Being true to its commitment to keep improving its overall customer experience, and as part of their continued efforts to speed up its digital transformation, Cebu Pacific will discontinue its Philippine hotline numbers effective 01 May 2021. The airline will, however, continue to develop its digital services such as online booking, check-in, manage booking, and Charlie the chatbot.
The airline began ramping up its customer-first initiatives through digital innovation in 2017 when it was among the first airlines in Asia to invest in an integrated facility and technology for social intelligence and customer engagement. This head start has equipped the carrier to adjust quickly to address everyJuan’s needs amid COVID, mainly through its social media channels manned by the CEB Customer Care Agents.
During the first quarter of this year, the airline noted a total of 87% of its passengers maximize its website to book flights directly on the platform. Along with this, 67% of CEB passengers conveniently managed their bookings online, specifically during flight disruptions.
Cebu Pacific’s very own Charlie the chatbot was introduced in 2018 in order to enable passengers to receive real-time answers to common queries and transactions such as flight schedule and status, check-in process, itinerary and boarding pass retrieval, and the like; or lead them to the right steps to address their concerns. Since then, Charlie has been continuously improved and is now able to respond to more queries, without having to talk to an agent.
“We are glad to have started our digital transformation journey even before the pandemic because we have come to rely on it in this new normal environment. We continue to prioritize the safety and convenience of our passengers, that is why we have accelerated our digital efforts to support contactless and self-service processes,” according to Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific Vice-President for Marketing and Customer Experience.
In 2020, the carrier has further improved its self-service options by allowing its passengers to not only choose their preferred flexibility options easily through https://bit.ly/CEBmanageflight, but even to correct and update information as needed, manage group bookings online, and receive notifications via email or SMS, among others. The airline also recently waived change fees permanently, enabling passengers to rebook as many times as they need.
“Rest assured Charlie, along with our Customer Care team, are online 24/7 to assist everyJuan. We continue to enhance existing processes as we remain committed to empowering customers and ensuring access to the information they need anytime, anywhere, without having to call the hotline or go to a ticketing office,” added Iyog.
Passengers can message Charlie via the Cebu Pacific website or the official CEB Facebook page. The airline’s official Twitter page also remains active during this time. For more information on Contactless Flight Guidelines, flexibility options, updated network, travel document requirements, FAQs and the like, passengers may visit https://bit.ly/CEBFlightReminders.