KIEV, UKRAINE--(Marketwire - August 25, 2009) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), the country's leading international carrier, has deployed Cisco® Unified Communications and Cisco Unified Contact Center Express solutions to improve collaboration within the company and better serve its international and domestic passengers.
UIA had a number of key business requirements for its modernized communications infrastructure: The airline needed to reduce communications costs in-country as well as internationally, to introduce a single-phone-number plan for all offices, to help remote employees be more efficient, and to improve customer service through a next-generation contact center. It also wanted to implement a flexible communications solution that could be expanded to meet the organization's needs.
Key Facts / Highlights:
- Cisco Unified Communications uses the network as a platform for collaboration and combines all forms of business communications (voice, data and video) into a single integrated Internet Protocol (IP)-based solution.
- The Cisco Unified Communications solution connects UIA employees working at the airline's head office in Kiev and at its hub at Kiev-Boryspil international airport, as well as all UIA representatives across Europe. Every day from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., two supervisors and 16 agents serve customers via the airline's in-house Cisco Unified Contact Center Express system. Contact center agents answer inquiries about flight schedules, book tickets, track lost and delayed luggage and provide general information. After hours, an interactive voice response system is used to provide general information to callers and to record customer requests that are automatically followed up the next morning.
- Savings are achieved through easier administration and maintenance, as UIA's information technology team supports the IP-based communications system instead of managing separate telephony and data networks. UIA's remote employees in various European locations use Cisco IP Communicator, a softphone application that enables computers to function like IP phones. Users who have access to the corporate network can make high-quality voice calls wherever they are.
- The Cisco Unified Contact Center Express solution helped UIA to significantly increase customer service levels. Ninety-five percent of all incoming calls are now serviced within 20 seconds. In addition to sophisticated call routing and comprehensive contact management, the Cisco Unified Contact Center Express solution offers presence integration, workforce optimization and easy-to-use administration features. The Mobile Supervisor provides real-time reports and helps track the quality of the contact center operations so that managers can improve its effectiveness and adjust the number of operators according to needs.
- To further develop the contact center operation, UIA plans to offer multichannel contact possibilities via e-mail and the Web and to employ remote agents working from home.
- The project was designed and implemented by TelecomService, a local systems integrator and a Cisco Premier Certified Partner.
Supporting Quotes:
- Gennady Topor, leading IT engineer, Ukraine International Airlines
"Customer service in today's airline industry is a key differentiator, and therefore we wanted to put a contact center solution in place that enables us to provide the best service to our passengers. As a result of the project, we significantly reduced communications costs of our representatives abroad, and considerably improved customer service levels at our contact center. The funds we have saved in this way are now being invested into further improvements of services for our clients."
- Oleg Bodnar, general manager, Cisco Ukraine
"Many Ukrainian customers already fully understand the benefits of Cisco Unified Communications, when it comes to increasing personnel efficiency and reducing operational expenses. With this project, Ukraine International Airlines not only cut communication costs, but significantly improved customer satisfaction, which is key in today's highly competitive airline market."
Supporting links:
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About Ukraine International Airlines:
Ukraine International Airlines is Ukraine's leading international carrier. Founded in 1992, UIA was one of the first businesses in Ukraine to attract foreign investment. UIA was the first airline in CIS to introduce Boeing 737 aircraft, to get JAR 145 certification and to be registered by IOSA. Today UIA's fleet consists of 18 modern Boeing 737 aircrafts.
The airline connects Ukraine with nearly 3,000 locations of the world, operating direct scheduled flights to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Frankfurt, Vienna, Zurich, Rome, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Helsinki, Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Tbilisi, Dubrovnik, Nice, Naples, Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk, Kharkov, Lugansk, Uzhgorod, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Chernovtsy and Simferopol. The base airport for UIA is Kiev-Boryspil (KBP).
Ukraine International Airlines shareholders are: State Property Fund of Ukraine -- 61.6%, Austrian Airlines -- 22.5%, Aer Cap -- 6% and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) -- 9.9%.
Detailed information about UIA is available at www.flyUIA.com
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