Travel
demand is surging, as travelers put the pandemic behind them and indulge in
long-delayed trips. Following years of disruption, travelers are gravitating
toward trusted brands, with many seeking protection against unforeseen
circumstances. For airlines, creative partnerships are essential to providing
superior service throughout the trip – not just when customers are in the
air.
An airline’s
partners serve as an extension of the brand, so it’s crucial to choose a
partner with shared values that will deliver on the brand promise. The best
partnerships are collaborative and can help to drive innovation as the industry
evolves. Case in point: The long-standing partnership between Delta Air Lines and
Allianz Partners US is built upon a foundation of trust and a long history of
working together to create solutions.
Tom Trotta,
vice president of sales and partnerships at Allianz Partners and Ai Stiver,
vice president of merchandising, ancillary revenue and partnerships at Delta, explain how the two companies are collaborating.
Choosing
the right partner is an important decision for airlines, since the traveler’s
experience with that partner reflects on airline’s own brand. Why has Delta
chosen to work with Allianz Partners?
Ai Stiver: One
key component to choosing a partner is the alignment of key brand beliefs.
Delta and Allianz Partners both believe in creating loyal lifetime customers
through caring, welcoming and elevated products and experiences. For the past
15-plus years, we have worked together to deliver innovative products to meet our
travelers’ needs.
How has
the partnership between Allianz Partners and Delta evolved?
Tom Trotta: Our
collaboration with Delta, which began in 2007, has always been rooted in
innovation and adaptability. Over these years, we've protected over 45 million
Delta customers and billions of dollars of trips. Whether a traveler is booking
a refundable ticket, a package or a car, we've created tailored insurance
solutions to meet their needs.
Our
partnership's primary facet is our API integration, as seen in Delta's air
ticketing path, where travelers on Delta.com encounter embedded insurance
offers. We've also extended our partnership to Delta Vacations, offering
insurance products that complement their existing services. For Delta's hotel
and car booking services, powered by Expedia, we've introduced dedicated rental
car insurance offers, marking yet another milestone in our partnership.
Can you
give an example of Allianz Partners and Delta working together to come up with
new products and solutions?
Stiver: Delta
is also enhancing ways to earn toward status not just in the air, but also on
the ground, including the ability to reserve rental cars through Delta and its
car rental partners. To ensure our customers have protection and peace of mind
on their journey, Delta and Allianz Partners have worked together this past
year to offer a protection product for car rentals.
How have
Allianz Partners and Delta collaborated to find creative solutions as industry
needs change?
Trotta: One
of our key strengths is our dedicated cross-functional teams, comprising sales,
optimization specialists, copywriters and graphic designers, so that the same
team consistently works with Delta. The team knows the DNA of Delta’s
passengers, making it possible to respond quickly in response to changes in the
travel landscape. This consistency was particularly beneficial during the
pandemic when seamless coordination was paramount.
At the onset
of the pandemic in early 2020, many of our policies globally excluded epidemic
coverage. Leveraging insights from Allianz Partners' broader health division,
by March 2020, we made a pivotal decision to treat COVID-19 similar to other
covered illnesses through a special accommodation. Even though this resulted in
significant costs, it was the right thing to do for our customers and speaks
further to our shared values with Delta in creating loyal lifetime customers.
As the
situation changed, we continued to develop new products. For example, when
islands in the Caribbean mandated minimal levels of coverage for medical
evacuation, Allianz Partners worked with Delta Vacations to create a new policy
and increase both emergency medical care and transportation coverage limits
specifically for travelers to those destinations.
How does
Delta’s partnership with Allianz Partners help to advance Delta’s brand
objectives?
Stiver: At
Delta, we strive to drive connection by sharing warmth, instilling confidence
and ensuring peace of mind. In the unfortunate circumstance that travel doesn’t
go as planned, there’s explicit trust that our partnership with Allianz
Partners will deliver during moments that really matter.
What does
Allianz Partners do to provide superior service and enhance the travel
experience for Delta customers?
Trotta: Our
commitment is to always prioritize the needs of travelers. We take our
partnerships very seriously as an extension of our partner’s brand.
One thing
that sets us apart is our ability to provide end-to-end services and, moreover,
ensure the quality and delivery of those services. Whether customers want to
make changes to their policy, seek travel assistance or even increase their
coverage after an online purchase, they interact directly with Allianz
Partners. This integrated approach allows us to swiftly adapt to changes, be it
training our staff on new service protocols or introducing new coverages like
epidemic-related covered reasons. By managing all aspects internally, we can
maintain a consistent and superior level of service, and our global presence
gives us access to a wealth of expertise.
How does
Allianz Partners help to extend Delta’s service to customers throughout their
trip?
Trotta: In
addition to offering protection for travelers when it is necessary for them to
cancel their trip due to a covered reason, we also offer benefits for
unexpected events that happen post-departure. This includes situations such as
trip interruptions in the event the traveler has to go home early due to a
covered reason, delayed flights, protection for lost, stolen or damaged
personal belongings, as well as benefits for emergency medical care and
transportation. But we also are a call or click away to provide help travelers
24/7, with a broad range of needs, from finding the nearest pre-screened
medical provider to helping navigate a lost passport to simple things like
restaurant reservations.
Delta has
focused on providing customers with a personalized travel experience throughout
their journey. How does your partnership with Allianz Partners give customers
the protection they want for all types of trips?
Stiver: Our
strong partnership with Allianz Partners allows us to formulate fast solutions
to meet the varying needs of our customers.
For example,
we know the needs of a customer traveling internationally differ from those of
a customer traveling domestically. With this in mind, Allianz Partners and
Delta work together to ensure customers are offered unique products, based on
the type of trip they are taking.
How does
Allianz deliver targeted offers to travelers?
Trotta: It
is important to consider the phases of a traveler’s journey, the emotions they
are feeling throughout as well as the rational financial decisions along the
way. From dreaming, to planning, to booking and travel – each customer weighs
the importance of different aspects of their trip throughout. In the case of
travel insurance, we work closely with Delta to ensure the aspects of
awareness, education and decision-making are spread throughout the journey,
while building confidence to book along the way. In taking a holistic view of a
customer journey, we also seek to understand the characteristics of each trip,
and each traveler, to better understand what concerns they may be having
throughout their journey to provide the most relevant solution at the time of
booking.
To deliver
on this, we utilize our proprietary e-commerce booking platform, known as
Allianz Fusion, to create a real-time integration with Delta's booking path.
Our platform is a state-of-the-art technology solution that combines the power
of human creativity and machine learning to curate the most relevant travel
insurance offer personalized to each guest’s reservation, all within a fraction
of a second. But all that cutting-edge technology still relies on a very human
element: Telling an easy-to-understand story that shows the value of a solution
to a problem.