Malaysia Airlines Launches Adelaide Call Centre

Today, Malaysia Airlines officially launched its Adelaide Call Centre in Adelaide, Australia. The Honourable Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia and The Honourable Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, Minister for Tourism along with En Ahmad Fuaad Dahlan, Senior General Manager Malaysia Airlines and En H. Azlan, Regional Assistant General Manager, Malaysia Airlines AUS/NZ/SW Pacific declared the Adelaide Call Centre officially open.

Malaysia Airlines' Regional Assistant General Manager, AUS/NZ/SW Pacific, Enr H. Azlan said, "We are delighted to officially launch this Call Centre in Adelaide, which will certainly enhance our operations here in Australia and New Zealand."

Adelaide was chosen as the site for the Australia / New Zealand Call Centre based on an evaluation of proposals from all Australian cities. 

Cik 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.

Additional personnel were recruited; handpicked for their call centre skills, travel experience and/or language skills to complement the established Malaysia Airlines staff. Training began in-house on 19 February 2001 with the first intake of 17 staff from Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin and Auckland. Trainers from Kuala Lumpur specialising in soft skills training together with lecturers from the Adelaide Institute of TAFE provided the Faculty.

Adelaide was the first station to have their reservation calls diverted, on the 19 March 2001, followed by Brisbane on 20 March 2001, Cairns on 21 March 2001, Darwin on 22 March 2001 and Auckland on 23 March 2001. An additional 24 staff commenced training for the Perth cutover on 01 May 2001, Melbourne on 13 June 2001 and finally Sydney on 27 June 2001. 

Customers dial the toll free number 132 627 within Australia and 0800 777 747 in New Zealand. The call center is a 24 hours operation with calls being diverted to Kuala Lumpur Call Centre outside of the Adelaide Call Centre's operating hours. Operating Hours are 0600-2000 hours Monday to Friday, and 0600-1500 hours Saturday.

Staff at the Adelaide Call Centre currently 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 & New Zealand public has been very positive, especially as it enables them to contact Malaysia Airlines 24 hours for any enquiries.

Malaysia Airlines has invested in improved technology for the Adelaide Call Centre to service the Australian and New Zealand public. 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 USA and Orient calls to the Adelaide Call Centre. 

Malaysia Airlines launched its Kuala Lumpur and Kuching Call Centers in November 2001 with the introduction of its 24-hours toll free reservations number 1-300-88-3000 which handles calls from Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.