Hawaiian debuts industry-leading two-way texting for guests.
NEW YORK – LivePerson, Inc. a leading provider of cloud mobile and online business messaging solutions, is powering a new mobile messaging option at Hawaiian Airlines, giving travelers a simpler and faster way to connect with the airline. Two-way SMS messaging is an innovative and low-stress solution for passengers to receive personal customer service assistance, rather than the industry-standard voice call and IVR tree.
Until now, carriers have generally offered one-way texting – from the airline to the customer, without the ability to reply – which they use to send travelers flight updates, check-in times, gate changes, and other alerts. Two-way communication improves the guests' experience by allowing them to respond to texts, at their leisure, rather than call a reservations desk.
With this new offering, powered by LivePerson's LiveEngage platform, Hawaiian Airlines customers can communicate with the airline the same way they prefer to communicate with family and friends, through SMS text messaging. As with all text messaging, the system allows multiple conversations to take place over time in one thread, with the history always accessible by scrolling backwards. Instead of sitting on hold waiting for a representative, travelers can simply message the airline, put their phone away, and wait for a push notification when one of Hawaiian's customer care advisors responds.
"It's very popular because there's no learning curve," said Tracy Behler, senior director, online experience at Hawaiian Airlines. "In fact, as soon as guests saw the option, they embraced messaging. The number of conversations occurring through messaging exceeded our original projections since we implemented it in May, and our customer satisfaction with messaging has been higher than with voice, while our agents are simultaneously more efficient."
"This launch is a first phase in our plan to innovate how we connect to customers. In the future, we're looking to add other touchpoints, such as a messaging option embedded within our app, to make it really simple and stress-free to contact us, anytime, anywhere."
"Hawaiian Airlines is leading the way in the travel industry in connecting with their customers," said Robert LoCascio, founder and CEO of LivePerson. "By giving them a way to connect with the company on-the-go, via mobile messaging, Hawaiian Airlines is simplifying the customer experience and enabling travelers to interact with the airline the same way they would with family and friends."
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
