Speed and reliability remain at the heart of air cargo, but increasingly, customers are paying close attention to something else: how easy it is to do business.
Across all areas of life, most digital experiences have become faster, simpler and more intuitive – from booking travel and tracking a parcel to managing purchases online. Customers rightly expect the same clarity and convenience when booking cargo.
It’s why we redesigned the eBooking platform on IAGCargo.com, making interactions faster and more intuitive. The result is an improved booking experience that makes it easier to compare options, find capacity, complete bookings quickly and secure the best available price online, so customers can book direct with confidence.
Booking that works the way you do
Daniel Rodriguez Jimenez, Head of Digital Sales & Distribution at IAG Cargo, says the project began with a simple question.
“We challenged ourselves to look at every stage of the booking process and ask whether it was genuinely helping the customer. The goal was to make booking cargo feel more straightforward, helping customers reach the same outcome with less effort.”
To answer that question, we conducted extensive customer research across our global network. Conversations with our customers and partners helped identify opportunities to simplify the booking process, improve navigation and make it easier to compare options online.
That customer-first approach led to a complete redesign of the eBooking platform, making it faster, simpler and more intuitive for customers managing shipments every day.
Key improvements include:
A streamlined booking journey, reducing the number of pages from six to just three and introducing a more modern interface, helping customers move from search to confirmation quickly.
Smarter search and booking tools, with improved navigation, intelligent autofill and information presented at the right stage of the booking process. For example, customers can compare products and rates and secure the best available option before entering shipment-specific details such as the AWB number, making the booking process faster and easier to complete.
A redesigned offers page with clearer product, service and rate visibility, enabling customers to compare Standard and Flex booking options side by side and make more informed booking decisions.
Together, these improvements create a faster, more efficient booking experience, reducing the time spent completing bookings while making it easier for customers to find the right option for their shipment.
While customers will notice a simpler and more intuitive experience, the project also involved rebuilding the technology behind the platform.
“This is much more than a refresh,” says Daniel. “We’ve rebuilt the technology that underpins the eBooking platform, creating a stronger foundation for future improvements and giving us greater flexibility to enhance the customer experience over time.”
That investment will help us continue refining the online experience as customer needs and expectations change.
Putting our customers in control
“Customers compare us with the digital experiences they have elsewhere,” says Daniel. “They expect information to be easy to find, options to be clear and processes to be straightforward. Those expectations continue to influence how we design and improve our digital services.”
Customers are increasingly choosing digital channels because they offer the convenience of making bookings when it suits them, without the need for additional administrative steps. For many freight forwarders, that means less time spent on administration and more time focused on serving customers and managing shipments.
Booking through IAGCargo.com also provides access to the best available price online – a clear incentive for customers to book directly. Forward Rewards members can earn points on eligible shipments automatically, with those points redeemable for flights, hotel stays and cargo credits, adding further value to booking online.
Built for what comes next
Ease of doing business has become an increasingly important part of air cargo. As more customers choose digital channels to search for capacity, compare options and manage bookings, expectations will only continue to rise.
“What we’ve built on IAGCargo.com gives us the platform to move faster, respond to customer needs more quickly, and stay at the forefront of what customers expect. We're only at the beginning of what's possible and customers can expect to see more great features and enhancements introduced as the platform continues to develop,” says Daniel.
