How well do you know your customer?
Last night, I flew EL AL Airlines from Tel Aviv (Ben Gurion Airport) to Newark Airport. While on the plane, I had a lot of time to think about building customer profiles.
Airlines have a lot of information (or potentially can have) on their customers.
They can grab credit card data (at time of purchase or confirmation) and save that data to ease the pain of buying an upgrade or a ticket for another flight.
They know the types of meals I like or want. So, when enhancements to that particular menu are made, the airline can broadcast the message to only those that need to know or want to know.
Airlines know what seat I like to be in. How can they use that information? I'll admit that I am having a hard time with that (aside from the obvious ease of choosing a seat or online check-in).
Airlines can even profile the customer based on their previous habits - do they like flying during the day or prefer red-eye flights? Are there specific destinations that are traveled to more often than other countries and cities/ if so, maybe a cross-sell to another partner (rental car, hotel, tour guide, specials on entertainment in that locale, etc.)? They know if I check in baggage or not (am I a light traveller or do I bring every option for wardrobe changes). Maybe they can offer specials on baggage fees.
It is clear that airlines have a lot of customer data and they use it. How much data do you have on your customer and how are you using it?
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