Malaysia Airlines Adelaide Call Centre launched

The Borneo Post - Thursday, August 15 2002

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines officially launched its Adelaide Call Centre in Australia yesterday to enhance its operation in the region.
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said Adelaide was chosen as the site for the Australia/New Zealand Call Centre based on an evaluation of proposals from all Australian cities.

It added that Nurimah Abu Yazid, district reservations manager (Operations) was appointed Project Leader and was seconded to Adelaide from May 2000 until operations began at Adelaide Call Centre in March 2001. The centre was officiated by the premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, minister for tourism, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, along with Malaysia Airlines senior general manager, Ahmad Fuaad Dahlan and MAS' regional assistant general manager, AUS/NZ/SW Pacific, H. Azlan.

The call centre is a 24-hour operation with calls being diverted to Kuala Liunpur Call Centre outside of the Adelaide Call Centre's operating hours. Its operating hours are from 0600 to 2000 (Mon to Fri) and 0600-1500 hours Saturday. Additional personnel were recruited and handpicked for their call centre skills, travel experience and/or language skills to complement the established Malaysia Airlines staff.
Staff at the Adelaide Call Centre currently will handle and provide information on flights, accommodation, enrich frequent flyer, and ancillary components of airline reservations as well as national fare enquiries.

Reaction from the Australian and New Zealand public has been very positive, especially as it. enables them to contact the airlines 24 hours for any enquiries, the statement said. The call-flow pattern is initially answered by an automated attendant whereby the customer can select their option according to their requirements, and then, the call is routed to a skills based reservation agent. Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) allows the computer and telephone system to be integrated and coordinated, thus enabling the calls to be transferred simultaneously and saving the caller's time in not needing to repeat information when the call is answered by the reservation agent.

Malaysia Airlines Australia/ New Zealand is committed to improving operations in this region through innovative projects. An evaluation is presently being undertaken to assess the possibility of diverting the US and Orient calls to the Adelaide Call Centre.-Bernama