From social to AI: how KLM Royal Dutch Airlines leverages tech for better customer service

Emily Barley

The genesis of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ investment in social media and AI was the explosion of an Icelandic volcano which necessitated a crisis response to cope with passenger queries about cancelled flights.

Crisis was the trigger for KLM’s investment in social media. In 2010 a volcanic ash cloud originating in Iceland grounded flights across Europe and stranded tens of thousands of people at airports. Every airline flying to European destinations was hit, not least KLM. With its call centres overwhelmed, customers flocked to social media to ask questions about their flights. In response KLM recruited volunteers in its HQ to a pop-up social media customer service team, and they worked around the clock until the crisis was over.

“That’s where our social media operation was born,” Martine van der Lee, director...

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