In a business where flight rescheduling, whether unplanned or voluntary, is common, changing a flight shouldn’t involve endless calls or friction between the customer and the airline. Instead, it can be a simple, transparent, and 24/7 experience. In this article, we interviewed Erick Bejarano, technical leader at be bolder, to explain how Change of Flight, through self-service, can reduce call center operating costs, speed up responses, and increase passenger satisfaction by providing a clear view of options and prices with immediate confirmation.
A look at the global flight change situation
According to an independent TravelPerk report conducted in 2025, which surveyed 7,000 business travelers across the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, 89% reported that their trip was affected by delays, cancellations, or missed connections. 72% had to rebook on the fly, and another 72% ended up paying significantly more on average. This chaos is no small feat, as companies in the United States spend more than $17 billion annually on extra hotels, transportation, and lost hours.
At the same time, passenger expectations are different. When something goes wrong, more than half of travelers want automatic rebooking and real-time updates about their flight and baggage, according to the 2019 Global Passenger Survey. In addition, according to a 2024 IATA report, 71% of people complete their booking online or through an app, 53% finalize their booking directly with the airline, and only 16% prefer to speak with a live agent. In other words, they expect to handle the change themselves, in minutes, without making a phone call.
The hidden burden of call centers: An operational challenge
Without implementing a self-service solution, passengers must contact the airline’s call center directly to request changes to their booking. Each change request increases the workload of telephone support, delaying responses and perpetuating a process completely dependent on agent availability. In this scenario, systems are often fragmented, making customization and long-term sustainability difficult.
Indeed, high call volume represents a significant operational cost for the airline, requiring a substantial investment in personnel and resources. However, the greatest impact is on the traveler experience, as passengers face long waits for assistance or even poor management of their requests. This overall inefficiency limits airlines’ ability to offer flexibility without jeopardizing operations.
Modular co-creation of a solution focused on the value stream
The solution development process involves first defining the core functionality, including the calculation logic and optional service equivalencies for successful reservation modification. This approach supports the launch of a Minimum Viable Product to validate the business logic with the client in a short timeframe. The process then evolves toward co-creation, tailoring the application to customer expectations, particularly in user experience and the user interface.
The key is to design a solution with a modular and lightweight architecture that allows for independent operation from the airline’s core reservation system. This separation offers greater ease of administration, simplified future customizations, and flexibility for changes. This architecture must be supported by cutting-edge, widely supported technologies to ensure agility, optimization, and future-proofing.
Policy-driven automation for consistent, fair changes
Self-service only works at scale when the rules are explicit and applied in real time. Change of Flight evaluates what can be edited, recalculates any fare difference, and presents a clear summary before payment, so passengers receive transparent options and instant confirmations without relying on an agent.
- Eligibility by design: Only eligible segments and itineraries are shown, preventing false expectations and unnecessary support.
- Transparent repricing: The system computes any fare differences, taxes, or fees and displays them to enable an informed decision.
- Ancillaries respected: Previously purchased services such as seats and bags are preserved or revalidated when applicable.
- Guardrails and audit trail: Every decision is logged to protect revenue, ensure consistency, and simplify operational follow-up.
- Real-time updates: Passengers receive immediate confirmation and status notifications, aiming to close the loop with confidence.
A simple change experience for passenger peace of mind
The goal is to design the Change of Flight flow to be extremely simple and familiar to the user, leveraging the same data used for check-in. The process guides the passenger through the essential steps to ensure clarity and proper validation of their request. This begins with passenger identification, which is done using their last name and PNR code or booking code.
Once authenticated, the system displays the complete information of the original reservation on the screen, highlighting only the segments or routes that can be edited. The system guides the user through selecting the new travel dates, searches for real-time availability, and validates fares and optional services. Finally, a summary of the fare differences or overages due is displayed, giving the passenger the option to accept or reject the update before confirming the transaction.
How Change of Flight works
Tangible results: Operational savings and customer satisfaction
Change of Flight significantly reduces costs and manual workload while offering an intuitive experience to all passengers. Thousands of change requests are currently processed without any human intervention, achieving operational savings that minimize pressure on the call center. The speed of service improves user confidence and reduces frustration in critical situations, raising overall satisfaction.
Furthermore, the change module operates outside the main booking system, which simplifies updates and future customizations. This independence reduces operational complexity, making rollout and maintenance easier across channels. As a result, support teams have redirected effort from repetitive transactions to high-impact cases, improving response quality during peaks and freeing capacity for exceptions and service recovery.
Empower travelers with seamless self-service Change of Flight
Free your airline from costly and dependent processes while providing a flexible, automated flow that operates 24/7. A modular, independent architecture provides your passengers with real-time availability, fares, and charges before confirming the change.
Bring transparent, scalable flight changes to your operation with be bolder’s Change of Flight solution. Contact us.
Commercial Team
[email protected]
* Image by Design team on bebolder.co
