PAL taps PLDT unit for call center services

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Airlines (PAL) has appointed Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) subsidiary ePLDT Ventus, one of the leading business process outsourcing companies in the country, to handle all its contact center service requirements.

Earlier, PAL announced that it was spinning off and outsourcing some of its non-core functions, including call center service requirements, as part of the company’s restructuring and cost-cutting, program.

PAL president Jaime Bautista and ePLDT Ventus president Maulik Parekh signed yesterday an agreement formalizing the partnership, a key feature of which is a commitment from ePLDT Ventus to extend job offers to all affected employees of PAL’s reservations sales units in Manila and Cebu, and Mabuhay Miles Center, which will be phased out on June 1, 2010.

Bautista explained that PAL’s decision to fully outsource its contact center to a proven and reliable partner like ePLDT Ventus will greatly enhance its operational efficiency and productivity in the face of stiffer challenges in the market.

For his part, Parekh emphasized that ePLDT Ventus, with its recognized expertise, latest technology and highly competent workforce, is best positioned to address PAL’s pressing and future requirements for contact center services.

The agreement calls for ePLDT Ventus to provide a dedicated team of call-center agents on a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week basis to service the broad range of PAL’s requirements.

These functions include reservations and ticketing, including schedule and fare inquiries, flight booking, change or cancellation of booking, issuance of tickets, and advance seat reservation; general inquiries, including flight arrival and departure information, inquiries about routes and destinations, documentation requirements, and journey-related information; and tour bookings, including inquiries and booking of the Swingaround and PALakbayan tour products.

Also outsourced to Ventus are the following functions: Mabuhay Miles services, including program information and member benefits, membership inquiries, profile updates, account status, award flight booking and ticketing; disruption handling, including notification of passengers in cases of flight schedule changes; fulfillment, including back-office services; and special services, including coordination of group bookings, arrangement of special passenger handling (medical cases, special meal requests, etc.), and email handling.

Affected staff of PAL’s reservations sales and Mabuhay Miles Center will be given first priority in filling the approximately 600 agent positions at ePLDT Ventus.