Southwest Airlines has added an 800 number for Spanish-speaking customers who want to book flights with bilingual reservations agents and is gently escalating the phone line's visibility through a series of advertising campaigns.
Other major carriers that serve Salt Lake City have bilingual reservations agents available to speak to customers in a variety of languages but have not dedicated a specific phone line for this service.Southwest Airlines began its Spanish-language phone line in the fall of 1996 and expanded it slowly, according to Linda Rutherford, Southwest spokeswoman.
"We wanted to make sure we had the infrastructure in place to meet customer demand," she said. "It's more of an overall company effort to target populations where we can pay more attention to their needs."
The number is 1-800-221-0016.
"That number routes you to bilingual sales agents in any one of our reservation centers," she said. The calls are lined up differently from others to make sure the caller gets a Spanish speaking agent.
Southwest has since begun advertising the presence of bilingual agents in markets where it has many Hispanic customers. The areas change depending on market conditions and "competitive need," but peak markets include Los Angeles, other parts of Southern California, San Antonio and Florida, Rutherford said.
"In the markets where we do Hispanic advertising on TV and radio and in local newspapers, that's where you'd see a number directing you," she said.
Rutherford said the number has been well-received.
"We moved very slowly making sure our sales agents felt comfortable that we got them up to speed before we began directing customers to that number. We spent a lot of time preparing the reservations sales agents for the influx of calls and they've been getting them, so we're very pleased," she said.
Delta Air Lines began increasing its bilingual work force in the 1980s when it expanded from a primarily Southern U.S. carrier to a worldwide entity.
"We have a number of people who are bilingual in everything from Spanish to Hindu to Polish to Japanese," said E. Todd Clay, Delta's manager of corporate communications. "Our folks speak 17 different languages."
Delta does not have a phone number for Spanish speaking customers, but if someone calls Delta's main 800 number to reach one of the airline's eight reservation centers, the agent who takes the call will transfer it to another employee who speaks Spanish.
Clay said Delta also has bilingual employees at its hub airports depending on customer need.
Delta has had Spanish-speaking agents for many years in Florida and the Los Angeles area because so many Spanish speaking customers are in those areas.
United Airlines also has a system to helping customers who do not speak English get connected to a United employee who speaks that language, said Kristina Price, spokeswoman for United Airlines.
"United has a Spanish desk in Chicago as well as an Asian desk in Seattle, so if you speak any of those languages, you'll be transferred directly to those areas," Price said. "If customers speak another language that we don't have a specific desk for, we have a profile of our reservations agents who are bilingual and the languages they speak, so we an look them up and call to see if anyone's available."