nwa.com Is Highest Ranked Web Site in Survey
Northwest Airlines (Nasdaq: NWAC) today announced that its nwa.com Web site outperformed all other U.S. airline sites in the Summer 2003 Online Customer Respect Study of Airline, Travel and Hotel/Resort/Casino firms that rank among the largest 1,000 companies in the United States.
Northwest's nwa.com Is Highest Ranked Web Site in Survey
nwa.com Is First Among Airline Sites in Independent Customer Respect Group Study
ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northwest Airlines (Nasdaq: NWAC) today announced that its nwa.com Web site outperformed all other U.S. airline sites in the Summer 2003 Online Customer Respect Study of Airline, Travel and Hotel/Resort/Casino firms that rank among the largest 1,000 companies in the United States.
On a ten-point scale with ten being the best, Northwest's nwa.com site received an overall Customer Respect Index (CRI) of 9.1, the highest ranking in the airline category and well ahead of the airline industry average of 7.4.
"We are honored that nwa.com's customer service, convenient functionality and overall ease of use have earned the recognition of the Customer Respect Group," said Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-commerce at Northwest Airlines. "From the most developed Internet-based self-service check-in program to proactive flight notification, nwa.com is yet another reason customers who choose Northwest are flying smart."
The Customer Respect Group is an international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their customers online. The study, in its second year, brings objective measure to the analysis of corporate performance from an online customer's point of view and involves evaluations of more than 1,000 Web sites from a variety of industries. It assigns a Customer Respect Index (CRI) to each company based on 25 different attributes that combine to create the entire online customer experience, including the areas of privacy (respects customer privacy), principles (values and respects customer data), attitude (customer focus of site), transparency (open and honest policies), simplicity (ease of navigation), and responsiveness (quick and thorough responses to inquiries).
"Northwest received high scores for the speed and quality of its responses to inquiries submitted online, in addition to providing a well organized and easy to navigate site," said Thorsten Ganz, vice president of research, The Customer Respect Group. "The company clearly understands the importance of its online channel as it relates to the overall customer experience."
Northwest's nwa.com Web site is backed up with customer support staff available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, able to respond through e- mail, I-mail and by telephone to questions and help customers through transactions.
Additional information on the Customer Respect Group's study is available at www.customerrespect.com .
NEW NWA.COM EASIER TO USE, OFFERS NEW SERVICES
In August, Northwest introduced a re-designed version of nwa.com making the most extensive design, navigation and functionality changes since its launch in 1996.
Visitors to the simplified nwa.com benefit from an array of improvements, including better organization and ease of use, improved layout and visual design, increased site efficiency and performance, streamlined paths to functionality, a more personalized experience and direct access to key information.
Also at nwa.com, customers with e-tickets can change their reservations, check-in for their domestic or international flight -- including their return trip up to 36 hours in advance -- and apply for ticket refunds.
Northwest Airlines is the world's fourth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam, and approximately 1,500 daily departures. With its travel partners, Northwest serves nearly 750 cities in almost 120 countries on six continents. In 2002, consumers from throughout the world recognized Northwest's efforts to make travel easier. A 2002 J.D. Power and Associates study ranked airports at Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul, home to Northwest's two largest hubs, tied for second place among large domestic airports in overall customer satisfaction. Readers of TTG Asia and TTG China named Northwest "Best North American airline."
For more information pertaining to Northwest, media inquiries can be directed to Northwest Media Relations at (612) 726-2331 or to Northwest's Web site at www.nwa.com .
SOURCE Northwest Airlines
/CONTACT: Northwest Media Relations, +1-612-726-2331/
/Web site: http://www.customerrespect.com
http://www.nwa.com /
(NWAC)
Posted by Craig at October 20, 2003 05:47 PM