Customer Relationship Management at British Airways

This assignment delves into the customer relationship management (CRM) practices of British Airways. It discusses the ways in which BA acquires the right customers, including using iPads to identify passenger profiles on Google Images. The adoption of best CRM practices is also examined, with a focus on how technology has enhanced customer relationships in the airline industry. Change requirements for customer satisfaction are proposed, including increasing security measures and enhancing food and beverage services on board flights.

Running head: RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Relationship Management
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Contents
History of British Airline and its current identification...................................................................2
Description of three quality dimensions of British Airways...........................................................2
Evaluation of sales funnels of British Airways...............................................................................4
Explain the main differences between low cost customers and the regular airline customers........4
Ways of acquiring right customers for BA......................................................................................5
Adoption of best CRM practices for BA.........................................................................................6
Change Requirements for satisfaction of BA customer..................................................................6

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History of British Airline and its current identification
British Airways PLC is the company which is established in 1974 under the British
Overseas Airways Corporation, BEA and the related organizations. This company is privatized
in the year 1987. They have their major subsidiaries which include the BA City Flyer which
provides services in the UK and continental Europe and Open Skies which have the service from
Paris and New York City. It is all started from the year 1924 where the four companies were
collaborated together to develop Imperial Airways Ltd (Abratt, Russell, and Michela Mingione
129-139) which is considered as one of the pioneers of the international travel routes. It is also
seen that three other airlines has developed in 1936 and it is integrated to develop BA for
handling the domestic and the northern European flights. In the year 1938 the government has
decided to get collaborated with Imperial Airways and BA. This results in the development of
BOAC and formed in 1939.
BA in this current era is trying to focus and provide the services to each and every
corners of the world. Firstly when it was started it has been serving only the premium customers
or the regular airline customers. With the fierce completion to be taken place within the airline
industry and the development of many low cost airline companies operating in UK as well in the
global market, the company is trying to focus on the mainstream or the low cost customers who
are not the elite customers. So there is a shift from one customer profile to another in this era of
operations for BA to be taken place.

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Description of three quality dimensions of British Airways
It is very much important that quality service is the basic and the most important priority
which is taken into consideration in this airline industry. There is the need of providing an
improved and high quality services to the customers so that they can compete with the low cost
airlines developing their mark and penetrating quite quickly within the airline industry. So it is
obvious that for the improved quality, the service quality needs t be measured at a constant basis.
There are three dimensions on which the service quality will be measured. The three quality
dimensions which are taken into account are proposed below
Technical Quality- The technical quality is related with the technical functionalities and
the operations of how BA has been focusing on making the technical side strong enough to
provide high quality and effective services to the customers. BA is primarily focusing on the
development and continuous up gradation of the CRM technology which they found it effective
for their technical loopholes to be eliminated from the operations (He, Hong-Wei and John MT
Balmer 72-90). BA is competing in this market with the other airline operators’ through rolling
out the CRM. This CRM software is useful in supporting the marketing activities of BA in order
to engage the customers more with BA and for making the operations to be improved. BA tries
to run their commercial and marketing activities through one platform by which the decision
making process for BA could be improved.
Functional Quality-This is basically the way the service is provided it to the customers.
The functional quality involves the services like the high satisfaction, investment to be made on
the functional quality is basically for the organizations where the technical quality is quite same
among the competitors. BA is currently providing the best customer experience with the
implementation of the text and mobile services given on board for the business class customers.

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They have been conducting the programs like the Customer First in order to provide them the
best experience and the satisfaction for the customers. BA has also been introducing their own
featured films by which they could be able to provide top quality customer experience. With the
featured films and their high presence in the social media, they can be able to get engaged or
reconnected with the customers.
Corporate Image-This is the dimension which is affecting the services given by any
organizations. So this is the dimension which is required to measure. The corporate image of BA
could be improved and sustained by providing innovative ads to reach out to the various
customers and other people in the society (Karami, Azhdar 46-64). It is also seen that there is the
development of the campaign TV ad which as featured in the social networking sites like in
Facebook and it is also shown as the premiere on Channel 4.
Evaluation of sales funnels of British Airways
The sales funnel for British Airways is basically the marketing campaigns and the film
they have launched in order to engage with their customers as well with their staffs. The launch
of the campaigns in the social media helps in reengaging the customers and the development of
the CRM technology is the basic sales funnel for BA (Cornelissen, Joep and Joep Cornelissen p.
36)
Explain the main differences between low cost customers and the regular airline customers
The differences between the low cost customers and the regular airline customers are
depicted below
Aspects Regular Airline Customers Low Cost Customers

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Service Quality The regular airline customers
get top class service quality.
The low cost customers do not
get the best of the services
Costs of Flights The regular airline customers
have higher income level so
they do not involve in
negotiation.
The low cost customers have
to negotiate with the cost.
Facilities The regular airline customers
always get the best and wide
range of facilities.
The low cost customers need t
be satisfied only with the basic
facilities to be provided to
them.
Level of Comfort The level of comfort is good The level of comfort is bad.
Ways of acquiring right customers for BA
There are various ways by which BA has been acquiring the right customers for them.
The acquiring of right customers indicates that knowing the right brand. So BA has taken a giant
leap in knowing in depth and they also act on the information they get real time for them. They
are using iPads as well the looking up the pictures of the passengers on Google Images. BA is
also providing their staffs the devices for seeking the right customers. BA has been launched a
system Know Me which provides the single view of every customer and their histories with the
airline which is basically accessed by the on board staffs in flights as well in the airports
(Biraghi, Silvia and Rossella Chiara Gambetti 260-283). BA also gathers all the different
information of their customers through the effective use of website, call centers, emails, on board
flights and from inside the airports.

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Adoption of best CRM practices for BA
When it comes to the adoption of best practices I think that the CRM software and the
innovation in technology in this current ear of competitiveness within the airline industry have
been useful for customer relationship management.
Change Requirements for satisfaction of BA customer
From the reviews of the customers observed, I would try to increase the security for the
business class customers. I would also love to enhance the food and beverage services on boards
and the cleanliness is an important factor in providing satisfaction to the customers. I will make
the flights very much cleaned and well equipped so that I can be able to provide high quality
customer satisfaction.
From the reviews of the staffs observed, I would like to make the changes in the shifts of
the staffs. The working culture is not so good and I would like to make the culture much more
friendly and fun loving.

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References
Mills, Albert J. "Man/Aging Subjectivity, Silencing Diversity: Organizational Imagery in the
Airline Industry. The Case of British Airways☆." Insights and Research on the Study of Gender
and Intersectionality in International Airline Cultures. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2017. 367-
392.
Cornelissen, Joep, and Joep P. Cornelissen. Corporate communication: A guide to theory and
practice. Sage, 2017.
Tckhakaia, Ekaterina, Ignazio Cabras, and Sergio Assis Rodrigues. "Knowledge management in
airline industry: Case study from the British airways." International Conference e-Society. 2015.
Karami, Azhdar. "Corporate strategy: evidence from British Airways plc." The Changing
Patterns of Human Resource Management. Routledge, 2017. 46-64.
Abratt, Russell, and Michela Mingione. "Corporate identity, strategy and change." Journal of
Brand Management 24.2 (2017): 129-139.
Hanlon, Annmarie. "British Airways: a case study in social media management." The Business &
Management Collection(2017).

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He, Hong-Wei, and John MT Balmer. "Alliance Brands: Building Corporate Brands through
Strategic Alliances?." Advances in Corporate Branding. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2017. 72-
90.
Biraghi, Silvia, and Rossella Chiara Gambetti. "Corporate branding: Where are we? A systematic
communication-based inquiry." Journal of Marketing Communications 21.4 (2015): 260-283.
Hill, Nigel, and John Brierley. How to measure customer satisfaction. Routledge, 2017.