CASE STUDY
A global IT outage
How FCM supported travelling customers through the CrowdStrike outage in 2024
The event
On 19 July 2024, approximately 8.5 million screens across the globe in offices, homes, hospitals, airports, and retail stores went down. You name it, if it had a screen, it was likely displaying the infamous Windows "blue screen of death (BSOD)".
Triggered by a routine content update that turned into a global tech nightmare, it certainly caught everyone off guard—our teams, clients, and travellers included. Airlines grounded or delayed their fleet, and those that kept flying resorted to handwritten boarding passes and manual signs at check-in gates. It was a day that most, if not all, people hope doesn't happen again.
Taking action
As soon as the news hit the headlines and the world started to learn who CrowdStrike was, our global Out of Hours customer service team kicked into gear. Across the world, our teams experienced their busiest weekend of the year. Some regions handled just over 3,960 calls and 345 emails over three days—a substantial increase from the usual. And in the Americas, they managed a jaw-dropping extra 6,800 calls on top of the regular 22,000.
But our team didn't just pick up the phone and call it a day—they stayed on the line until every caller had answers to their questions and resolutions. With average call times nearly 28% longer than the monthly average in some regions, and our service level agreement (SLA) performance still high, at 74% to 87% in others, we were in it with our customers for the long haul. Understanding that travellers' top priority was getting answers and continuing their journey, we organised additional employees over the weekend to assist in managing every detail. Rebooking flights, arranging accommodation for stranded passengers, and keeping in touch with airlines for updates — our team did it all, even while dealing with our own tech challenges from the outage.
Keeping up with comms
While our Out of Hours team was smashing it on the front lines, our behind-the-scenes people were also in full gear. Within moments, global communications were ready to go, hitting customer's inboxes, social media feeds, and mobile screens everywhere.
It wasn't a set-and-forget situation. The crisis communications team was on standby all weekend, ready to keep customers in the loop in real-time. A quick alert or a detailed email, our goal was still the same: keep our customers informed and reassured.
FCM Platform continued to serve
The thing about FCM Platform is that — it’s ours, built in-house, meaning, thankfully, it wasn’t disrupted by the CrowdStrike chaos. While other systems were having a moment, ours kept calm and carried on. Giving travellers access to their essential travel info, urgent alerts, and any changes to their plans.
For travel managers, it could be their go-to. They could hop into the dashboard, see who was where, their plans, and if they were impacted. Travellers received instant alerts via SMS or Platform mobile app, letting them know what was happening with their flights and what options they had. No guesswork, no stress—just clear, actionable info right when they needed it most.
We'll always find a way
If it’s a midnight flight change or a last-minute hotel booking, our 24/7 global customer service team is always waiting in the wind. Travel can be unpredictable, but with us, you’re never alone.
Bite-size team stats
- The Australia and New Zealand team answered 901 calls and 345 emails, an average increase of over 200 calls and 50 emails from previous weekends.
- The average call time in Australia and New Zealand was 29 minutes, nearly 28% higher than the monthly average.
- In the Americas (AMER), pre-CrowdStrike, the team managed 22.5k calls with a 91% SLA.
- The Europe team handled 345 calls with an 87% SLA.
- In India, the volume of calls and emails increased significantly by 122% compared to the previous weekend, rising from 1,229 to 2,729.
- Cancellation, modification, and scheduling cases in India surged by nearly 200%, increasing from 454 to 945.