Consider the experience my partner Rajesh and I had in the Delhi airport yesterday with one of the newer, progressive airlines as an example why integration across customer touch points is critical to everything from revenue generation to long term customer retention.

1. We entered the front door of the terminal with only a printed itinerary in hand.  “Checked” by security guard, we were let in.
2. At the ticket counter, we were shown that our itinerary was for Dec 18, not Dec 16 (oops Rajesh!).  Unfortunately, the “ticket” counter couldn’t make a change to our reservation.  To do that, we would have to exit the terminal and go into a separate ticket office adjacent to the terminal.
3. At the ticket window, we were told that yes, there were seats available, but unfortunately, since we booked online, she could not help us.  Instead, we needed to call the online booking call center.
4. As Rajesh called, about 6 people got in line ahead of us.  On the phone, the agent told us that the 8:20 pm flight was unavailable but that we could get on the 9:20 pm flight.  Fine.
5. Back through security (with the right flight date – kudos to the first security guy – NOT) and to the “ticket” counter where we were told that the original flight was still available (“who told you it wasn’t?”) but that, of course, she couldn’t fix it.  So, exasperated at this point, we just took the boarding passes for the later flight.
6. Finally, with 2 hours to kill, Rajesh asked for passes to the lounge which he and a guest are entitled to as a premium club member.  “Sorry,” she said “but you are on the later flight which is our budget service and we don’t offer club passes with that class of ticket.”  Quickly, Rajesh countered that we wanted the earlier flight and that we were willing to pay for it but they couldn’t get their stuff straight.  Passes issued.

Good grief – we think we have it bad in the US.  A horrible experience all around – as a customer and for the airline. One view on improving this is to look at the capabilities available in each customer touch-point.  Something like this:

At a glance, it looks like the Web channel is pretty capable but that the rest of the business needs to catch up. What do you think?