Monarch Airlines has become the first carrier to be awarded WorldHost Recognised Business status after more than half its staff completed the customer-service programme used to train the London Olympics ‘Games maker’ volunteers.
Andrew Swaffield, Monarch Airlines’ new managing director, announced the award yesterday, saying: “We’re the first airline to get this badge of honour.”
Almost 1,700 of Monarch’s 3,000 staff have completed the one-day training since the programme’s launch last October, including cabin crew and pilots.
Swaffield said: “The company that trained the 2012 ‘Games makers’ has worked through training our front-of-house staff and will now work through everyone else.
He added: “Our vision is to become the most-customer focused airline.”
The WorldHost-trained staff include a new team of Monarch Airport Customer Experience (ACE) Hosts who will be on hand at airport check-in and baggage reclaims to answer queries and offer help.
Swaffield said: “One of the things customers tell us is that they find the process at the airport stressful and want more interaction.
“We’ve put ACE hosts in uniform to answer questions and to help. They are all trained by WorldHost. It’s a new team of 40-45 at Gatwick, Manchester, Luton and Birmingham and bases overseas, including Palma Tenerife and Lanzarote.”
Monarch will review the programme at the end of the summer but Swaffield said: “Take it as a fixture. We’ll look to recruit more hosts for next summer.”
The company has also begun sending individual departure emails to customers 24 hours before they fly. Swaffield explained: “The more information you give people they happier they feel.”
The company recently partnered customer-feedback system Feefo and Swaffield said: “All the positive feedback has been about our people. Our cabin crew and airport hosts come out very strongly – wherever we have uniformed staff.”
Feedback is more negative “where things go wrong”, he said: “Airlines have a habit of keeping quiet when things go wrong. We’re looking to change that and keep people better informed.”
The carrier has fitted 11 of its 40 aircraft with new slim-line, non-reclining seats offering greater legroom and fittings to hold tablets and other mobile devices so customers can watch their own entertainment in flight.
Swaffield said: “We’ve built storage into the seat for customer’s tablets. It’s all responding to passenger feedback, and the feedback on European flights is that customers don’t want people reclining into them. We’ll look to roll this out to all our aircraft over the next two years.”
He added: “We are not just a small version of easyJet or Ryanair. We’re different, and the point of differentiation is around our customers.
“Our size is an advantage. If you have 400 aircraft it is more difficult.”
Swaffield joined Monarch on April 1 after managing the British Airways and IAG loyalty scheme Avios since 2006.
WorldHost trained volunteers and staff at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics. The programme was adapted for the UK by People 1st which works across the hospitality, travel and tourism industries.