Airlines' Cross-Channel Experience, 2008

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large US airlines — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Air Lines. As an industry, airlines earned the highest average score, but only American Airlines earned a passing score in one of the channels, IVR. While each airline suffered from a different set of problems, our analysis also uncovered a number of good practices, such as United's extensive IVR functionality, Delta's clear language on the Web, and American Airlines' phone-to-Web transition. To improve multichannel experiences, customer experience professionals should conduct regular reviews of their own sites, focus on the specific needs of target users, and establish a voice of the customer program.