More than 70 delegates, representing 46 airlines across the globe, analysed issues in the area of customer service and discussed means of improving it at a major aviation conference in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.

Gulf Air took the leading role at the 53rd four-day annual conference of the Worldwide Airline Customer Relations Association (WACRA).

The summit was held under the chair of Gulf Air senior manager customer care and service quality control Kavita Sharma Jassim, who is the chairperson of WACRA.

Iceland president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson inaugurated the conference under the theme 'Fire and Ice: Energising the Customer Experience' hosted by Icelandair.

'There could have been no better place or time than Iceland to hold this conference as the global aviation industry cannot forget the recent infamous Icelandic volcano ash cloud incidents that have had a significant impact on several airlines' operations as well as their customer care responses,' said Jassim.

'Aviation is one of the most volatile industries in the world, plagued by a number of uncertainties, rising fuel prices, natural disasters, geo-political developments and many others.”

'And passengers are the first ones to be affected in such situations but as a service industry, we have to ensure they are least affected by providing the best service possible,' Jassim added.

'As the chairperson of WACRA and a representative of Gulf Air, it was a great opportunity for me to project Bahrain and its national carrier at the forum, sharing our six decades of experience in the business,' said Jassim.

Adding a distinctly local flavour, the conference presented Iceland's premier volcanologist Dr Haraldur Sigur_sson, who shared his expertise about volcanoes and their effect on the aviation industry.

WACRA has been spearheading and driving customer service and relations among global airlines through continuous interaction and exchange of ideas for more than 60 years, providing value to companies, partnering with each other to share best practices and discuss industry trends and offering customers the best in service recovery.

It also co-operates with the Air Transport Association and the International Air Transport Association.

The next WACRA conference will be hosted by Malaysian Airlines in Kuala Lumpur in 2012. – TradeArabia News Service