Millions of Britons feeling the pinch from the soaring cost of living are increasingly turning to budget airlines like Wizz Air for affordable travel options to sought-after destinations. But despite the appeal of their low fares, the airline has faced criticism from the public over poor customer service, who ranked it worst in the UK.
In response to these concerns, Wizz Air has said it will revamp its service by integrating AI technology to deal with customer complaints and manage luggage. And Brits do not seem to mind the poor rankings on punctuality and service, with the airline marking 100 million passengers this year.
Wizz Air UK’s chief, Marion Geoffroy, has shed light on the company’s strategy to improve service by employing AI, particularly through the introduction of their virtual assistant named “Amelia”. The carrier also plans to deploy AI-powered cameras to oversee baggage handling activities at their Luton Airport hub later this year or at the beginning of 2025.
The goal is to speed up bag loading onto Wizz aircraft, potentially improving plane turnover speed. While no current moves are being made towards using automated alarms to regulate boarding as seen with United Airlines, Geoffroy hinted at an interest in such innovations, as the budget Hungarian airline continues to eye expansion and cost-saving possibilities.
In a move to shake off its previous ranking as the UK’s least satisfactory airline customer service, Wizz Air has invested heavily in AI technology. Passengers now receive timely updates from an automated bot called Amelia when flights are cancelled or severely delayed.
The airline’s CEO commented on the enhancements in an interview with the Mirror, saying: “We’ve also got more than 600 agents dealing with customer service who are there to either reply emails or phone calls. But as things develop, we’re introducing much more innovation.
“People like to handle themselves through an app actually – when it works – but it’s something that we want to improve. AI is a good answer to that. It’s very accurate and we have thousands of interactions every day with customers, so we can build a portfolio of solutions that actually develop very, very quickly,
“They’re also being developed, all the time. It’s not something that we established four years ago, three years ago, and then stopped developing. It feels that there are more mass disruptions events for which we need absolutely need to these these tools.”
Catering to increasing demand from UK customers, Wizz Air is also expanding its fleet. It intends to add an impressive 500 new planes by the year 2030, among them the state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo and A321XLR, empowering the budget carrier to extend its range of destinations even further.
Marking its twentieth year in operation, Wizz Air embarked on its inaugural flight on May 19, 2004. The airline, which employs 900 Brits, currently operates up to 168 flights daily across 95 routes from various UK airports such as Aberdeen, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, London Luton and London Gatwick.
