Skip to content
Customer Story

Transforming Company Culture Allows Transavia Airlines to ‘Take-off’

Low-cost Dutch airlines optimize internal operations to improve customer experience
{body={src=https://697348.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/697348/Transavia-2.svg}, css={}, child_css={}, id=client_logo, name=client_logo, type=image_src, order=8, smart_type=null, styles={}}

Related services
Data Technology

Industry
Travel and Hospitality

Company
GoDataDriven | Part of Xebia

Established in 1965, Transavia has given travelers an opportunity to explore Europe and the Mediterranean for over 50 years. By offering low fares and no booking fees or payment surcharges, the airline enables people to visit popular destinations without breaking their budget. Transavia has home bases in both the Netherlands and France and flies from more than 20 countries in the region. The company is a member of the largest aviation group in Europe, AIR FRANCE KLM Group.
Why
Distinguish itself in a fiercely competitive marketplace
What
Exceed customer expectations through optimizing the digital experience and reacting quickly to market trends
How
Remove bottlenecks and increase collaboration between departments

Standing Out in the Crowd

Transavia knew it would take more than offering low fares to stay on top in an extremely volatile and competitive marketplace. “Customer experience will make all the difference,” Anja Bimmel, organizational development lead for Transavia explained, “To provide an experience that meets or exceeds expectations, we need the capacity to continuously adapt, which requires an Agile culture and network model. In a complex organization like Transavia, this integration isn’t easy.” Rik Farenhorst, the airline’s CIO, elaborated: “We’re facing heavy competition and need to do things better and smarter wherever possible. We have to differentiate ourselves in new ways, which will require optimal internal collaboration and digitalization that supports that differentiation.”

See Something, Say Something

One of the primary bottlenecks Xebia identified within the company was a lack of communication, both between and within departments. To fully leverage talent and make employees feel more invested in the company’s future, Transavia adopted a culture of speaking up. “Formerly, identifying and reflecting on weaknesses was taboo in the company. Now, getting or giving criticism is seen as extremely valuable for resolving issues,” Bimmel said. “People throughout the entire organization were given a voice. We work on the company’s direction together, which increases enthusiasm.”

“Xebia challenged us by holding up a mirror. Suddenly, it was crystal-clear that our structure and culture were the bottlenecks. We realized a complete transformation could remove those bottlenecks and empower our employees to ‘take-off’ in new ways that would ultimately benefit our customers.”
Transavia-1
Anja Bimmel Transavia organizational development lead

Total Transformation

Through working with Xebia, Transavia recognized that to improve operations, they needed to digitize their workflow and adopt a holistic approach to operations. “A digitalization that supports differentiation doesn’t only involve customer interactions, technological solutions, or coordination. It strengthens a company’s ability to act and react to external conditions,” Tijmen de Groen, base lead core responsible for Transavia’s internal collaborations, explained. “It increases the speed with which new products can be brought to market and improves service. It’s about total operational and innovative agility, where everyone and everything within the organization is involved integrally and coherently.”

Explore related customer stories

Questions?

Get in touch with us

Contact us