Senior Manager - Service Quality

Air India Express is building a world‑class, guest‑centric airline culture, and were looking for a Senior Manager – Service Quality & Customer Experience to lead how our service standards are measured, governed, and continuously improved.

The Senior Manager — Service Quality & CX Assurance leads the airlines Mystery Audit Programme, cabin and ground Service Quality Audits, Skytrax readiness, and the CX intelligence layer that translates quality data into action. The role sits at the heart of the CX ecosystem, partnering with Inflight, Ground, Training, Catering, and Commercial leadership to turn every flight into evidence of the airlines service promise.

Service Quality – Customer Experience

Travel Requirement: High (Mystery Audit flights across network + periodic international travel)

Service Quality, Audits & CX Intelligence | Key Accountabilities

1. Mystery Audit Programme

• Design, lead, and continuously evolve the airlines end-to-end Mystery Guest Programme across booking, airport, inflight, IROP handling, loyalty, and post-flight journeys.
• Develop journey-based audit scorecards aligned to Service Delivery Standards (SDS) and brand experience pillars.
• Govern external audit partners (scope, methodology, SLAs, commercials) while building and certifying an internal assessor capability.
• Lead Digital Mystery Shopper and Mystery Caller programmes across web, app, IVR, contact centre, chat, and social channels.

2. Cabin & Ground Service Quality Audits

• Own and govern structured Service Quality Audits (SQA) across cabin and ground operations, spanning all fleets and bases.
• Audit service delivery including crew behaviour, cabin presentation, catering execution, grooming, ambience, turnaround quality, and regulatory compliance.
• Define audit frequency and risk-weighting by route, fleet, base, and partner; manage the full audit lifecycle through re-validation.
• Design specialised assurance frameworks for high-sensitivity journeys (PRM, UM, VIP/CIP, bereavement, IROPs, service recovery).

3. External Ratings (Skytrax) Readiness

• Own airline-wide readiness for Skytrax and APEX audits, driving simulated assessments and closure of gaps across 500+ quality parameters.
• Lead prioritised action plans to sustain and improve external ratings; represent the airline in audit and benchmarking engagements.
• Maintain competitive intelligence on peer performance and evolving rating methodologies.

4. CX Intelligence & Executive Reporting

• Own the Service Quality Dashboard, integrating mystery audits, SQAs, external ratings, NPS/CSAT, and complaints into a single source of truth.
• Lead advanced analytics and correlation studies across crew, training, routes, fleet, partners, and IROP variables to identify root causes and leading indicators.
• Deliver monthly CX intelligence to leadership and quarterly executive reports with clear, prioritised actions.
• Develop and manage the Crew Performance Quality Index to enable targeted coaching, recognition, and capability building.

5. Standards, Culture & Continuous Improvement

• Co-create and continuously refine Service Delivery Standards with Inflight, Training, Catering, and Operations teams.
• Drive a closed-loop improvement engine (Audit → Insight → Action → Re-Audit → Sustain) with rigorous root-cause validation and closure tracking.
• Sponsor enterprise-wide CX improvement initiatives driven by quality insights (e.g., grooming, catering, IROP experience, contact centre scripting).
• Champion a culture where audits enable development and excellence, balancing psychological safety with operational discipline.

6. Leadership & Capability Building

• Build and lead a high-performing Service Quality & Assurance function across audit, analytics, and external ratings workstreams.
• Define annual OKRs, budgets, and capability roadmaps; manage vendor performance and commercial governance.
• Develop CX talent pipelines and contribute to the organisations broader customer experience transformation agenda.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Graduate degree in Aviation, Hospitality, Business, or related discipline. MBA or equivalent post-graduate qualification preferred.
• Experience: 14–18 years of relevant experience in airlines, premium hospitality, or large-scale customer experience functions, with a minimum of 6 years in service quality, audit, or CX leadership roles.
• Track Record: Demonstrable experience designing and running mystery audit or service quality programmes at scale — ideally in a full-service or premium airline or hospitality environment.
• Analytics: Strong analytical capability with comfort in dashboards, data interpretation, and executive storytelling to CXO-level audiences.
• External Engagement: Exposure to Skytrax or comparable external rating and certification bodies.
• Preferred
• Certifications in Lean Six Sigma (Green or Black Belt), ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, or equivalent quality systems frameworks.
• Familiarity with CX platforms, Voice-of-Customer tools, and BI platforms (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, Qualtrics, Medallia).
• Prior experience working across multiple bases, fleets, or network geographies.
• Experience embedding audit insights into crew training and recognition systems.

Behavioural

• Service Sensibility — Exceptional attention to detail paired with deep customer empathy; instinct for what guests feel, not just what they report.
• Influence Without Authority — Credibility and diplomacy to drive change across Inflight, Ground, Commercial, and Operations leadership.
• Executive Presence — Comfort presenting to CXO with clear, evidence-led narratives.
• Coaching Mindset — Builds capability in others, positions audits as development, not punishment.
• Resilience & Composure — Operates effectively across simultaneous pressures — rating audits, IROP surges, and executive reviews.

Technical

• Quality Systems & Audit Methodology — Deep fluency in audit design, sampling, scoring, and closure governance.
• CX Analytics — Strong grasp of NPS/CSAT mechanics, correlation analysis, and translating data into narrative.
• Standards Architecture — Ability to author, structure, and cascade Service Delivery Standards across a distributed operation.
• Programme Management — Running concurrent workstreams with clear governance, vendor management, and budget discipline.