We spoke to Thorunn Gudmundsdottir, purchasing & logistics manager at Icelandair, ahead of her presentation at WTCE’s Taste of Travel Theatre next week
What pre-ordering services does Icelandair have in place?
Our customer experience strategy and ambition is to deliver an easy and caring travel experience, with an Icelandic touch. This customer experience goal is our game plan, directly linked to our corporate strategy, and central to our efforts to continuously improve our pre-purchase offerings for passengers. Currently, Icelandair offers a wide range of pre-ordering services to enhance our passengers’ travel experience. These include pre-purchasing meals up to 24 hours before departure.
How important are pre-ordering services to the Icelandair revenue model?
Pre-ordering services are a significant component of Icelandair’s ancillary revenue strategy. By offering premium meal options, we not only enhance passenger satisfaction, but also generate additional income beyond ticket sales. This helps in offsetting operational costs, and supports our broader financial health. Ancillary services like these are essential for maintaining competitive ticket prices while providing added value to our customers.
What benefits does pre-ordering bring for the airline?
Pre-ordering brings multiple benefits for Icelandair. Operationally, it allows us to better manage inventory and reduce food waste, aligning with our sustainability goals. It also helps in reducing the aircraft’s load, which can contribute to fuel efficiency.
Financially, it provides a predictable revenue stream and helps in catering to the varied tastes and dietary requirements of our passengers, thereby enhancing overall customer satisfaction and loyalty.
What benefits does pre-ordering bring for the passenger?
Icelandair’s customer experience strategy is centred around delivering an easy and caring travel experience with an Icelandic touch. For passengers, pre-ordering offers several significant benefits that align with this strategy. First and foremost, it provides convenience and peace of mind, allowing passengers to secure their preferred meal in advance, tailored to their dietary needs and preferences. This eliminates any uncertainty about meal availability on the flight and ensures that our passengers have a satisfying dining experience.
Secondly, the pre-ordering service enhances the overall travel experience by offering a variety of high-quality meal options. This variety caters to diverse tastes and dietary requirements, making our passengers’ flights more enjoyable.
Additionally, our mobile app facilitates a seamless pre-ordering process. Passengers can customise their meals in real-time and check whether a meal has been ordered. The app also provides the option to add more items, giving passengers full control over their in-flight dining experience. By integrating our customer experience strategy with our pre-purchase services, we ensure that passengers enjoy a smooth, personalised, and distinctly Icelandic travel experience from start to finish.
How can passengers be encouraged to pre-order?
Encouraging passengers to use pre-ordering services involves a multi-touchpoint approach that combines effective communication, personalised marketing, social media, and continuous evaluation of our offerings. At Icelandair, we are continuously examining our selection to understand what works well for our passengers and what doesn’t. This allows us to tailor our offerings to better meet their preferences and needs.
One of our most successful strategies has been the implementation of targeted pre-flight campaigns. For instance, we initiated an email campaign specifically aimed at passengers who had not previously utilised our pre-purchase options. This email highlighted the convenience, quality, and variety of our pre-order meal options, encouraging them to try out the service.
As a result of this targeted approach, we observed a significant increase in engagement, leading to a 10% rise in sales revenue.
Furthermore we leverage our mobile app to promote pre-ordering, by making the process seamless and interactive. The app displays whether a meal has been ordered and offers the option to add more items, enhancing passengers’ control over their in-flight dining experience. We also highlight exclusive meal options and potential savings through pre-ordering, making it an attractive choice for passengers.
By combining these targeted marketing efforts that highlight the benefits of pre-purchasing, we not only focus on continuous improvements based on passenger feedback, but we also create a compelling value proposition that encourages more passengers to take advantage of our pre-ordering services.
What are your ideas for a next-generation pre-ordering service?
Icelandair is constantly innovating to enhance our passenger experience. We have already made significant strides with our mobile app.
Looking ahead, we plan to expand these capabilities further. We envision integrating more advanced technology solutions, such as AI-driven meal recommendations based on passengers’ previous orders and preferences. Additionally, we are exploring partnerships with renowned chefs to offer exclusive gourmet meal options.
Our goal is to make the pre-ordering process more interactive and personalised, potentially using augmented reality to let passengers preview meal options before they make their selection. By continuing to innovate, we aim to set a new standard in inflight dining and overall passenger satisfaction.
What’s on the menu?
We really try to tailor our pre-purchase selection to the needs of our passengers, with a wide range of offerings. Our menu includes diverse options like three-course Icelandic and hot meals, vegan and keto meals, our popular open smørrebrød sandwiches, and our newest offering – the breakfast bagel –to name just a few. We also offer a wide selection of special meals for our business-class passengers.
This service is available on all flights between Iceland and Europe, and Iceland and North America, ensuring a broad reach for our customers. Passengers can add these meals during the booking process, via the ‘My Journey’ section on our website or through our mobile app.
Thorunn Gudmundsdottir, purchasing & logistics manager at Icelandair will be speaking at WTCE’s Taste of Travel Theatre on 28 May 2024 during the session ‘Innovative Approaches to Next Generation Pre-Ordering’ (11:45 – 12:30).
For more information on World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo 2024 and to register to attend, please visit: https://www.worldtravelcateringexpo.com
