Maximizing Revenue Potential: Sutherland Helps Leading Scandinavian Airline Scale Ancillary Sales by 94%

Industry: Travel, Transportation, Hospitality and Logistics
Services: Digital CX, Business Operations, Products and Platforms, Automation

Client Overview

A premier airline in Northern Europe, renowned for its extensive network and commitment to customer satisfaction, serves over 12 million passengers annually.

The Challenge

Stagnant Ancillary Sales and Overwhelmed Refund Processes

Despite having regular customer interactions, the airline’s support teams were missing valuable opportunities to drive ancillary sales, leaving significant revenue potential untapped. At the same time, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge in refund requests, overwhelming existing workflows and causing delays that negatively impacted customer satisfaction. 

To address both challenges, the airline needed an integrated solution that could enhance sales effectiveness across service channels while automating and accelerating refund processing to restore operational stability and improve the customer experience.

Sutherland Solution

Driving Revenue and Operational Agility with Intelligent Automation and Sales Enablement

To address both revenue leakage and operational inefficiencies, Sutherland deployed a holistic solution that combined intelligent automation with precision-targeted training initiatives, enabling the airline to elevate performance across customer service and sales channels.

1. Targeted Sales Training Programs
   Sutherland upskilled front-line support teams to identify and act on ancillary sales opportunities, equipping agents with the techniques and confidence to convert everyday interactions into revenue-generating moments.
2. Lean Six Sigma Process Enhancements
   Through structured Lean Six Sigma projects, customer journeys were streamlined, conversion rates improved, and agent workflows optimized, contributing to higher customer satisfaction and measurable sales impact.
3. Deployment of Minibot 12 DOS
   A dynamic, AI-powered workforce management tool was introduced to support all communication channels simultaneously, reducing operational friction and delivering significant time savings across the front office.
4. Accelerated Training Rollout
   Sutherland rapidly deployed customized training programs, enabling select agents to adopt new tools and workflows in just two weeks, driving faster value realization and minimal business disruption.
5. Data-Driven Cross-Sell and Upsell Tactics
   Customer behavior data was analyzed to surface timely and relevant offers, enhancing both cross-sell and upsell performance and contributing to sustained revenue growth.

Together, these initiatives transformed underutilized service channels into strategic sales engines while simultaneously streamlining processes and improving the customer experience.

The Outcome

Transformational Gains in Revenue, Efficiency, and Customer Satisfaction

Sutherland’s intelligent automation and targeted enablement strategy delivered high-impact results across both revenue generation and operational performance for the airline. Ancillary sales surged by 94%, fueled by upskilled agents and data-driven selling strategies that turned customer interactions into conversion opportunities.

Customer experience improved markedly, with first call resolution increasing by 17% and average handle time reduced by 50%, saving approximately 24 minutes per agent per day. These efficiencies not only improved service speed but also freed up capacity to handle increased volume without additional headcount.

Collectively, these improvements contributed to $2.5 million in additional revenue while strengthening customer satisfaction, streamlining operations, and positioning the airline for scalable growth in a post-pandemic travel landscape.