INTERNATIONAL. Digital voucher specialist iCoupon has introduced a digital solution to replace paper vouchers offered to passengers affected by flight delays. To date, airlines and ground handlers including Ryanair, Jet2, Finnair and Swissport, as well as food & beverage specialist SSP, are using the solution.
The system is controlled by the issuing airline, which can allocate a chosen monetary value to an existing barcode already in a passenger’s possession, such as the code on a boarding pass, smartphone pass or on frequent flyers cards. A follow-up SMS notification can then be sent to the customer.
iCoupon said the system ensures good communication and minimal inconvenience to the delayed passenger. It also automates the administration of vouchers, enabling detailed reporting and simplified billing between retailer and airline.
SSP Group says the iCoupon system has had a “positive impact” on customer experience.
SSP Group Chief Commercial Officer Mark Angela said: “iCoupon enables us to scan the boarding pass from participating airlines to redeem the value of their digital vouchers against the passengers’ open invoice at point of sale, quickly and easily. iCoupon captures the transaction details for both us and the airline so we can quickly and easily invoice the airline for the redeemed totals.
“Traditionally, we would have had to process tens of thousands of vouchers manually, but iCoupon has enabled us to automate this where the airline is within the iCoupon framework, and it has had a tremendously positive impact on both our operational efficiency and our customers’ experience for delay compensation.”
iCoupon adds any voucher to any barcode, without it leaving a passenger’s hand
Ryanair Ground Operations Control Manager Joanne Brady said in the event of delays or disruption the airline can provide its customers with refreshment vouchers “at the touch of a button” by using iCoupon. She said the technology provides direct integration between the airline and and airport retailers for the first time and further improves the customer experience.
“iCoupon eliminates the need for traditional paper vouchers, allowing a faster, cost effective and greener service, and providing assistance to customers in a matter of seconds,” she added.
iCoupon Founder Richard Bye commented: “Flying can be a stressful experience and any interruption to travel just adds to that stress. We have created a technology able to automate one of passengers’ biggest bugbears when things go wrong: the queueing.
“Adoption of iCoupon by retail and airline customers has been rapid. Airports embrace the technology because it removes the surge of passengers moving around terminals and passenger feedback is exceptional. With many retailers currently integrating with iCoupon, the passenger now enjoys a lot of choice. It is a network approach to a manual problem, digitising the processing and redemption of compensation vouchers.”
iCoupon is live in close to 100 airports across Europe and has an expansion plan for 2017 across Europe, Asia and the USA, it said.
Further details of participating airlines, retailers, airports and ground handlers can be found here.
