Airline Customer Dashboard: Insights and Analytics

What is an airline customer dashboard?

Imagine this: You fly often and recently made reservations for your next journey. You’re enthusiastic, yet there’s still that ongoing uncertainty will your flight go smoothly? Or will you encounter unexpected turbulence?

Picture all your flight details, from checking in to reaching your destination, neatly arranged in one user-friendly interface. This is the purpose of the airline customer dashboard. It is more than just a luxurious instrument; it is your gateway to efficient aviation.

78% of air travelers favor using digital platforms for self-service features, such as accessing flight details and resolving problems.

But what makes an airline customer dashboard truly effective? It’s not only about impressive visuals or extra features. It’s all about providing genuine value to you, the traveler. This dashboard acts as a dependable co-pilot, providing seamless itinerary management and immediate gate change updates for a stress-free journey.

This blog post will explore the essential elements that transform an airline customer dashboard into a game-changer.

Fasten your seatbelt let’s explore airline customer dashboards.

Table of Contents:

1. What is an Airline Customer Dashboard?
2. Why an Airline Needs a Customer Dashboard?
3. What are the Key Features of an Effective Airline Consumer Dashboard?
4. How to Create an Aviation Customer Service Dashboard?
5. Airline Dashboard KPIs Example
6. How to Create Visualizations in Power BI?
7. Wrap Up

First…

What is an Airline Customer Dashboard?

Definition: An airline customer dashboard is a digital platform or interface. It provides airline passengers with real-time information and services related to their travel experience. It allows passengers to manage various aspects of their journey conveniently.

These dashboards typically offer features such as flight booking, check-in, seat selection, and baggage tracking. Passengers can access their flight itinerary, including departure and arrival times, gate information, and any updates. Or changes to their flight status.

Additionally, airline customer dashboards may provide services like in-flight entertainment options, onboard amenities, and meal preferences.

Overall, an airline customer dashboard aims to enhance the passenger experience. How? By providing easy access to essential travel information and services, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable journey.

Why an Airline Needs a Customer Dashboard?

An airline customer dashboard is essential for enhancing the overall passenger experience and optimizing airline operations. Several key reasons underscore the importance of having such a dashboard.

• Enhanced customer experience: A customer dashboard provides passengers with easy access to essential travel information and services, such as:
  • Flight booking
  • Check-in
  • Flight status updates

This convenience enhances the overall travel experience, leading to greater satisfaction among passengers.

• Streamlined operations: Offering self-service analytics options through the dashboard helps to streamline various operational processes, such as check-in and seat selection. This not only reduces the workload on airline staff but also enhances overall efficiency.
• Customer engagement and loyalty: An intuitive and user-friendly dashboard fosters greater engagement with passengers. By providing personalized services and offers, airlines can strengthen customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.
• Data insights and decision-making: Customer dashboards generate valuable data on passenger preferences, behaviors, and trends. Airlines can analyze this data for insights into customer needs and preferences, informing strategic decision-making and service improvements.
• Competitive advantage: In today’s competitive airline industry, offering a comprehensive and user-friendly customer dashboard sets airlines apart from their competitors. It demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction and innovation, attracting more passengers and retaining existing ones.

What are the Key Features of an Effective Airline Consumer Dashboard?

An effective airline consumer dashboard is characterized by several key features that cater to the diverse needs of passengers. These features streamline the travel process, provide essential information, and offer personalized services.

• Booking and reservation management: Passengers should be able to search for flights, compare prices, and make bookings directly through the dashboard.
• Flight status and updates: Real-time updates on flight schedules, delays, and gate changes keep passengers informed throughout their journey.
• Check-in and boarding passes: Seamless check-in processes and electronic boarding passes reduce waiting times at the airport and enhance convenience.
• Baggage information: Clear information on baggage allowances, restrictions, and tracking capabilities helps passengers manage their luggage effectively.
• Travel documents and itinerary: Access to travel documents such as e-tickets, boarding passes, and itinerary details ensures a smooth travel experience.
• Customer support and assistance: Prompt customer support and assistance features provide help in case of any issues or queries during travel.
• Personalization and preferences: The dashboard should allow passengers to set preferences, such as seat selection, meal choices, etc., for a more personalized experience.
• Travel alerts and notifications: Proactive alerts and notifications regarding flight updates, changes, or disruptions keep passengers informed and prepared.
• Accessibility and user-friendliness: The dashboard should be accessible across devices and platforms and feature an intuitive interface for ease of use.
• Integration with ancillary services: Integration with ancillary services such as hotel bookings, car rentals, and travel insurance enhances the overall travel experience. Moreover, it provides additional convenience.

How to Create an Aviation Customer Service Dashboard?

Creating an aviation customer service dashboard requires careful planning and consideration to meet the diverse needs of passengers. Following a structured approach ensures the dashboard for airline travelers effectively enhances the overall customer experience.

1. Define objectives and goals: Determine what specific outcomes you aim to achieve, such as:

• • Improving customer satisfaction
  • Reducing response times
  • Increasing operational efficiency

1. Understand user needs: Conduct thorough research to identify your target users’ needs, preferences, and pain points.
2. Select key features and functionality: Based on user needs and objectives, select the key features and functionality to include in the dashboard. This may include flight status updates, check-in services, baggage tracking, and customer support tools.
3. Design the User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX): Design an intuitive and user-friendly interface that prioritizes ease of use and accessibility. Focus on creating a seamless user experience that guides passengers through the various stages of their journey.
4. Integrate relevant data sources: Integrate relevant data sources, such as flight schedules, passenger information, and service updates. This helps to ensure the dashboard provides accurate and up-to-date information.
5. Implement personalization and customization: Allow users to personalize their dashboard experience by setting preferences, such as:

• • Seat selection
  • Meal choices
  • Language preferences.

1. Enable communication channels: Incorporate communication channels, such as live chat, email, or phone support. This enables direct interaction between passengers and customer service representatives.
2. Test and iterate: Thoroughly test the dashboard to identify usability issues or bugs. Based on user feedback and testing results, iterate on the design and functionality.
3. Ensure accessibility and compatibility: The dashboard should be accessible across different devices and platforms, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Consider accessibility features to accommodate users with disabilities.
4. Monitor performance and analytics: Continuously monitor the performance of the dashboard, including user engagement, response times, and customer satisfaction metrics. Use analytics data to identify areas for improvement and optimization.

Airline Dashboard KPIs Example

Monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of an airline dashboard. These KPIs provide valuable insights into various airline operations and aspects of passenger experience.

• Average Baggage Transfer Time: This KPI measures the average time to transfer baggage from one flight to another during connecting flights.
• Average Baggage Weight per Flight: Tracking the average baggage weight helps airlines manage load distribution and optimize fuel consumption.
• Lost and/or Misplaced Bags: Monitoring the number of lost or misplaced bags indicates the effectiveness of baggage handling procedures.
• Percentage of Seats Sold: This KPI or metric measures the percentage of available seats sold on each flight. It provides insight into demand and revenue generation.
• Revenue per Passenger: Assessing the revenue from each passenger helps analyze the airline’s pricing approach and overall financial performance.
• Denied Boarding of Passengers: Tracking the amount of passengers denied boarding because of overbooking. Other reasons are important for evaluating operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• Total Seat Capacity: This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) indicates the total number of seats available on every flight. It gives a starting point for examining seat usage and predicting demand.
• Passengers per Flight: Monitoring the number of passengers on each flight assists airlines in efficiently handling capacity, staff, and onboard services.
• Average Passengers per Flight: The average number of passengers per flight offers valuable information on demand patterns and a route’s performance.
• Passenger to Flight Attendant Ratio: This KPI assesses the ratio of passengers to flight attendants present aboard the aircraft. It guarantees adherence to safety rules and appropriate service standards.

How to Create Visualizations in Power BI?

Follow these steps to harness the robust features of Power BI visualization for effective data analysis.

Stage 1: Logging in to Power BI

• Log in to Power BI.
• Enter your email address and click the “Submit” button.

• You are redirected to your Microsoft account.
• Enter your password and click “Sign in“.

• You can choose whether to stay signed in.

• Once done, the Power BI home screen will open.

Stage 2: Creating a Data Set and Selecting the Data Set to Use in Your Sankey Chart

• Go to the left-side menu and click the “Create” button.
• Select “Paste or manually enter data“.

• We’ll use the following daily flight information sample data for this example.

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Numbers
Monday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Empty Seats	68
Monday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Seats Booked	132
Monday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Empty Seats	53
Monday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Seats Booked	73
Tuesday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Empty Seats	46
Tuesday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Seats Booked	154
Tuesday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Empty Seats	30
Tuesday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Seats Booked	170
Wednesday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Empty Seats	58
Wednesday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Seats Booked	142
Wednesday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Empty Seats	63
Wednesday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Seats Booked	83
Thursday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Empty Seats	154
Thursday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Seats Booked	46
Thursday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Empty Seats	170
Thursday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Seats Booked	30
Friday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Empty Seats	25
Friday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Seats Booked	175
Friday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Empty Seats	15
Friday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Seats Booked	185
Saturday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Empty Seats	12
Saturday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Seats Booked	188
Saturday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Empty Seats	10
Saturday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Seats Booked	190
Sunday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Empty Seats	15
Sunday	Manchester to New York – 10 AM	Seats Booked	185
Sunday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Empty Seats	5
Sunday	Liverpool to New York – 11 PM	Seats Booked	195

• Paste the above data table in the Power Query Window.
• Select the “Create a semantic model only” option.

• On the left-side menu, click “OneLake Data Hub“.
• Power BI populates the data set list. (If you have not created a data set, refer to the Error! Reference source not found section).

• Choose a data set for the Sankey chart.
• PBI populates the screen as shown below:

• Click on the “Explore this data” dropdown.
• Select “Create a blank report“.
• A Report Canvas screen appears as below:

Stage 3: Adding the Power BI Sankey Diagram Extension by ChartExpo

• Creating the Sankey Diagram requires us to use an add-in or Power BI visual from AppSource.
• Navigate to the right side of the Power BI dashboard.
• Open the Power BI Visualizations panel.
• Click the ellipsis symbol (…) as highlighted in the diagram below. This will import the Power BI Sankey Diagram extension by ChartExpo.

• The following menu opens:
• Select the “Get more visuals” option.

• The following window opens.
• Enter “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the highlighted search box.
• You should see the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo”, as shown in the image below.

• Click the highlighted “Add” button.

• Power BI will add the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the visualization panel.

Stage 4: Drawing a Sankey Diagram with ChartExpo’s Power BI extension

• Select the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.
• The following window opens in the report section of your dashboard:

• You can resize the visual as needed.
• Navigate to the right side of your Power BI dashboard.
• You should see “Fields” next to “Visualizations“.

• You’ll select the fields to use in your Sankey chart here.
• The ChartExpo visual needs to be selected, though. Select the field in the following sequence:

• • Level 1
  • Level 2
  • Level 3
  • Numbers

• You’ll be asked for a ChartExpo license key or email address.

Stage 5: Activate your ChartExpo Trial or Apply a Subscription Key

• Select the ChartExpo visual.
• You should see three icons below “Build Visual” in the Visualizations panel.

• Select the middle icon, “Format visual“. The visual properties will be populated as shown below.

To begin using ChartExpo as a new user;

• Enter your email address in the textbox under the “Trial Mode” section. ChartExpo will send a license key to this email upon subscribing to the add-in.
• Ensure you provide an accurate and up-to-date email address.
• Toggle “Enable Trial” to activate your 7-day trial.

• You should receive a welcome email from ChartExpo.
• If you do not find the email in your inbox, kindly check your spam folder.
• The Sankey Diagram you create under the 7-day trial contains the ChartExpo watermark.

If you have obtained a license key:

• Enter your license key in the “ChartExpo License Key” textbox in the “License Settings” section (see below).
• Slide the toggle switch next to “Enable License” to “On“.

• Your Sankey Diagram will then appear without a watermark.

• Let’s hide stats for level 1 only.
• Expand the “Stats” properties. Add the Prefix value (e.g., $ sign).

• Let’s add colors to each node. Expand the “Level Colors” properties and select the colors.

• Arrange the nodes by mouse drag and drop, and click on the “Save Node Positions” link.
• Automatically, all changes will be saved.

• The final chart should look like this.

Insights

The Sankey Diagram shows information on flights from Manchester and Liverpool to New York at specific times throughout the week, detailing the number of empty seats and booked seats. Here are some insights from the data:

General Trends

• Flights from both Manchester and Liverpool have more booked seats than empty seats on most days.
• The flights from Liverpool to New York at 11 PM tend to have more seats booked compared to the Manchester to New York flights at 10 AM.

Specific Observations

• Monday:
  • Manchester to New York (10 AM): 132 seats booked, 68 empty.
  • Liverpool to New York (11 PM): 73 seats booked, 53 empty.
• Tuesday:
  • Manchester to New York (10 AM): 154 seats booked, 46 empty.
  • Liverpool to New York (11 PM): 170 seats booked, 30 empty.
• Wednesday:
  • Manchester to New York (10 AM): 142 seats booked, 58 empty.
  • Liverpool to New York (11 PM): 83 seats booked, 63 empty.
• Thursday:
  • Manchester to New York (10 AM): 46 seats booked, 154 empty.
  • Liverpool to New York (11 PM): 30 seats booked, 170 empty.
• Friday:
  • Manchester to New York (10 AM): 175 seats booked, 25 empty.
  • Liverpool to New York (11 PM): 185 seats booked, 15 empty.
• Saturday:
  • Manchester to New York (10 AM): 188 seats booked, 12 empty.
  • Liverpool to New York (11 PM): 190 seats booked, 10 empty.
• Sunday:
  • Manchester to New York (10 AM): 185 seats booked, 15 empty.
  • Liverpool to New York (11 PM): 195 seats booked, 5 empty.

Day-wise Analysis

• Most Booked Flights:
  • Sunday Liverpool to New York (11 PM) with 195 seats booked.
  • Saturday Liverpool to New York (11 PM) with 190 seats booked.
• Least Booked Flights:
  • Thursday Manchester to New York (10 AM) with 46 seats booked.
  • Thursday Liverpool to New York (11 PM) with 30 seats booked.
• Empty Seats:
  • The highest number of empty seats is on Thursday for the Liverpool to New York flight at 11 PM (170 empty seats).
  • The lowest number of empty seats is on Sunday for the Liverpool to New York flight at 11 PM (5 empty seats).

• Comparing Cities:

• • Liverpool flights tend to have fewer empty seats and more booked seats compared to Manchester flights, especially on the weekend (Friday to Sunday).
  • These insights can help in understanding the booking patterns and could be useful for scheduling, marketing, and operational decisions for the airlines.

Wrap Up

The key features of an effective airline customer dashboard are essential to providing passengers with a seamless and convenient travel experience. These features cater to various needs and preferences, ensuring that passengers can easily access critical information and services.

Booking and reservation management functionality allows passengers to search for flights, compare prices, and make bookings. This streamlines the booking process and enhances convenience for travelers.

Flight status and updates provide passengers with real-time information on flight schedules, delays, gate changes, and other important updates. This helps passengers stay informed and prepared throughout their journey.

Check-in and boarding pass features enable passengers to check in online and access electronic boarding passes. This reduces waiting times at the airport and enhances efficiency for both passengers and airline staff.

Baggage information features offer clear information on baggage allowances, restrictions, and tracking capabilities. Passengers can easily manage their luggage and track their belongings throughout their journey.

Travel documents and itinerary features allow passengers to access important travel documents such as e-tickets, boarding passes, and itinerary details. This ensures passengers have all the necessary information at their fingertips for a smooth and hassle-free travel experience.

In conclusion, an effective airline customer dashboard plays a crucial role in enhancing passengers’ overall travel experience. The features help streamline the travel process and improve customer satisfaction.