Golesworthy, president of The Customer Respect Group. “In order to compete, the standard for customer respect simply had to be raised to gain trust from customers that were being asked to supply substantial amounts of personal information. The impact of privacy concerns is now one of the hot buttons in the travel industry.”

“While there have been improvements in many areas, such as Transparency of policies, Responsiveness and even Attitude, there is still a major unseen factor which is troubling,” said Anthony Naylor, director of research for The Customer Respect Group. “The sharing of personal information outside the organization is still too big a temptation for many travel companies. There really is an impact for those companies that continue this practice.”

The report conveys in great detail improvement opportunities for each company.
Web Sites that achieved an “Excellent” Customer Respect rating include the following:

Marriott International 8.4
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Alaska Air Group, Inc. 8.3
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Enterprise Car Rental 8.2
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InterContinental Hotels Group 8.2
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Northwest Airlines Corporation 8.2
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Travelocity 8.1
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US Airways Group 8.1
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Avis 8.0
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Orbitz 8.0

A sample of other findings for all surveyed firms include the following:

• Companies received the best average rating (8.0) for Transparency and Attitude and the worst (5.8) for Responsiveness.
• Some 26 percent of firms did not respond consistently or did not respond at all to online inquiries resulting in nine percent of all online inquiries being ignored.
• Looking at all inquiries made, including those ignored, 69 percent were answered within a day of being sent, considered to be the time limit that consumers will accept. Taken one level further and looking at the nature of the response, 39 percent were responded within the day and were considered helpful.
• Some 38 percent of firms are either unclear or share data with outside third parties or business partners.
• After personal data is collected, seven percent of sites provide no means to “opt out” of future marketing campaigns.
• Only 37 percent of firms always use SSL or Https forms consistently to provide security when collecting personal data.
• Only 20 percent of the firms provide an FAQ, site search and a site map to assist the customer self serve.

Posted under Customer Service

Passengers will be able to use two different kinds of portable oxygen concentrator units onboard commercial aircraft under a new regulation published by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The two devices, manufactured by AirSep Corporation and Inogen, Inc., do not use compressed oxygen, which the government classifies as a hazardous material. They work by filtering nitrogen from the air and delivering oxygen in concentrated form to the user.

“This final rule addresses a critical need to improve accessibility for people who must travel with medical oxygen,” said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. “If the equipment doesn’t pose a safety hazard, there’s no reason passengers shouldn’t be able to use it aboard their flight.”

The new regulation gives air carriers the ability to let passengers use the two types of portable oxygen concentrators during all phases of a flight, including taxiing on the airport, takeoff and landing. It also lets passengers operate their units while moving about the cabin whenever the captain turns off the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign. However, before any passenger may use a portable oxygen concentrator device, carriers must first ensure the model does not cause interference with the electrical, navigation or communication equipment on the aircraft.

Other safety-related conditions must be met in order for these oxygen devices to be allowed onboard aircraft. For example, passengers must ensure the unit is in good working order and they must be able to act in response to the unit’s warning alarms. They also must protect extra batteries in carry-on baggage from short circuits and physical damage.

The new rule marks the first time passengers will be able to use their own medical oxygen devices aboard an airliner. The only other way for passengers to use medical oxygen is to have the air carrier provide the equipment, which many do at a charge to the passenger, although Department of Transportation rules do not require it. The Department soon will issue a related notice of proposed rulemaking to further address the carriage and use of oxygen devices by passengers on commercial flights.

Posted under Travel