Case Study: Disruption services

We offered Carestream a new class of disruption services that proactively re-accommodates travelers when disruptions occur, which saves time, and traveler satisfaction is higher while stress levels are lower.

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Challenge

Travel disruptions are a fact of life. But when they happen, how can you keep travelers moving forward? This was the challenge facing our client, a global healthcare imaging provider. They wanted to eliminate travel disruption downtime and get travelers in the U.S. and Canada on their way as quickly as possible. They needed a service that would proactively assist travelers en route, reduce frustration and provide measurable results; without drowning the travel manager in administrative processes.

Solution

That’s where BCD Travel came in. We offered Carestream a new class of Disruption Services that proactively re-accommodates travelers when disruptions occur. We monitor flights 24×7 and identify and rank every real and potential cancellation, misconnect and extended delay. Depending on the nature and extent of the disruption, we make alternative arrangements for flights, hotel and rental car bookings. And we often provide assistance before the traveler asks for help.

Dedicated disruption agents use real-time flight data to monitor and automatically identify at-risk itineraries. They use a work- flow to ensure the most urgent cases are addressed first.

Carestream’s travel manager sees how often disruption occurs and how effectively travelers are offered a solution. These metrics help show the value of the service to senior management.

Results

Carestream travelers are very vocal in their appreciation for a service that looks after them while traveling on company business. Disruption Services not only saves them time, but also delivers the best alternative flight options. Traveler satisfaction is higher and stress levels are lower now that they can “sidestep” long customer service lines.

Behind the scenes

During 2013, BCD Travel monitored 8,300 itineraries of the travelers who opted into the program. Of those itineraries monitored, about 2,300 experienced flight disruptions.

  • Significantly late departures caused more than half of the disruptions
  • Flight cancellations accounted for 15 percent
  • Insufficient connection times caused 30 percent
  • Flight diversions accounted for 1 percent

Travel consultants stepped in to offer a higher level of support for 28 percent of impacted itineraries. They worked with airlines to negotiate alternate arrangements:

  • 18 percent were re-protected—typically on the next available flight. This saved travelers the delay and hassle of standing in an airline service
  • 10 percent were rebooked on a new flight or another mode of transportation. Travelers worked directly with agents to approve arrangements with cost implications.

The remaining 72 percent of impacted itineraries required no intervention because:

  • The airline made up time en route
  • Outbound flight delays resolved connecting issues
  • The traveler decided to wait for the delayed flight
  • The traveler cancelled the trip altogether

What are travelers saying about Disruption Services?

 “It was excellent! Almost everyone on the plane misconnected. I was sitting in the back, but I got rebooked before the next flight filled up. It let me avoid standing in line.”

Carestream Traveler

 What is Carestream management saying about the implementation process?

 “I thought, great—one more thing I have to learn and manage—but it wasn’t like that all! It was much easier than expected. I needed to be engaged in the planning calls, but didn’t drown in administrative processes.”

 What about the results?

 “The results were eye-opening. I didn’t know what the numbers were beforehand! Disruption Services helped quantify the impact of my time and the program.”

 Sue Burke, Travel Operations Manager – Carestream

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