MANILA: Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ largest carrier, has launched new customer service innovations, just in time for the yuletide peak season when thousands of Filipinos are either coming home or flying out for the holidays.

CEB is investing over Dhs 4.4 million per year over the next five years to significantly improve customer service by implementing innovative customer-facing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions. These solutions are now running to improve airport operations, and to make online booking services more convenient for passengers.

Several thousand Filipinos from Dubai have flown home for the festive season via CEB. Set to return to the UAE soon, these passengers will be among the first customers who will be experiencing the airline’s new service at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Michael Ivan Shau, Vice President for Airport Services of Cebu Pacific, said: “As we expand our fleet and route network, there’s also been a substantial focus on improving customer experience.

While Cebu Pacific will continue to be a low-cost carrier, we recognise the need to ensure our passengers have a good experience flying with us.” “With the staggering investments in place, CEB assures its customers that the ground-breaking enhancements in operations will not translate into higher fares but are in fact the airline’s way of thanking its customers for their continued patronage,” Shau explained. Avoid check-in queues with the Max Airport platform.

New service

CEB’s new service called Max Airport is a digital platform that allows the airline’s Philippine airport personnel to remotely check-in passengers, assign seats, facilitate payment for baggage and other ancillary services, and even print boarding passes.

The MAX Airport suite, which is installed on iPads, is now being used by CEB ground staff at the NAIA Terminals 3 and 4, in time for the expected surge of passengers during the yuletide season. All 36 other domestic destinations of CEB have already been equipped with the remote check-in devices.

“The increasing number of travelers is outpacing current airport capacity and infrastructure. It is imperative we invest in technology and streamline processes to improve passenger throughput at check-in and lessen the pain points for our customers. The remote check-in devices are designed so that passengers can complete check-in procedures without ever having to fall in line at the counters,” Shau said.

“As MAX Airport speeds up the necessary steps, the airline’s on-time performance is also expected to improve, thus reducing the occurrences of flight delays caused by these time-consuming procedures,” he added.

MAX Airport is a product of Levarti Ltd, a leading global developer of web-based and mobile platforms for the airline industry. MAX Airport is part of an entire suite of mobile and desktop applications that are conveniently linked with the carrier’s internal systems.

In the coming months, CEB will integrate the rest of the Levarti MAX suite into its operations. These include MAX Ops, designed to better manage disrupted flights and assist affected passengers; and MAX Ramp, which improves turn-around time by delivering real-time airport, flight and operational information to all personnel.

Travellers can now instantly check travel requirements and restrictions to their destination of choice as they book their flights on the CEB website. “What used to be a tedious work of researching and verifying whether or not one can or cannot go to a destination now takes just one click on our website,” Shau said.