Heathrow Express launched back in 1998. Tony Blair was Prime Minister, Mark Zuckerberg was 14 and a company called Google was registered in San Francisco. Since then, Heathrow Express has been running services between an expanding airport carrying up to 16,000 passengers a day. It has outstanding punctuality, reliability and customer service records, and, in a year when London takes centre stage, it is once again a central player.
Connecting business and leisure travellers to Heathrow and central London in just fifteen minutes and as little as 25 to Terminals 4 and 5, Heathrow Express’ mission is to offer exemplary service to all its customers every time they travel. The company is constantly looking for ways in which it can improve and innovate and is delighted that in such an exciting year for London, Heathrow Express is unveiling a new corporate identity, ready to host athletes, spectators and supporters at the 2012 London Olympics. Since the official launch of Heathrow Express in 1998, the company has strived to lead the way in innovation and technology. In 2009, free onboard Wi-Fi was introduced and Heathrow Express became the first train company in the UK to launch a Blackberry and Android app allowing users to buy and receive tickets directly from their phone.
Investing for the future
For 2012, innovation continues to be key and Heathrow Express is immensely proud to unveil the ‘new era’ project – an investment of £16m. It is the culmination of three years of research, investment and team commitment focusing on a new brand, corporate colours, staff uniforms and refurbished and higher specification rolling stock. The exciting project, which was born from extensive customer focus groups, staff research and the desire to remain the most innovative, premium train operating company in the marketplace, has helped Heathrow Express to revitalise its brand and improve the service for its 16,000 daily passengers.
Much investment has been committed to developing the fleet, focusing on the exterior and interior of the train with the prime objective of increasing customer satisfaction. Driver cab improvements have also been undertaken to ensure an enhanced working environment and the continuation of high safety standards.
In addition to adding value, increasing comfort as well as ensuring that the brand remains premier, the fleet enhancements mirror an airline experience whilst complying with forthcoming safety standards (due to be introduced in 2019). Designed by leaders in this field, Tangerine, who were responsible for British Airway’s first flat bed concept, the First Class layout offers an ultra modern and comfortable style for passengers, including single seat configuration, again a first in the UK.
As the safety of passengers is of paramount importance, much of the investment has been spent on increasing safety on board. New features include the addition of anti-slip flooring, door pillars, step lighting, changes to push button height and grab handle shape, and contrasting door surrounds and carpet thresholds for higher visibility. Accessibility issues have also been addressed making the Heathrow Express journey smoother for wheelchair and limited mobility users.
Light-years ahead
As part of the on-board Heathrow Express experience, all saloon loudspeakers are being replaced with new components to ensure a high sound quality for the announcements and Express TV audio. Two 26” widescreen LCD high definition screens are being installed in the vestibules to provide customers with useful, high-quality information about their flight or onward transport connections saving time when they arrive in the airport terminals.
Heathrow Express TV will show transport, station and safety information along with advertising media and news. Transport, station and safety animation will be refreshed in line with new brand guidelines and video servers are being upgraded, increasing the picture size and quality.
Heathrow Express was built with airline business travellers in mind. This recent wave of investment means the fleet is years ahead in terms of safety compliance and continues to lead the way in terms of on-board innovation and technology. The company also wants to ensure that the experience of travelling on Heathrow Express continues to be exemplary, especially in such an important year for London.
Heathrow Express’ other touch points with the customer will also undergo an extensive change. Both the airport and Paddington station ticket offices and signage will be re-branded, an advertising campaign will see the brand directly target the consumer and its presence at Heathrow will be increased. Technological developments including website functionality, mobile apps and other brand hardware have also been developed to make the overall experience of using Heathrow Express streamlined and customer-focused. The roll out of the newly refurbished trains is being executed in stages until April 2013.
The new Heathrow Express uniform, to be unveiled shortly, will happen on one switchover day and has been designed with key areas of operational ease (such as non-iron material), safety and high visibility at the front of mind. The company eagerly listened to the needs and requests of its employees, and staff specifically requested a uniform that set them apart from other train operating companies.
Throughout this process, engagement with teams and customers has been critical. The project was founded on a customer research project and at each step of the journey Heathrow Express tested its decisions to ensure that it was exceeding customer expectation. Heathrow Express’ new service initiatives were launched to the management team in October last year and from November, all 460 staff have been retrained to understand and engage with the company’s new objectives. It wants to be exemplary every time.
The company’s commercial objective is to increase the market share of passengers travelling to and from Heathrow and unlike many train companies, Heathrow Express has a complicated mix of UK and international customers for its service, sales and marketing teams to consider. Cumulatively, all these developments are key to maintain a heritage brand that confidently moves with the times.
Heathrow Express is a train company with a 94 percent reliability rating and a 93 percent repeat travel rate. This continued investment and innovation should further drive the success of Heathrow Express in years to come and will help further elevate the brand within the global rail sector.
Further information: www.heathrowexpress.com
