SimpliFlying

Image via Wikipedia

In service businesses like airlines, first impressions count. On my hour-long American Airlines flight last evening from Toronto to Boston, I was welcomed on-board by a cheerful flight attendant, Heather. She was genuinely pleasant (and not over-doing it) and extremely courteous, even though she was the only flight attendant on board the small Embraer jet. She played along when people were not paying close attention to the safety demonstration, and cracked jokes while serving beverages. A very pleasant experience - but that’s just one tenth of the job done for the airline when it comes to creating first impressions.

Creating lasting first impressions - a hundred million times

Air Canada’s Robert Milton mentions in his book that on average each passenger comes in contact with the airline ten times, every time he flies. This may be through the call center, website, at the check-in counter and of course, on-board the plane. So if an airline flies 10 million passengers per year, there would be a total of 100 million interactions on average! So how can airlines create a lasting first impression, every customer interaction? Here are three ways.

1. Exceed expectations. Before a customer interacts with an airline, he has certain expectations formed through advertisements, word-of-mouth or previous experiences. Airlines should aim to exceed them. Reduce the waiting time at the call center. Have pleasant check-in counter staff. Cater to the fliers’ needs on-board. This is not to say that each and every airline must spend millions in sprucing up service levels, but rather exceed the expectations they have set themselves. For example, budget airlines like AirAsia promise on-time performance and not in-flight luxuries. They then ensure these metrics are adhered to. Airlines like Thai Airways and Qatar Airways promise a pampered service for their business class passengers, and then deliver it. Prioritize, then execute and keep the word. Read the rest of this entry »
   Tags: AirAsia, American Airlines, Robert Milton, Virgin America
   
   

Dear Readers,

I’m delighted to share the news with you that Interbrand’s Brandchannel.com has just published the white paper on airline branding, “Six steps to building a swashbuckling brand,” authored by me. Brandchannel.com is the leading online exchange about all things branding. Hence it is an honor for the it to be selected as the featured white paper for last week. You can read it online or download the paper here. I’d love to have your comments and feedback.

Thanks for all your support.

Regards,
Shashank

This blog’s predictions that all-business class airlines would go extinct have come true, with British Airways making an offer of $107.3 million for the last remaining major all-business class airline - France’s L’Avion. With one less competitor operating between Paris and New York, BA’s new OpenSkies airline will be able to dominate the route. In fact, since L’Avion was also operating Boeing 757s, they may now be combined to form a fleet of three Boeing 757s for OpenSkies. According to Reuters, L’Avion started in January 2007 and has transported 65,000 passengers. But the going was certainly getting tough as the price of oil crossed $140 per barrel, evidence of which are the recent spate of bankruptcies in the airline industry.

Big bird BA picks up the last fish in the river (Image Credit: Esox Lucius)

How does this impact the British Airways and OpenSkies brands?

The effect of this acquisition on the parent airline’s brand should be generally positive, due to two key factors. Firstly, the lack of competition would surely help the OpenSkies brand since there is no direct comparison for their services. Moreover, lack of competition results in lower price pressure - which means that OpenSkies can charge realistic higher fares and be profitable sooner than later. Secondly, the acquisition is of an all-business class airline, which adds greater value to BA/OpenSkies, since L’Avion had planes that offered more luxury to the customer. So instead of sprucing them up, BA just needs to remove some seats to include Economy class, if they choose to do so.

In the end, this means the end of cross-Atlantic all-business airlines, and bodes well for British Airways as well. A win-win situation for both the airlines. A questionable one from the customers’ perspective though.

What do you think? Will this help the customer? Please feel free to leave your comments below.

Image via Wikipedia

Last week, a friend of mine boarded a Virgin America flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. As is the case often at most busy airports these days, there was a delay in departure, due to air traffic delays. The flight sat on the tarmac for 10 minutes. But this is where the typical story ended and the fun started.

The Virgin America flight attendants took their positions in the aisles, but not for safety demonstration, since they already have a super cool video for that. They announced to the passengers that since they are waiting, they should have some fun. They started playing games with the passengers! The flight attendants asked the pleasantly surprised passengers questions about Virgin America as well as other topics, and those who answered correctly even received prizes! What a brilliant way not just to engage the customers, but leave an indelible impression about the airline.

Airlines must find innovative ways to engage the customers before, during and after the journey. Having a captive audience for a sustained period of time is something marketers crave for. That not only enhances the experience, but empowers the customers with stories they can share with others. After all, this experience was shared by a friend of mine too. Virgin America is already doing a great job at enhancing the in-flight experience, and this is yet another feather in the hat for them. The rest of the airlines, especially those in the US, should take note and put on their thinking hats.

Feel free so share this article with your friends. If you enjoyed this article, you can to get free updates by email or RSS.

Here’s a quiz:

1. Which airline tested wi-fi for the first time last week?
2. Which airline will be testing bio-fuels next month?
3. Which airline is the first to have showers in its first class?
4. Which is the first airline that’s going to fly the Boeing 787?
5. Which airline was the first to fly the A380 aircraft?

Almost anyone who’s traveled on an airplane before would be able to answer the last one – Singapore Airlines. But hardly any would be able to answer the other questions. For the curious, American Airlines tested wireless internet last week, Japan Airlines will test bio-fuels, Emirates will have showers on its new A380 flight to New York city and ANA will be the first to fly the 787. Wondering why the huge disparity in awareness? Simply because Singapore Airlines engaged its customers and let the world know that it was doing something new.

Being the first brand to give customers a refreshing, new experience is something to beat the drum about. In turbulent times for the industry like these, airlines should take the opportunity to let the world know about every new initiative they are taking. Let alone the need for a Singapore Airlines’ style big bang, something more than a simple press-release is likely to be lapped up by thirsty customers. What if American Airlines had created a contest, where winners would be able to use the wi-fi service free? How about Japan Airlines doing a marketing stint with Al Gore, highlighting the importance of using bio-fuels? May be Emirates can give its top frequent fliers a chance to experience those showers, even before the first flight.

Not only will such activities create loyal customers, but the buzz created will be more than enough to offset some of the flak airlines have been receiving lately due to the additional charges being imposed. Being the first to provide additional value to customers is not very common in the airline industry, and when it happens, airlines should capitalize on such an opportunity.

Did you know that a number of United Airlines’ planes have added iPhone and iPod support? Again, the answer is probably a resounding “No”.

Time to wake up! And beat the drum about it.

Feel free so share this article with your friends. If you enjoyed this article, you can to get free updates by email or RSS.

A new Facebook group for those interested in Airline branding has just been established, to further the discussion on the cutting edge in this field. Please click here to join.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Now, even celebrity gossip blog Perezhilton is worried about the state of the airline industry. Constantly ranked among the top 20 blogs on the internet by Technorati, among hundreds of millions, it was surprising to see Perezhilton deviate from the regular celebrity scoop we find on that blog. When that happens, even the common man should pay attention.

The post, entitled “We must avert this disaster”, quoted a Yahoo News article that talks about various factors for concern about the American airline industry. Not surprisingly, one of the key causes is identified as poor customer service. Former American Airlines‘ Chariman, Robert Crandall, is quoted as saying, “Every major airline is losing huge amounts of money with service standards that are unacceptable, to be generous.” Interestingly, he believes that regulation is the solution to such woes. I don’t see how! Read the rest of this entry »

Vijay Mallya, often considered the Richard Branson of India, was recently interviewed by BBC on a range of issues concerning the Kingfisher brand. For those who’re not aware, he heads Kingfisher Airlines, as well as Kingfisher beer, under his UB Group. In this BBC interview, Mallya talks about starting new routes to London, airline bankruptcies and even how sponsoring the Indian Premier League was a huge success for Kingfisher, unlike what is generally thought. He starts by characterizing entrepreneurship as the ability to think creatively and do things differently. Enjoy watching the interview.

Source: BBC

If you enjoyed this article, click here to get free updates by email or RSS.

The recent spate of airline mergers - or merger talks - begs the question: Is it better for the industry if two airlines merge or one of them goes bankrupt. Verdict: It’s better if an airline goes bankrupt.

Here’re three reasons why bankruptcies are good for the industry overall.

1. Increases industry revenues. Many airlines are not making money because fares are too low, compared to costs. More bankruptcies mean less price competition for the remaining airlines. They can then raise fares with less fear of undercutting. This would help them cover costs, and increase profits for the industry overall. Cathay Pacific was able to optimize flight times between Hong Kong and Vancouver after Oasis HongKong went bust.By contrast, in mergers, the new combination of airlines takes long to rationalize routes, and when they do, they still charge low rates since fares never really increased the way they could have, due to sudden disappearance of competition from a route.
2. Dramatically lower costs. When airlines close for business, they lay off a large number of people. These people increase the labor supply in the market, and are hired by other airlines at lower wages. This reduces the overall wage component of the costs. When airlines go bust, they also get rid of their planes at very low prices. They are sold to other airlines, which can then put them on their under-serviced routes. Again, reducing the cost of the equipment. AirAsia is a great example of an airline, which inherited two planes with just a $0.50 down payment, and  was able to tap on the abundance of cheap labor, right after 9/11.
   Read the rest of this entry »
   Tags: AirAsia, bankruptcies, Cathay Pacific, mergers, US Airways
   
   

On June 10, a Sudan Airways flight caught fire on the runway at Khartoum airport, which resulted in the runway being closed due to the damage. Such incidences can wreak havoc for airport officials and passengers of other airlines. This is when an airline’s resilience is tested. Here is an account of a person who was stranded at the airport the day after the incident and had to bear through much inconvenience in order to finally fly out on the Qatar Airways operated flight to reach his final destination - Delhi, India.

Image courtesy BBC news

“I was in Sudan for a presentation and experience sharing with East African Telecentre Networks. I was scheduled to travel back to Delhi on Qatar Airways, via Doha. Traveling the day after the crash, I was issued boarding passes at the airport, even though the runway was only open for small planes as it was partially damaged.  All passengers were standing in front of the boarding gate from 2 PM till 9 PM without any information, food or water. Communication with the ground staff was difficult due to language problems, and they did not seem to have any information as well. As the night approached, the airline refused to put us in a hotel, since they claimed this wasn’t their fault. Luckily, our trip organizers made alternative arrangements for us for the night. Read the rest of this entry »