Cyprus Airways living in the past

Since the very future of our national carrier is in doubt, this is perhaps a minor point – on the other hand, it could be viewed as symptomatic of the approach that has led the company to the brink.

It’s 2011, and most travellers are encouraged to book online, check-in online – indeed, do the airlines’ jobs for them online. Most of us comply, and when the system works, it does indeed facilitate matters for all.

I’m sure many people, like me, shun Internet Explorer (IE) as a browser because of its inherent security weaknesses. Most, I believe, use Firefox or Google Chrome for their online transactions (in Europe, Firefox has replaced IE as the leading browser – and one assumes that most people booking with Cyprus Airways are in Europe).

So why does Cyprus Airways still allow online check-in ONLY with Internet Explorer? If you try to do it with Firefox you get exactly nowhere – and it’s over a year since I called the airline to ask why it didn’t work, and when told that I had to use IE I suggested that they modify their system to include the growing number of people who use other browsers.

With their well known concern for customer service, in the intervening 12 months they have done precisely nothing: you can still only check in online using IE (and if you aren’t party to the knowledge that it doesn’t work with other browsers, you just assume that you can’t do online check-in with CA).

I mentioned it again to a CA employee this week, who seemed to agree with me. I asked her to pass my comments on to the relevant department; she said she would – but suggested I shouldn’t hold my breath!