Loganair under ‘tremendous pressure’ after seven-fold increase in customer calls

Former Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles. 

Loganair has reported a seven-fold increase in the number of calls to its customer team with many folk needing to rearrange bookings due to Covid-19 issues.

Chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said it has been a “real rollercoaster” for the team who had been working “flat out” to deal with the influx of calls.

Mr Hinkles, speaking at today’s (Wednesday) external transport forum said there had been a “huge number” of people seeking reassurance or trying to change  bookings after being contacted through Test and Protect.

“That has placed an absolutely tremendous pressure on our customer contact areas, so if anyone has been trying to get through and hasn’t been able to then my apologies,” he said.

Mr Hinkles said the team had been working “flat out” and had employed new recruits to deal with the pressure, with more joining next week. 

“There’s been a seven-fold increase in the number of phone calls over as many weeks, ranging from everything from ‘can I change my booking’ to ‘do I need to book a PCR test before flying’,” he added.

Mr Hinkles said Loganair had “beefed up” its website to provide more information without requiring a call

The website also has more options to help customers looking to increase their baggage allowance or pay an outstanding balance, which is also hoped to reduce the need for calls.