KLM and Air France, while part of the same group, have distinct brand identities. Air France positions itself as a premium, poetic brand with a focus on elegance and showcasing the best of France, supported by a "brand book" that aligns all teams around these values. In contrast, KLM is more pragmatic, with its brand expression outlined in a "compass" that emphasizes clarity and reliability. Both airlines underwent organizational changes to integrate branding and customer experience, aiming to bridge the gap between brand promise and actual customer journey. This unified approach ensures consistency, with Air France focusing on a "caring attitude" to align employee behavior with its premium brand promise.

Leading the customer experience department at Air France from July 2019 to June 2021 came with significant challenges, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, which began just six months into her role. During this time, the number of passengers dropped drastically, from over 100,000 daily at Charles de Gaulle Airport to just 3,000. Beyond the immediate crisis, Catherine highlights the inherent complexity of the airline customer journey, where Air France lacks direct control over all touchpoints, such as airport security and border control. Collaborating effectively with these external stakeholders to deliver a seamless customer experience demands significant effort. Furthermore, the customer journey itself is extensive, encompassing everything from initial booking to post-flight interactions, including crucial elements like baggage handling and inflight entertainment (IFE).

• Customer insight as the guiding light: She describes the customer insight department as an "open window for all those CX that we had in front of us or with us". A key initiative involved developing worldwide customer segmentation, personas, and "demand spaces," providing a foundation for tailoring the customer journey to specific needs across diverse markets. This involved comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research across 13 key markets to deeply understand specific customer needs.
• Closing the customer feedback loop: A critical element was establishing robust mechanisms for gathering and acting upon customer feedback. This included a "Preferred Customer Club," an online community, and physical meetings facilitating direct engagement with customers for testing and feedback. Additionally, they implemented a brief, three-question survey at the conclusion of customer contact center calls, with feedback immediately shared with the agent to facilitate performance improvement.
• Fostering cross-functional alignment: Recognizing the necessity for alignment across the organization, Catherine integrated the brand and communication departments within the CX structure. This strategic move aimed to bridge the divide between the brand promise and the actual delivery of the customer experience, ensuring a unified understanding and communication across all teams.
• Navigating crisis with agility and purpose: The "Air France Protect" program during the COVID-19 pandemic serves as an example of adaptability and focused action. Catherine took a leading role in implementing sanitary measures across the entire customer journey, aiming for and achieving a prestigious five-star COVID-19 Skytrax award.
• Strategic organizational restructuring: To enhance efficiency and promote collaboration, Catherine reduced the number of direct reports from 14 to 8, helping create a more efficient and flexible decision-making process within the team.

Catherine offers valuable insights for fellow CX professionals:
• Understand the ripple effect: The cornerstone of a customer-centric approach lies not just in accommodating every customer request, but in fully understanding the consequences of every decision on the customer experience.
• Balance short-term and long-term vision: Having both immediate and strategic key performance indicators (KPIs) is crucial for effectively guiding and measuring CX efforts.
• Embrace customer empathy: Truly step into the shoes of the customer and resist a purely "production-minded" perspective. Seek inspiration and best practices beyond your immediate industry.
• Engage stakeholders through shared narrative: To gain buy-in from critical stakeholders, make them integral to the customer's story and support their role in delivering the overall experience. Provide a broader perspective to help them understand their contribution to the larger picture.
• Empower frontline staff with feedback: Value the insights of frontline staff, including pilots and cabin crew, by providing them with direct customer feedback loops to facilitate immediate improvements and cultivate a sense of ownership.

Catherine Villar's journey at Air France KLM shows the transformative power of a deeply embedded customer-centric approach. Her leadership in navigating complex integrations, responding to unprecedented crises and fostering a culture of continuous improvement through customer insight and feedback provides invaluable lessons for CX professionals across industries. Her emphasis on understanding the customer's perspective, aligning the entire organization around a shared brand promise, and empowering all employees to be active participants in the customer's story highlights the crucial elements for achieving exceptional customer experiences.